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Parent Category: Entry
Created on Tuesday, 25 November 2008 01:53
Last Updated on Saturday, 25 January 2014 16:44

Hallo Ausländer ! Does Germany want Aliens to Enter and even Stay Here?

Everybody has his or her special situation, everybody would like to get in as easy and quickly as possible. Do you believe that especially this presentation will even all paths to your permit? Wake up! There is no one clear-cut path to Germany! There will always be more or less red tape to overcome.

One great ease has come true: the one-stop agency. You only need to visit the foreigners office to apply for a residence and work permit. While the labor agencies (= Arbeitsagenturen) make the decision to grant or refuse the working permits. The Ausländeramt (foreigners or immigration office) will only decide on the residence. However, the foreigners office will communicate both decisions to you. Another exciting detail is that every residency permit must clearly either permit or forbid (self-)employment. Investors are so dearly needed that local chambers of commerce have started to open "Business Immigration Services". Though this is a fact, they covertly admit to be a toothless tiger in the administration process.

During the last 4 decades, Germany has been more or less in the paradox situation of wanting, if at all, to have tourists but not any workers immigrate. On the other hand, certain professions were gradually becoming more needed. A textbook key case based on implementation orders was to have a millionaire come to Germany just to live off his wealth without working here. Even those persons received ignorant reception from immigration authorities when wanting to immigrate – if they had the “wrong” citizenship. But on the other hand, business (in all shades of the word) is actually needed. Such experiences and more led the politicians to adopt the Directive with one year delay and also with a big plus by European comparison. German immigration law now contains instruments of modern labor migration. Hopefully the administration will not block the needed foreign workforce by interpreting the rules too strictly or through mere bureaucratic friction.

Germany’s own workforce is unproportionally losing its young talents due to the aging of the German population in general. Not enough children are being born. These facts give foreign talents a chance. This opportunity does not at all mean that uneducated persons looking for low-scale jobs are welcome to enter the country. This country has its own share of uneducated and these persons are to be placed first. The continuing economic boom in the coming years demands skilled persons for a vast majority of professions. Some federal states expect a shortage of 20,000 or even 200,000 workers in the coming years.

As has been since 2005, the more talents you have that Germany needs, the more privileges you will be awarded. The greatest right / award will be permanent residency. Comparatively, Germany only reluctantly grants citizenship. You will surely not be naturalized just because you bring business or are extraordinarily highly skilled. For more details on German citizenship, please click to the relevant chapter of this portal, www.lg2g.info/citizenship.

If you seriously want to immigrate to Germany, arm yourself! No, not with weapons but with documents proving your professional experience. German officials love formalities and painstakingly frown on formal sloppiness like more than two typos on a single page…

As of August 1, 2012 a new reform came into force. The focus of this modernization is to more effectively lure highly skilled persons as well as businesses and keep them here for good after settling down. The most prominent updating is introducing the Blue Card EU.

The general rule for any and all kinds of a residence permit is: The more advantage you bring to Germany the better status you shall receive from the beginning.

Before entering Germany, you need to know if you need a visa to enter or not. Stop, for a moment please! In order to correctly understand this presentation, you must know two terms form German legalese: “Visum (= visa)” and “Aufenthaltsgenehmigung, -titel (= residence permit, residence title)”. Visa is a permission to remain in Germany for a short-term period while a residence permit (up to six months, never qualifying for permanent residency) is for an indefinite permission, which will qualify for permanent residency. It is just like the difference between “visit” and “stay”.

If you are not from a buddy country, you must have a visa prior to entering Germany! A visa legalizes your entry into and your stay in Germany for up to three months per half year. It is not really intended to be extended any further. You can only get an exception if you are hospitalized, incapable of traveling, or summoned to court or an administrative office. These exceptions are handled very strictly. This time you will have to leave — but next time apply for a national visa if a longer stay is foreseeable and reasonably explainable.

Pursuant to a visa waiver program, citizens of buddy countries may enter without first applying for a visa. Some special buddy country citizens may apply for a residence permit from inside Germany without first having to leave and apply from home. The rules for obtaining and prolonging residency depend exclusively on the reason you are here.

The new law explicitly and actually exclusively names the reasons for a residence permit:

 

Click here to read previous introductions on immigration to Germany !

Additional information