85
votes
Accepted
How important is knowing German in Germany?
It is correct that you can get by just fine with English, but if you are looking to build relationships with people, you need to work on conversing in their native language.
With English, you will be ...
- 1,503
66
votes
How important is knowing German in Germany?
As a foreigner having lived in Germany for about 20 years, I would imagine it to be very difficult to cope in everyday life without knowing the German language. For a short visit as a tourist, you can ...
- 800
26
votes
How important is knowing German in Germany?
I depends where you go. Even my half-remembered high-school German was very useful, possibly even essential when visiting a small town in the former East on business. The engineers spoke fluent ...
- 361
25
votes
How important is knowing German in Germany?
Slightly different angle than the accepted answer: For a shot or medium visit: don't bother. German is actually a pretty difficult language to learn. This only makes sense if you think you can get to ...
19
votes
51k Euros annually for a family of 4 in Berlin: Is it enough?
Yes.
You will probably have a relatively small flat relatively far from the city center, but there are plenty of families getting by on much less.
You will pay very approximately 5k € in taxes and ...
- 1,167
15
votes
Accepted
How to answer the question "Have you been refused entry into the Federal Republic of Germany?"
If you're not certain whether to mention something, you should mention it. It's not like they don't know about it; they will have it in their records. If you don't mention it, you will appear ...
- 21k
14
votes
Accepted
In Germany, is lunch included in an 8 hour shift?
In Germany, the working time is limited by laws, in this case the general ArbZG:
§ 3 Arbeitszeit der Arbeitnehmer
Die werktägliche Arbeitszeit der Arbeitnehmer darf acht Stunden nicht überschreiten. ...
- 2,194
14
votes
Changing jobs after 6 months as a Blue Card holder
It is possible, but you will need permission.
You can freely change jobs on a Blue Card if you have already been in the country for two years. Prior to this two year period, you will need to gain ...
- 575
13
votes
Accepted
GEZ / ARD ZDF Germany Radio - can I ask not to pay for it?
No, you cannot avoid the licence fee because you don't want to watch TV.
The official website does not merely imply it but it states it pretty unambiguously, in German and in a few other languages ...
- 17.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Germany Employment Visa - "Have you lived in Germany before?" What is considered as living?
The form is asking if you have ever been in Germany on a settlement track. This would include spouse visas, family permits, work permits, asylum claims, study visas, and the like.
Therefore, in ...
- 640
12
votes
Accepted
Working in Luxemburg for non-EU citizen with valid work permit in Germany
Working permits are still national matters in the EU and your German working permit does not allow you to work in Luxembourg. To the extent that your internship counts as work, you would therefore ...
- 5,550
12
votes
Accepted
Is it true that you don't need a degree to work as an "IT specialist" in Germany? What exactly classifies as "IT specialist" in this context?
UPDATE: YES, from 01.03.2020 one does not need a degree to work as an IT specialist in Germany. Please see the following information (in German) for details:
Details on the new law:
"Eine ...
- 1,485
12
votes
51k Euros annually for a family of 4 in Berlin: Is it enough?
51k Euros is enough to live, but not enough to save (OK, it depends on your habits and life expectations).
Germany has complex taxation system. I hope this HowToGermany page helps to get an overview. ...
- 253
11
votes
Accepted
Do I need a degree in IT to apply for an EU Blue Card as a software engineer or is any degree enough?
The EU directive is somewhat vague about that and the details are left to each individual participating state. In Germany, the relevant statute is the Aufenthaltsgesetz (“Residence act”). My reading ...
- 17.4k
11
votes
Blue Card vs Work Permit for IT Specialists
If one wants to have a residence permit for the purpose of employment (if this is your main purpose of getting the residence permit) in Germany, it could be issued based on 2 paragraphs of the "...
- 1,485
11
votes
Accepted
What does (m/w) mean on German job adverts?
m stands for männlich (= male), w stands for weiblich (= female).
Exceptions aside, job advertisements have to be formulated in a gender-neutral way. There are three common ways how to do this:
Use ...
- 301
11
votes
Accepted
Would I need a visa to enter Germany if I have a permanent residence?
You would not need to apply for a visa. You would enter the country -- or any Schengen-area country -- with your foreign passport and German residence permit.
- 21k
10
votes
Accepted
What are the permit implications of voluntarily leaving a job as a US citizen Blue Card-holder in Germany?
OK, I wasn't able to find an answer to my question through my own research, so I sought out 2 different lawyers and paid each of them about 100 EUR for a consultation (which amounted to an hour in an ...
- 703
10
votes
Accepted
Can't use my Dutch bank account in Germany. Is SEPA a total lie?
What you have found here regarding direct debit is called IBAN discrimination and is against the law. Specifically, against article 9 of EU Regulation 260/2012:
A payer making a credit transfer ...
- 670
10
votes
Accepted
Does moving to a second EU country with a permanent residence from the another country, grant permanent residence permit for second country as well?
You may want to look at https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/legal-migration/long-term-residents as well; this is the page describing long term residency for the general public rather ...
- 21k
10
votes
Accepted
Deutsche Bank rejected Amazon's bill on my account, and now I must pay Amazon EUR 3.00 more for "Rücklastschriftentgelts"?
Some details:
Amazon charged you 189€. Your bank refused that for reasons they did not share with Amazon. If that happens (somebody trying to charge you and your bank refusing for whatever reason) ...
- 2,194
9
votes
Accepted
Ohio>Arizona>Germany>France driver's license conversion?
I had a resolution to this matter a few months ago, so I thought I'd post the answer. The short answer: it is possible to use the original license state as the source of reciprocity.
The long version:...
- 351
9
votes
Accepted
As a UK citizen, can I just turn up in Germany with my Colombian wife, get a job, then get residency for us both?
Now that Colombian citizens are exempted from the short-stay visa requirement for the Schengen area, the closest to the truth is scenario 1, with a few nuances. Your wife will then be able to use her ...
- 17.4k
9
votes
Status in Spain while holding a German residence permit
Ask a lawyer in Spain.
From what you are writing, you had a permit which allowed you to live and work in Germany, and also to visit other Schengen countries for 90 days out of 180.
Going to Spain to ...
- 1,167
8
votes
Accepted
Is Saarbrücken worth living in?
Saarbrücken is indeed a middle-size town. It is certainly no Berlin and also smaller than Hamburg, Munich, Cologne or Frankfort. But I don't quite agree with ectomorph and do not think that it is as ...
- 17.4k
8
votes
Accepted
I'm being charged with the Kirchensteuer after 4 month of apply the Kirchenaustritt
It is supposed to work like this: You leaving the church is automatically reported to the tax office (Finanzamt), which will update your entry in the ELStAM database. The next time your employer ...
- 325
8
votes
Status in Spain while holding a German residence permit
Since you don't mention any EU family members, I assume you had an Aufenthaltserlaubnis, a residence permit, rather than an Aufenthaltskarte, a residence card.
Your 90/180 counter started when you ...
- 21k
8
votes
Moving for a new job in England from Germany during Corona
You can book a hotel room for two weeks, self-isolate there, and only start looking for apartments after that. Extraordinary circumstances may call for extraordinary measures and, in some cases, ...
- 3,501
7
votes
Diploma for blue card in Germany
Your degree Tecnólogo em Análise e Desenvolvimento de Sistemas listed in the Anabin database, which is used to compare foreign degrees to German ones. This database is checked by immigration officers ...
- 670
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible