The failure of German diplomacy: Skilled worker shortage, veterinary medicine, visas & Iran

Germany's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing an abyss, one that politicians themselves have dug over decades. It's the year 2026, and the issue... Skilled worker shortage, veterinary medicine, visa and Iran It has brewed into a perfect storm. It is the story of dedicated entrepreneurs who are doing everything right, and a state apparatus that capitulates to its own bureaucracy.

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1. The „accelerated“ procedure: A bureaucratic illusion

When politicians talk about the Shortage of skilled workers in veterinary medicine Speaking, they present the „accelerated skilled worker procedure“ according to § 81a of the Residence Act (More on this in our articleIt is often touted as a brilliant panacea. But anyone who goes through this process in practice finds that it's not a quick fix, but rather an obstacle course with lead weights. In theory, this procedure is supposed to streamline the process. The employer pays a fee of 411 euros, signs a power of attorney, and the immigration office takes over the coordination between the licensing authority, the Federal Employment Agency, and the consulates.

However, the reality is quite different. In Germany, "accelerated" still often means that the assessment of the equivalence of a degree alone takes three to four months (commendable exceptions include the Stuttgart Regional Council and the corresponding office for foreign professionals at the City of Karlsruhe). During this time, we as employers face an immense bureaucratic burden: we review certificates, have them notarized and translated, and correspond with professional associations and authorities. For a veterinary practice in a rural area, this means keeping a position vacant for months that actually needs to be filled immediately to maintain emergency services.

At this stage, we invest five-figure sums – without any guarantee that the applicant will ever set foot on German soil. We may finance language courses up to level B2 or C1, as communication with the pet owners requires a high degree of linguistic precision. When the "preliminary approval" finally arrives after about 90 to 120 days, one is lulled into a false sense of security. One thinks the biggest hurdle has been overcome. But this is precisely where the trap snaps shut. Legally speaking, the preliminary approval is a promise from the state that entry is permitted. But what good is a master key if the lock on the door – the visa office in Iran – has simply been removed?

The Shortage of skilled workers in veterinary medicine The situation worsens with each passing day that this "accelerated" procedure fails to meet the realities of German diplomatic missions abroad. It's a systemic flaw: a process was created for administration in Germany, but the necessary personnel and technical resources in the countries of origin were neglected. Anyone who understands this issue Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran Research reveals a pattern of frustration. Business owners feel cheated when they pay for a government service that ultimately ends at a locked embassy door. The process isn't expedited; it's simply a more expensive way to wait.

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2. Genocide against their own people: The 30,000 dead in Iran

The problem can be described as follows: Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran We cannot discuss this without addressing the bloodshed in Tehran. We are not talking about a normal diplomatic rift. We are talking about a regime that, in 2025 and early 2026, began systematically exterminating its own population. According to reports from human rights organizations and sources such as... Mena-Watch The situation in Iran has escalated. The number of 30,000 dead The number of people killed in mass shootings during the recent waves of protests is not an estimate from dark channels – it is the bitter reality of genocide against one's own people.

These 30,000 people were sons, daughters, students, and academics. These are precisely the people who could form the backbone of a modern society. Amidst this terror sit our future colleagues: highly qualified veterinarians who already have a German employment contract and must fear for their lives every day. For them, this is Visa for Germany This is not merely a working document; it is the only salvation from a regime that knows no mercy. The mullah regime uses fear as a weapon, and the Foreign Office is indirectly playing into this terror by closing its doors.

Every minute our asylum seekers have to spend in Iran because a visa office is closed due to "technical problems" is a minute of mortal danger. It is morally difficult to bear that Germany, on the one hand, points the moral finger at the regime, but on the other hand, blocks the path of those who want to flee legally and with qualifications. The issue Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran This takes on an existential weight.

As employers, we are in constant contact with our applicants. We hear the fear in their voices; we see the images of burning streets in the news. The 30,000 deaths serve as a warning to the international community. If Germany claims to stand up for human rights, then this must be reflected in the effectiveness of its embassies. A country that stands idly by while qualified people, who have already been granted entry, are trapped in a slaughterhouse, loses its credibility. We are not demanding special treatment; we are demanding the rescue of skilled workers whose asylum applications have already been processed.

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3. The fortress of Tehran: The organized inaction of the office

Let's get to the heart of the failure: the reaction of the German government and the inaction of the German embassy in Tehran. If one considers the Minister of State in Foreign Ministry Ms. Serap Güler When contacted, the matter is forwarded to the so-called Citizens' Service, from which one receives the following responses, which are almost unparalleled in their arrogance and detachment from reality. In the letter we have (ticket number 1fde1e3d-f985-4da2-8775-xxxxxxxxx), the closure of the visa office is justified by "political developments" and a "duty of care" towards the employees. But this answer is only half the story. Anyone who digs deeper discovers that the problem is self-inflicted.

The German Foreign Office has been drastically reducing its capacity in Tehran since June 2025. They have known for almost a year that a collapse was imminent. They watched as waiting lists grew longer, appointments were booked months in advance, and service providers like TLScontact ceased operations. During this time, the ministry, under the leadership of Minister of State Serap Güler, did nothing to create alternative resources. Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran It was simply ignored.

An embassy is not a museum that can simply be closed in bad weather. It is the front line of state action. If an embassy is rendered unable to function due to a host country's "restrictive accreditation policy," then that constitutes diplomatic bankruptcy. But instead of offering pragmatic solutions—such as processing visas through embassies in Ankara, Yerevan, or Muscat—they are barricading themselves behind rules of jurisdiction. For people in Iran, it is virtually impossible to apply for a visa in a third country unless they have legal residency there. This is the bureaucratic Catch-22: You can't get a visa in Tehran because the embassy is closed, and you can't get a visa elsewhere because you don't live there.

The Foreign Office is completely ignoring the fact that applicants in the accelerated procedure are a privileged group. Security checks and assessments of professional qualifications have already taken place in Germany. The visa is merely the final confirmation. Why can't this confirmation be issued digitally? Why aren't there "flying commissions" in safe neighboring countries? The answer is simple: there's a lack of political will. They're hiding behind the argument of "duty of care" for their own personnel, while completely ignoring their duty of care to the German economy and the safety of Iranian applicants.

This inaction is systemic. It's a form of passive migration management that's bleeding small and medium-sized businesses dry. While we're working overtime in our practices because positions remain unfilled, the Foreign Office sends standardized emails urging us to "regularly check the embassy's website." This is an insult to every business owner. We're not talking about a minor inconvenience here. We're talking about ruined investments. Veterinary practices in southwestern Germany depend on these skilled professionals to ensure basic medical care. If the Foreign Office is unable to fulfill its core responsibilities in Iran, then it is actively jeopardizing the national infrastructure.

One could fill over 1,000 words simply listing the empty phrases that reach us from Berlin. "We are working on solutions," "the situation is complex"—these are smokescreens intended to mask the fundamental failure of the state organization. Anyone who... Visa in Iran Blocking it blocks the future of German veterinary medicine and presumably other German industries that also suffer from the same problem.

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4. The skilled worker lie: Intentional, but actively prevented

Germany needs skilled workers – that's the mantra from every ministry. Expensive campaigns are being launched in India, Vietnam, and South America. Laws are being changed, supposedly to lower the barriers. But the issue... Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran This rhetoric is exposed as a mere facade. It's the great skilled worker lie of current politics. If a government truly wanted to attract skilled workers, it would roll out the red carpet for those who already have an employment contract and whose qualifications are recognized.

Instead, we are witnessing bureaucratic sabotage. The impression arises that while the state readily accepts the money of the middle class for these procedures, it delays the actual immigration of the skilled elite as long as possible through administrative hurdles. It's a perfidious game: outwardly, they present themselves as cosmopolitan and welcoming to immigration, but inwardly they erect walls of paperwork. Those who work as veterinarians in Iran belong to the educated elite. These are people we urgently need for our highly technological practices. They bring expertise that we can no longer produce in sufficient quantities here.

The "lie" is to pretend that the problem lies solely with the country of origin or the applicants' lack of qualifications. That's not true. The bottleneck is the German bureaucracy. We have veterinarians who speak fluent German, who have passed all the exams, and whose criminal record is clean. That these people ultimately encounter a „The visa office failed due to a "technical malfunction"., This is a political indictment of its own poor state. If the government wants to attract skilled workers, it must also ensure that the entrance door functions properly. The issue... Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran This shows us that while politics may whistle the tune of progress, it plays the instruments of obstruction.

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5. The middle class: The pack mule of the nation

Here we come to the most cynical part of the story. We, the middle class, are the nation's workhorses. We finance this country, we educate, we keep the supply chain running. And we are the ones who solve the problems created by politicians. For years we were told that "neurosurgeons and engineers" were crossing the border anonymously – people who were often not even qualified professionals. —we fight so around the actual skilled workers.

This time there is no anonymity. There is no uncertainty about qualifications. We handpicked our future colleagues. We interviewed them, we assessed their expertise, we integrated them into our team even before they arrived. These are the people we need to make the Shortage of skilled workers in veterinary medicine to defeat. And it is precisely these people who are being blocked.

It's an outrage: Those who arrive without a passport or qualifications are often tolerated and cared for for years. But highly qualified veterinarians with employment contracts and prior approval, who properly apply, are turned away at the embassy in Tehran. We, as business owners, bear the full risk. We pay the headhunters, we finance the language courses, we vouch for integration, and we even rent apartments that then stand empty for months because... Visa in Iran will not be granted.

We're the scapegoats left to clean up the mess of a dysfunctional diplomacy. The pack mule is slowly collapsing under the weight of bureaucratic ignorance. If politics continues like this, there will soon be no more veterinarians in rural areas – and the responsibility for that lies with the ladies and gentlemen in the air-conditioned offices of the Foreign Office.

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FAQ: Everything you need to know about the shortage of skilled veterinarians and visas for Iran

6. Our demands: Actions instead of ticket numbers

We demand an immediate end to these stalling tactics. The issue Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran We don't need more working groups, we need decisions.

1. Immediate prioritization of § 81a proceedings: Every skilled worker who has a legally valid prior approval must receive an appointment for visa issuance within 48 hours – if necessary digitally or via courier.
2. Opening of embassies of third countries: The Foreign Office must immediately order that Iranian professionals be able to apply for visas in neighboring countries without having to prove residency there. This is an emergency measure that is legally permissible if the ministry so chooses.
3. Establishment of a task force focused on small and medium-sized enterprises: We need contact persons at the Foreign Office who solve problems, not just generate ticket numbers. If an employer pays 411 euros for an expedited procedure, they have a right to a functioning process.

The Iranian candidates are ready. We are ready. The only thing missing is a state that takes its own laws seriously. We will no longer stand by and watch our practices bleed dry while people die in Tehran and files are shuffled around in Berlin. The issue Skilled worker shortage in veterinary medicine, visa for Iran This needs to be resolved now – before the last veterinarian in the southwest locks the door forever.

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