# job search difficult despite good conditions



## raisin bunny (Feb 28, 2016)

I am new to this forum but so glad I found it because I hope to find people here that can help me answer some of the many questions I have. 
My (f, German) fiancé (m, American) is working in Germany (where we met). Since his current work is only temporary (thankfully he has over a year left at his current job) he has started looking for a new job. He has gotten a couple of phone interviews and was invited to a personal interview. (He did well but the job was given to somebody else). Despite him being very well educated and trying really hard, a lot of times companies won’t consider his application. His German is not that great, yet, but he is very willing to learn (and in the process of doing so). His field of work is science and a lot of the jobs he applies to are actually posted in English so I don’t know how much it matters that his German is not the best, yet.
He spent a lot of time on his application/ resumé/ CV and it was reviewed by other people so I doubt that that is the problem. 
Right now we are looking in a specific area (which seems to be a really good area for his kind of work and the area isn’t that small.) We are willing to extend that search to other areas in the future.
I am wondering how much it matters that he is not a EU citizen. Will Germans or EU citizens always be preferred?
Might things get easier for him when we get married? (Because we are engaged anyway, I’ll marry him tomorrow if it means it’ll make the job search easier…)
If anybody has any thoughts or experiences I would be very grateful for sharing!
Thank you so much!

Also: I need to figure out the whole process of getting married (paperwork, etc) If anybody has any links to other posts (because I’m sure that questions has been asked, I just need to spend more time searching) please share : )


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

To get right to the point, 


> I am wondering how much it matters that he is not a EU citizen. Will Germans or EU citizens always be preferred?


Yes, it matters a whole lot that he is not an EU citizen and that his German isn't the best. But most of all, he needs to make sure his visa status is clear on his CV - if he got his current visa through his employer, there's a good chance that it does NOT give him work privileges in Germany with any other employer. 

And yes, if you were married, he would be able to change his status and get general work privileges. It may take a while to process after the marriage takes place (and chances are, there are requirements he would have to meet to obtain the equivalent of a spouse visa - potentially language classes or ability and a certain level of "integration" however determined). 

Even for jobs posted in English, or in international companies where English language skills are required for employment, chances are they are still going to want a decent, conversational level of German. At a minimum, it is necessary for him to interact with the colleagues and (maybe more importantly) the bosses. 

Without a general right to work in Germany (i.e. as the spouse of a German national in your case), the employer is going to have to obtain work authorization, which often means they have to show that there is no local candidate, nor an EU national candidate available who can do the job. That can be difficult (and for the employer, expensive) to prove.
Cheers,
Bev


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## raisin bunny (Feb 28, 2016)

Hey Bev,
Thank you so much for the exptremely quick reply!! That helps a lot!! 
His current job is a research project (post doc to be exact). I'll look into the requirements for that. 
It sounds very much like getting married soon would be helpful. I'm a little surprised to hear how difficult it seems to be for a potential employer to give a job to a non EU citizen... 
I have looked into the necessary steps to get married but haven't been too searious about it, yet, because we were going to get legally married close to when we have the actual party with friends and family (next year). 
If you (or anybody else) has any info on how that works, what kind of paperwork is required, etc, please let me know!
Thank you so very much!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Since you're German and living in Germany, why not pop round to your local Standesamt and ask them what's needed for you to marry an American?

It may be quicker and easier for you to go get married in Denmark, since one of you isn't German; by all accounts there is far less bureaucracy involved than trying to do this in Germany.

Once married he will have a residence permit with unrestricted work privileges. I don't know if this happens immediately - he may be required to pass a language exam and complete an integration course first.

At this point, as a post-doc he may not even have a proper work permit, more likely a residence permit allowing him to participate in a research project with a stipend (which is a bit different from having a real job). Unless he's in a specialized field with high demand, he will be at a disadvantage applying for jobs as a US citizen. Marriage would simplify matters, and speaking German would improve his chances.


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## raisin bunny (Feb 28, 2016)

Thank you!! 
I will go to the Standesamt and ask what they need for us to get married. Do you happen to know who I would have to ask about the work permit and how he could get that after we are married? (I'm sure I'll be able to find something on google as well but thought I'd ask) 
Thanks guys, you're super helpful to me!!


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

raisin bunny said:


> Thank you!!
> I will go to the Standesamt and ask what they need for us to get married. Do you happen to know who I would have to ask about the work permit and how he could get that after we are married? (I'm sure I'll be able to find something on google as well but thought I'd ask)
> Thanks guys, you're super helpful to me!!


After you are married (and are registered at the same address and have both regular health insurance if that is not the case, yet), you'll have to make an appointment at the local Ausländerbehörde and apply for a spouse residence permit which includes a work permit with full access to the job market.

As he has a university degree, they will most probably waive the integration course - take his degree along!

The permit is usually granted for a year, after which you need to go back and they check whether you are still married and living together, etc.

The next permit is then for two more years.

After that, he can either apply for an indefinite permit (needs to meet language and job requirements and such) or get another 2-year spouse permit. If he meets the requirements he could also apply for naturalistaion at that point. Again, subject to meeting all the requirements.


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## tcreek (Sep 13, 2010)

Bevdeforges said:


> To get right to the point,
> 
> Yes, it matters ........ and that his German isn't the best.



I would have to disagree with you on that. She did say it is in the field of science. Did you know all scientists communicate in English, and scientific papers are also published in English?

Visit the web site of CERN (Location of the Large Hadron Collider) which is in Switzerland...in English.

The fact the job postings are in English are telling they are wanting persons with English speaking abilities is required, otherwise they would be posted in the language of the country. 

I would suspect it is his immigration status which is holding him back.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

tcreek said:


> Bevdeforges said:
> 
> 
> > To get right to the point,
> ...


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I think we need to be talking apples to apples here. For an international research institute, like CERN, I agree that having the local language probably isn't nearly as critical.

However, we often get people here on the forums who are looking for "international companies" where the "company language" is English. I used to work for one of these, and honestly, the few folks in the office with only English were generally transfers from the US or UK. When hiring directly for local positions, yes, they required English. But for maintaining good working relationships within the company, they generally expected a conversational or better level of the local language. In fact, local managers would hire a good candidate whose English was weak (or sometimes even non-existent) and then send them to the company's English training classes. Even the corporate transfers didn't get company sponsored local language classes.

It just depends on whether you're going strictly research institute or private company.
Cheers,
Bev


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## raisin bunny (Feb 28, 2016)

So I have finally had the time to read through all of your wonderful comments in detail. Thank you so very much for answering my questions!! 
I am pretty sure we will get married here in Germany since we are both already here (= no travel cost) but if the process proves to be too much paperwork I am glad you told me about the options of getting married in the US and Denmark! 

I’m glad you told me that getting married would improve my fiancé’s job chances. I was not aware of how difficult it was for German companies to hire somebody from outside the EU and I probably thought his PhD would improve his chances more than it actually does. 
Thank you also for the info on the residence permit/ work privileges. (I wonder how easy it will be to participate in an integration course if he has to, I heard that there is a long wait time for those courses now) 
I had heard about needing an interpreter at the wedding (not sure if a family member would be allowed to do that, I think I read somewhere that I would not be allowed to do it). But the Standesamt will tell us. 

As for the jobs that require only English: I do think that it would be a lot better if he spoke German. Science is probably a better field for not speaking German than some other ones but not knowing the language of the country you live in is always a problem. My fiancé is trying hard to learn the language but we don’t have enough time for his German to get really good before he starts looking for a job. (When he first came here he wasn’t planning on staying here. But he studies every day now and is getting better. I wish German wasn’t as complicated as it is.) He is willing to learn and I know it is hurting his job chances that he’s not at an advanced level of German, yet. Hopefully he can find something because while we can easily get married to improve his job chances, there’s nothing that can be done to improve his language skills in a short amount of time (especially with working full time). 

Again: Thank you everybody, you are a huge help!!


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