# Is it possible for my girlfriend to get a job in Germany?



## Sleutho

I was recently offered an engineering job with an international company with which I would be moving to Germany for 2 years. My Visa would be supported by the company. 

The problem is that I have a girlfriend that I would like to come with me, but she does not have a specialized background in engineering/IT/science/etc. From doing a little initial research, it sounds like it is very hard for an American citizen to find a non-specialized job in Germany due to the laws that give preferential treatment for employment to German and European citizens.

We are both American citizens without a strong background in German, although we would have 6 - 9 more months here before moving to improve our German skills and hopefully find her a job. From just looking on the internet, it seems like the easiest jobs for her to find would be either an American government job, an English teaching job, or a job with an American company. The job details are not finalized, but it sounds like I would be moving to a smaller town somewhere in Bavaria...possibly Friedrichshafen, so I think it would be harder to find a job in one of those categories than it would be in a larger city. What other job opportunities are there for someone in this position? Possibly in the hotel or restaurant industry?

This sounds like it would be a great opportunity for me and I don't want to turn it down because she can't come. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## MrTweek

What kind of visa would your girlfriend be on?
Would getting married be an option for you? This would probably make everything much easier.

Unskilled jobs are indeed hard to find without any German skills. Anything that involves talking to people is more or less impossible. Even hotels or restaurants (except for the few Irish pubs that you find in any city) will require at least basic German.
American government jobs or teaching jobs could work, but they might be hard to get without any qualifications.
Even in German branches of American companies, the primary working language will probably still be German, but they might obviously be more tolerant towards non-German speakers.

On the other hand, in 6-9 months you can teach you enough basics in German to get around and become fluent after a couple of months in the country if you really want to.
That'd make everything much much easier.


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## ALKB

Sleutho said:


> I was recently offered an engineering job with an international company with which I would be moving to Germany for 2 years. My Visa would be supported by the company.
> 
> The problem is that I have a girlfriend that I would like to come with me, but she does not have a specialized background in engineering/IT/science/etc. From doing a little initial research, it sounds like it is very hard for an American citizen to find a non-specialized job in Germany due to the laws that give preferential treatment for employment to German and European citizens.
> 
> We are both American citizens without a strong background in German, although we would have 6 - 9 more months here before moving to improve our German skills and hopefully find her a job. From just looking on the internet, it seems like the easiest jobs for her to find would be either an American government job, an English teaching job, or a job with an American company. The job details are not finalized, but it sounds like I would be moving to a smaller town somewhere in Bavaria...possibly Friedrichshafen, so I think it would be harder to find a job in one of those categories than it would be in a larger city. What other job opportunities are there for someone in this position? Possibly in the hotel or restaurant industry?
> 
> This sounds like it would be a great opportunity for me and I don't want to turn it down because she can't come. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks



There is no girlfriend visa. 

She would have qualify in her own right, most probably employer-sponsored and employers only go to that length if they can't find anybody who is already local. Also, even if you find an employer willing to sponsor, the Federal Employment Agency would still have to approve the application and unless she is a medical doctor or an engineer, a resident labour market test will have to be carried out.

In short, this will not happen for an unqualified position.

If you marry, she can come with you and in case you are getting the blue card, she'd also be allowed to work right away (not always the case for dependants under other visa categories) which would make finding a job at least possible.


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## Stefanie1802

I think learning German will be key really. Like people here said, it's nearly impossible for your girlfriend to find unskilled work without being able to speak German FLUENTLY!


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