BERLIN, July 9: The German parliament on Friday passed into law a new immigration act aimed at attracting skilled workers and making it easier to drive out foreign extremists.

The legislation, ratified by the Bundesrat upper house, is the product of four years of debate between Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's centre-left government and the conservative opposition.

The act will come into law on January 1, 2005. It opens the door to more foreigners from outside the European Union, promotes the integration of newcomers, reforms asylum policy and beefs up security checks for foreigners on German soil.

Germany, which is home to around 7.3 million foreigners, or about nine per cent of its total population, has been facing a skills shortage and a demographic crunch that have undermined its already shaky economy. -AFP