Germany’s quest for skilled talent reached a new milestone on 3 November 2025 when Berlin and Nairobi convened the inaugural meeting of the Joint Implementation Committee for their Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement. The session, held at Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together Germany’s Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements Dr Joachim Stamp, Ambassador Sebastian Groth and senior Kenyan officials led by Diaspora Affairs PS Roseline Njogu.
Signed in June 2024, the pact commits both governments to create structured, fully legal pathways that move Kenyan workers into German shortage occupations—in particular nursing, IT and hospitality—while offering Kenyan students streamlined study-to-work transitions. Monday’s meeting agreed on a pilot quota of 5 000 Kenyan trainees and 2 500 qualified professionals for 2026, the establishment of a “Kenya Desk” inside Germany’s Federal Employment Agency to accelerate recognition of Kenyan credentials, and a bilateral Working Holiday scheme for young adults.
![Kenya-Germany launch Joint Committee to implement new Migration & Mobility Partnership]()
German employers have pushed hard for the agreement: the country’s Federal Employment Agency currently lists 400 000 unfilled care-sector vacancies and forecasts a shortfall of 7 million workers by 2035. Under the new framework, candidates will complete German language training (minimum B1) in Nairobi, undergo skills assessments jointly supervised by Germany’s chambers of commerce, and receive time-bound “fast-track” visas that are processed within 30 days—down from the current average of 90.
Kenya, for its part, negotiated reciprocal concessions. Berlin will open a Skills Transfer Fund that co-finances TVET colleges in Kenya, and will allow Kenyan professionals to spend one month per year in their home country without losing residency rights. The two sides also agreed data-sharing protocols to curb unethical recruiters and a return-migration clause enabling Kenyans who acquire German qualifications to re-enter the Kenyan labour market tax-free.
For multinationals the deal offers a template: it couples employer sponsorship with inter-governmental oversight, reducing reputational risk, while giving German HR teams a clearer pipeline for hard-to-fill roles. Companies such as Siemens Healthineers and Deutsche Bahn have already signalled interest in group-recruitment drives scheduled for Q1 2026. Immigration advisers, however, caution that bottlenecks could shift to Germany’s local foreigners’ authorities unless staff numbers there are also increased.
Signed in June 2024, the pact commits both governments to create structured, fully legal pathways that move Kenyan workers into German shortage occupations—in particular nursing, IT and hospitality—while offering Kenyan students streamlined study-to-work transitions. Monday’s meeting agreed on a pilot quota of 5 000 Kenyan trainees and 2 500 qualified professionals for 2026, the establishment of a “Kenya Desk” inside Germany’s Federal Employment Agency to accelerate recognition of Kenyan credentials, and a bilateral Working Holiday scheme for young adults.
German employers have pushed hard for the agreement: the country’s Federal Employment Agency currently lists 400 000 unfilled care-sector vacancies and forecasts a shortfall of 7 million workers by 2035. Under the new framework, candidates will complete German language training (minimum B1) in Nairobi, undergo skills assessments jointly supervised by Germany’s chambers of commerce, and receive time-bound “fast-track” visas that are processed within 30 days—down from the current average of 90.
Kenya, for its part, negotiated reciprocal concessions. Berlin will open a Skills Transfer Fund that co-finances TVET colleges in Kenya, and will allow Kenyan professionals to spend one month per year in their home country without losing residency rights. The two sides also agreed data-sharing protocols to curb unethical recruiters and a return-migration clause enabling Kenyans who acquire German qualifications to re-enter the Kenyan labour market tax-free.
For multinationals the deal offers a template: it couples employer sponsorship with inter-governmental oversight, reducing reputational risk, while giving German HR teams a clearer pipeline for hard-to-fill roles. Companies such as Siemens Healthineers and Deutsche Bahn have already signalled interest in group-recruitment drives scheduled for Q1 2026. Immigration advisers, however, caution that bottlenecks could shift to Germany’s local foreigners’ authorities unless staff numbers there are also increased.
