BERLIN, Sept 14 (Askume) – German companies in China have complained about delays in the issuance of visas for Chinese workers to Germany, according to a letter from the German Chamber of Commerce in China (AHK) to Foreign Minister Annalena Babok seen by Askume on Saturday.
“We are concerned that German companies are still having difficulty in providing timely visas to Germany for Chinese employees,” said the letter signed by 300 companies. It is being said that application times will be longer and the process more complicated than before.
The Shanghai metropolitan area, where two-thirds of German companies are located, is one example. The German company said visa processing times are currently around three months and that the previously streamlined visa process has been abolished and will have to be started over.
Appointments are now sometimes posted online and allocated within a matter of minutes, the letter said. The provider’s website is also hard to access, and errors are often reported when making appointments.
“Success in China is critical to the overall success of the business,” the letter states. This applies not only to business success but also to fostering innovation.
To cope with local competition, products and business models need to be adapted quickly to the Chinese market. This is why intensive communication is needed between the German parent company and its subsidiaries in China, the letter said.
