# American with work permit/visa questions



## kristinrae (Mar 11, 2015)

I'm sorry if this has been covered already. I have searched this topic and haven't came across an American in my situation. I need help figuring this out! I have an interview for a job in Berlin. I want to sound somewhat knowledgeable of the work visa/permit process if, or I should say when, the topic comes up. First off, are a work permit and a work visa the same thing? Do people use the terms interchangeably? What is the process for an American that has been offered a job? Is it my responsibility or the employers to obtain my work permit/visa? Would I want a blue card or work permit/visa? Is this something the employer decides? How long until I can actually work in Berlin? I plan for my husband and son to move over this summer. Will my husband have any problems getting a work permit/visa? Thanks, everyone!


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

kristinrae said:


> I'm sorry if this has been covered already. I have searched this topic and haven't came across an American in my situation. I need help figuring this out! I have an interview for a job in Berlin. I want to sound somewhat knowledgeable of the work visa/permit process if, or I should say when, the topic comes up. First off, are a work permit and a work visa the same thing? Do people use the terms interchangeably? What is the process for an American that has been offered a job? Is it my responsibility or the employers to obtain my work permit/visa? Would I want a blue card or work permit/visa? Is this something the employer decides? How long until I can actually work in Berlin? I plan for my husband and son to move over this summer. Will my husband have any problems getting a work permit/visa? Thanks, everyone!



It all depends a bit on what kind of job you apply for (on white list or not, resident labour market test required or not, etc.) and how high your salary is going to be.

In general, a visa is issued outside the country, a permit is issued in country.

So, for many visa nationals it will go like this: the employer gets approval from the department of employment, the applicant applies for a work visa which is issued outside the country and valid for 90 days and then goes to the local Ausländerbehörde after arrival to convert this into a work/residence permit.

I think Americans (and Australians, Japanese, etc.) have the option to arrive under the visa waiver programme and apply straight away for a work/residence permit but in that case you have to really, REALLY be sure that it will be issued, because you can't start working right away if you enter as a tourist and what would you do if you move all the way to Germany and then they say no?

Whether you can get a BlueCard depends mostly on your job type and salary:

Eu Blue Card

The biggest differences between work permit and bluecard are:

Work permit:

- accompanying spouse does not automatically have the right to work (an Australian friend of mine had lots of fun calling herself a "Hausfrau by law" because she could not work for three years - although I still think after the first year this was the fault of their useless relocation agency.) 
- automatically expires if you are outside of Germany for 6 months or more


Bluecard:

- dependents have the right to work
- possibility of faster/easier route to an indefinite residence permit 
- you can stay outside Germany for up to 12 months
- downside: restrictions regarding job changes and moving to another EU country in the first 2 years

Moving in the summer is not impossible but depending on whether you need to go through the labour market test and how swiftly the employer gets you documents together it might be autumn by the time you can actually start.

When is your interview?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Quick partial answer.

The terms work visa and work permit are used somewhat interchangeably, but there is a difference - a visa is something you obtain outside a country that you need to gain entry, while a permit is what you need to remain. Americans are lucky in that they can apply directly to the foreigner's office - Ausländerbehörde - for work and residence permits within 90 days of arrival, without requiring a visa first. (Technically there's no such thing as a work permit per se, but rather a residence permit - Aufenhaltserlaubnis - with permission to work.)

I'm not familiar with the details of the Blue Card, or its advantages and disadvantages.

In your situation you would apply for a residence permit on the basis of the job offer, but this depends on the German authorities' granting you permission to work. Without EU citizenship you have no right to live and work in Germany. Your chance of success depends on the nature of the work. Software and IT seem to be pretty good for foreigners these days, bartending or manual labour less so.

I don't actually know much about the mechanics of the process, but the way I think it works is that your employer submits a request to something called the ZAV for something called a Vorrangprüfung, which decides whether you'd be allowed to take the job. Assuming yes, at that point you show up in Berlin, march down to the Ausländerbehörde and request an Aufenhalterserlaubnis. If all the paperwork is in order (you'd need to have registered your residence, provide proof of health insurance and so on) you can be approved on the spot.

On edit: I was simultaneously posting the same information as the post above. One point I wasn't clear on, Americans can apply for a visa if they so choose, which is nice from a security point of view - you know you'll be allowed to stay before you show up - but they don't have to. No idea what the timelines are for the Vorrangprüfung and the visa. Wait times at the Ausländerbehörde can be bad but now you can book appointments online so that could be scheduled shortly after arrival.


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## kristinrae (Mar 11, 2015)

This is immensely helpful! I will private message you the details. Thank you!


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## kristinrae (Mar 11, 2015)

Oh I forgot to mention my interview is Wednesday of this week.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

You might need five posts to PM, or just ask questions here if it's nothing too private. If you haven't already found it, a better source of advice a very active Germany-specific forum that due to (annoying) rules I can't name here, but the words "toy" and "town" might be in the title, were one to Google that.


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