Kerala aids mass migration of second generation of nurses to Germany

After the church-driven irregular recruitment of a large number of nurses from Kerala to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s in the post-World War II period, these nurses later earned the moniker “brown angles”, now Kerala is witnessing a second wave of successful and structured recruitment of nurses in Germany. This time, mass recruitment is being led jointly by the Kerala government and the German Federal Employment Agency. Currently, 900 nurses from Kerala have been deployed to Germany and a batch of 700 will leave for Germany soon.

While Kerala’s old connection with Germany from the early 19th century and the influence of German missionaries were instrumental in triggering the migration of thousands of nurses from Kerala to Germany with the support of the church, the ‘Triple Win’ programme, now implemented by NoRKA Roots under the Kerala government in conjunction with the German Federal Employment Agency, is creating the second wave in the migration of nurses. The legacy of nurses who previously immigrated to Germany also paved the way for the second wave of immigration.

To talk HinduAjith Kolassery, Chief Executive Officer of NoRKA-Roots, the field agency of the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department of the Kerala government – Kerala has sent over 900 nurse candidates to Germany by October 2025 and another 700 candidates are in various stages of deployment. Germany had previously signed an agreement with the government of Kerala, including Slovakia, Mexico, Vietnam, etc. He had tried a recruitment program with countries. However, the Kerala model has evolved into the most successful fully structured recruitment drive from India to Germany, with the program winning the hearts of people in Germany as well as creating a win-win situation for the healthcare sector in the host country and the nurses in Kerala, now fondly called the nursing capital of the country.

The recruitment process includes identifying the right candidates and upskilling them, providing German language training in Kerala and sending the most successful candidates to the target country. After the successful implementation of the project, Germany also continued to recruit nurses from Karnataka, where the Karnataka Vocational Training and Skills Development Corporation (KVTSDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the German authorities and Telangana.

In addition, Germany is in the XIIth century in the field of Science. Apart from providing vocational training through NoRKA Roots to students who have completed the grade, it has expanded its recruitment scope in Kerala by seeking the posting of caretakers and electricians. The most striking feature of the recruitment program is that no intermediaries are involved in the process and all expenses are covered by Germany.

The colour, associated with compassionate care and Indian skin, led to the coining of the nickname “brown angels” during the nurses’ initial migration from Kerala.