Tag Archives: Relocation

Flat or holiday apartments Berlin

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New decision concerning holiday apartments in Berlin!

About 16000 flats are now allowed to be rented as holiday apartments as they are used only rarely by their owners. The administrative court of Berlin decided that secondary residences may be rented out to tourists and are not covered by the “Zweckentfremdungsgesetz” (law of misappropriation).
What consequences does this decision have for the already tense housing market?

Berlin’s housing market is tense since several years and will be tense in future. It needs to be awaited whether and how the decision influences the market. However, only flats which are used as secondary residence are allowed to be rented out, and are only allowed to be rented for several days or a few weeks a per year. The owners need to proof their own usage of the flat. Hence, the flat wont be on the housing market, even without the decision.

Online Relocation – Save you money and time

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Because of Brexit, a job offer or family issues, you are planning to move to Germany? Save money and time by informing yourself via an online relocation portal. Online relocation portals provide you with information about when to do what.

They tell you which administrative steps are most important, and the order in which you have to complete them. Furthermore, some portals provide handy hints and additional services, if you desire.

Some portals even provide information, tailor-made to your individual circumstances. This facilitates a smooth relocation process, which you can organize from your home country already.

Germany and the EU Blue Card

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The EU Blue Card is a special residence permit for workers coming from non EU countries. Everyone, having a German university degree or an in Germany acknowledged degree and earning more than € 49600 per year can apply for the EU Blue Card. People in fields of highly demanded qualifications need to fulfill lower conditions of a yearly income of € 38688. EU Blue Card holders enjoy the benefit of being granted the permanent residence permission after 33 or 21 months already.

Germany adopted the EU Blue Card in 2012 in order to combat the rising shortage of specialists. 41624 Blue Cards were issued until the end of 2015, mostly in the states of Bavaria (München), Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart) and Lower Saxony.

German think tanks and economists want to push the EU Blue Card further and want to lower the conditions applicable to university graduates within and outside of the so-called shortage sectors.
Do you fulfill the conditions for the EU Blue Card in Germany? How to apply for it? Special services are provided for EU Blue Card holder and those who want to apply for the EU Blue Card.

  • Supporting you in the application process – Which documents are necessary?
  • Supporting you in moving to Germany – What documents do I need? How to find a flat? What else is necessary?
  • Supporting you during your first time in Germany – Where do I find a language school to learn German?

Find out more here

Pathways to Germany – Part 3 Students

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This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Pathways to Germany

You want to move and reside in Germany in order to follow your studies? You have a school-leaving certificate and a proof of admission to a German University? Or you want to apply for course of study in Germany?

What do I need to do before going to Germany?
For both cases you first need to make an appointment at the German embassy in your country in order to apply for a visa. The visa is granted for 1-3 months. Bear in mind waiting and processing times at the embassies and do not do it last minute before leaving to Germany.

What do I need to do once I entered Germany?
Even if you do not have an admission to a German university before entering Germany you can still apply for a residence permit.
After having entered Germany it is of utmost importance to register with the municipality of the city as soon as possible. This is a condition to register the with foreign nationals’ registration authority, which is responsible for you in Germany.

Registration at the municipality office – why is it that important?

They tell you which documents you need in order to apply for a residence permit and you apply here for the residence permit.

Handy hints:

  • make appointments early in time in order to circumvent long waiting times and delays.
  • notice: the relevant immigration authority for students in Berlin is located at Keplerstraße 2, 10589 Berlin now
  • in order to facilitate and accelerate the process you can inform yourself about the forms you need online at various platforms such as gohelp.y. You can print all forms and checklists at home and take them with you for your appointment.

Pathways to Germany – Part2 Employees

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This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Pathways to Germany

You have a recognized or comparable university degree or a vocational diploma in an understaffed profession? Or you already have a job offer for skilled or highly qualified employment in Germany, which you want to take up?

What do I need to do before going to Germany?
For both cases you first need to make an appointment at the German embassy in your country in order to apply for a visa. The visa is granted for 1-3 months. Bear in mind waiting and processing times at the embassies and do not do it last minute before leaving to Germany.

What do I need to do once I entered Germany?
After having entered Germany it is of utmost importance to register with the municipality of the city as soon as possible. This is a condition to register the with foreign nationals’ registration authority, which is responsible for you in Germany. They tell you which documents you need in order to apply for a residence permit and you apply here for the residence permit and work permit.

If you have a university degree or a vocational diploma in an understaffed profession you do not need to have a concrete job offer in order to apply for a residence permit, in this case you apply for the EU Blue Card which enables you to reside in Germany.

Handy hints:
– make appointments early in time in order to circumvent long waiting times and delays.
– in order to facilitate and accelerate the process you can inform yourself about the forms you need online at various platforms such as gohelp.y. You can print all forms and checklists at home and take them with you for your appointment.

Pathways to Germany Part1 Job-seekers

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This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Pathways to Germany

You have a recognized or comparable university degree? You want to work and live in Germany, you want to seek employment here and you can prove sufficient financial means?
In this case you can entry Germany and reside here. However, administrative work is to be done as well.

What do I need to do before going to Germany?
Generally, you should find out about special and intergovernmental agreements between your country and Germany. Make an appointment at the German embassy in your country and apply for a visa (if necessary). Bear in mind long waiting times for appointments and processing time for the visa! The visa is valid for 1-3 months.

What do I need to do once I entered Germany?
After having entered Germany it is of utmost importance to register with the municipality of the city. This is a condition to register the with foreign nationals’ registration authority, which is responsible for you in Germany.

They tell you which documents you need in order to apply for a residence permit and you apply here for the residence permit.

Handy hints:
– make appointments early in time in order to circumvent long waiting times and delays.
– in order to facilitate and accelerate the process you can inform yourself about the forms you need online at various platforms such as gohelp.y. You can print all forms and checklists at home and take them with you for your appointment.

Berlin: Registration at the municipality office – procedure

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This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Authorities

You can do your registration in every municipality office in any district hence, in entire Berlin regardless in which district you live. It is better to arrange an appointment at the office, but sometimes it is hard to get one.

If you go there directly without having an appointment for registering, often this implies long waiting times. Another possibility is to make an appointment beforehand, this is possible via internet or by phone.

For the registration procedure you have to take the completed form and your identity card or passport with you. If you want to register your family as well, you have to take your marriage certificate and your children’s birth certificates with you (only first registration in Berlin). If you want to register someone moving in the flat together with you, you need a letter of attorney and the identity card or passport of her/

Berlin: Registration at the municipality office – why is it that important?

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This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Authorities

Registration at the municipality office – why is it that important?

You are legally required to register your place of residence in Berlin. That is one important reason. The second reason is that as you are coming from a third country and want to apply for a residence permit as well as a working permit, it is essential to register. The national registration authority “LABO” in Berlin is only responsible for you once you are registered in Berlin. Your application cannot be processed without registration in Berlin.

The next very important reason for registration is: once you start your employment, your employer needs your tax id “steuerliche Identifikationsnummer” otherwise he is not able to do your monthly play slip. This tax id is organized by the municipality office once you are registered. After a few days your tax id will be sent to your address.

Lastly, if you want to apply for child benefit in Germany you need to be registered as well. You have to provide, in order to fill in the form, your name, address etc. you have to fill in your tax id as well.

 

EU freedom of movement for workers “Freizügigkeit”

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New Office for the Equal Treatment of EU Workers “Gleichbehandlungsstelle” is established in Berlin. Within the European Union (EU), citizens of EU member states enjoy the right to move freely between countries to work.
The objective of the Equal Treatment Office is to support EU citizens in the rights of freedom of movement for workers they have in Germany. This new office is therefore aimed at EU citizens exercising their right to freedom of movement in Germany permanent, seasonal or as frontier workers or jobseekers, as well as their families.

The support provided to EU workers and their families in Germany includes advice and information regarding:
Access to employment
Conditions of employment and work
Access to social and tax advantages
Access to training
Access to housing
Access to school education and vocational training
Membership of trade unions and eligibility for workers’ representative bodies
Assistance afforded by employment offices

Contact: info@eu-gleichbehandlungsstelle.de

New City, new country: Relocation – do it yourself!

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This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Relocation

You want to work in Berlin, Munich or Stuttgart and you are coming from an EU Member State?

When moving to Germany in order to work here, the most important question is whether your qualifications are accepted.
In the recognition procedure, the relevant competent authority will check whether your foreign professional or vocational qualification is equivalent to a German qualification. The equivalence check takes place on the basis of stipulated formal criteria such as content and duration of training. Any relevant occupational experience you may have is also taken into account. You must be able to show that you have completed a professional or vocational qualification which was not obtained in Germany.
European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOD) had designed an European self-assessment grid for language skills and digital competence.

Online relocation tools can support you with this. Most effective are online tools which take into account your individual facts. You just need to provide the system with information about your work status, qualifications and skills; the online tool will then provide a step-by-step path with all steps you need to take. One such online tool is Gohelp.y.

Outlook for the next part of the series: Relocation with children. What is important when moving with children?