Germany: a changing country of immigration

Despite being one of Europe's most significant destinations for migration, Germany has long wrestled with the notion that it may or may not be a 'country of immigration'. Approaching this question from a positive rather than a normative perspective, this article explores how Germany is changing in this respect, by examining changes over the past two decades in terms of migration flows, the policy framework and the degree of societal and institutional adaptation to migration. It argues that Germany has become much more diverse and also notes the major policy developments that have taken place after the change of government in 1998. While the dominant theme of migration policy has moved on from prevention to integration, Germany's impending demographic transformation poses a major new challenge, which will require governments to look once again to more active recruitment of labour migration.