Monthly Archives: August 2017

Working & Living in Germany – Europass

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This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Traps & Myths about EU permits

The Europass – What is it really?

The Europass is not (although it might sound like it) a residence, travel or work permit; it has nothing to do with travelling, living or working in the European Union. It is not a document you need to hand in to get a working permit or a residence permit, nor is it a document for acknowledging your qualifications or vocational training.

Thus, the name is quite irritating, although the idea behind the Europass is promising. It is a service to facilitate communication of your skills, qualifications, education and other job application documents. It should provide a platform to facilitate comparison of skills, different university degrees and other qualifications.

Education and training authorities can define and communicate their curricula content, citizens can use predefined forms for e.g. their CVs, language skills.

If done and used by a majority this would enable employers to understand the skills and qualifications of their workforce more easily and comparison would be facilitated and job application rounds in the EU could become fairer and more transparent.

Additionally, it is possible to ask for the “Europass Mobility” document, which records knowledge and skills in other European countries, for the “Certificate Supplement”, which describes the knowledge and skills acquired and is based on your education and training certificates. Further, the “Diploma Certificate” is issued on basis of your knowledge and skills acquired by holders of higher education degrees.

However, these are lot of “ifs”, “cans” and “woulds”. The Europass has still some flaws: it is a platform providing several documents and forms, however they are still to be filled in by the persons themselves and no one has to fill them in. There are no real guidelines to fill in the Language passport or the CV, which makes comparison subjective and not really easier than comparing two different CVs.

It is questionable to what extent the Europass meets its objectives at the moment and how useful it is at the moment. However, it is a good idea and hopefully in some years comparison of skills, qualifications as well as of academic and vocational training is fair and easier throughout Europe. To achieve this, however, we need some musts and guidelines and really comparable documents and grade scales.

BLUE CARD EU – how to apply

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This entry is part of 2 in the series EU BLUE CARD

We are asked very often, “can I apply for Blue card EU electronically?” – Regarding Germany definitely no:

The Blue Card EU is a specific work permit for NON EU people. It is not possible to apply for the Blue Card EU online. Although, there are some differences on the exact procedure of applying throughout some German cities, overall the procedure is the same.

You have to go to the authority in person (at some authorities you even need to make an appointment beforehand). Furthermore, you have to hand in specific documents and forms and therefore have to bring all papers with you to the authority (hint: check gohelpy to know which documents you need and how to prepare them).

In order to save time and money you check if you meet the criteria for the EU Blue Card before applying:

  • You have a binding job offer (on expert level or job of the white list)
  • You have recognition of your professional and vocational training
  • Your salary is higher than € 50,800 (job of white list i.e. IT, Doctor, scientist  € 39,624 per year)

It is only possible to apply for the EU Blue Card if you fulfill all criteria and have all documents with you when applying in person at the authority.

Relocation – start your journey with the right way

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This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Relocation

There are many things you can do in advance to make your way to the new country easier:

When you relocate, you’ll have so many decisions to make that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Do as much research as you can before you go. Make good use of social networks, they can help you to avoid isolation that can occur when moving abroad.Learn the language from day one. Every step you take in learning the language of your host nation brings you closer to the culture.

Gather information as much as possible about the new country, city and your potential neighborhood.

Become acquainted with the culture of your host nation. Which are typical characteristics of the people? Which are the main behavioral differences between your home country and your host nation.

Immigration to Germany

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This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Authorities

Recommendation: Employers should be proactive in relocating employees to Germany and should initiate the process as soon as possible to not cause unwanted delays. Due to a lack of resources in the German Immigration authorities authorities and an unexpected high volume of resident/work permit applications the current adjudication times are between 8 and 12 weeks.

The problems include the inability of offering appointments on short notice or answering phone calls relating to applications. Especially affected are complex application which require special consultations and often additional training for staff. In order to address the current capacity problems new people are hired, nevertheless regularizing the lack of resources will take some time as the new staff needs specific and adequate training as well as job experience.

Immigration will remain unchanged for companies, which relocate employees to Germany, however guidance cannot be provided by the authorities to do so at the moment. Further additional requests by the authorities asking for provision of additional documents could be experienced by foreigners and their employers. Additionally, inquiries in relation to qualifications, salary rates, benefits and employment conditions could be requested.