# Work and settle in Germany



## jollyfrancis

Hi Friends

I am new to this forum.
I wish to work in Germany and settle there.
I am working as a SAP consultant for 12 years now.
I do not have any job offer from Germany.

If anybody can guide me how to go about, would appreciate the great help.

Thanks

Jo Francis


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## ALKB

jollyfrancis said:


> Hi Friends
> 
> I am new to this forum.
> I wish to work in Germany and settle there.
> I am working as a SAP consultant for 12 years now.
> I do not have any job offer from Germany.
> 
> If anybody can guide me how to go about, would appreciate the great help.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Jo Francis


Do you have an EEA citizenship?

If not, are you from a privileged country (USA, Canada, Japan, etc.)?


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## jollyfrancis

Thanks for the reply.
I am having Indian citizenship and working in Saudi Arabia with resident permit.

Thanks again.


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## ALKB

jollyfrancis said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> I am having Indian citizenship and working in Saudi Arabia with resident permit.
> 
> Thanks again.


A few possible routes:

1 - Find an employer able and willing to sponsor you.

2 - Jobseeker visa - might be difficult what with your need for an exit visa for KSA and risk of not finding a qualifying job within six months.

3 - Student visa (Masters? PhD?) and subsequent post study work permit - most likely will need a very good level of German unless you can get into an English or bilingual programme.

Do you have dependents?

A word of caution: if you are used to KSA levels of earning and taxation you may find Germany not very attractive.


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## jollyfrancis

Thanks for the response.
One agent in Dubai contacted me and told that they can arrange for work visa. And he told us that it is easier to get work visa and they will arrange for job interviews in Germany. He is asking for around 80K INR as his service charge. 
No idea whether he is doing a genuine service and how far he will be able to help us find a suitabile job offer while we land in Germany.

Thanks.


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## Bevdeforges

Be very wary of agents offering you "work visas" for a fee. Normally, it's the employer-to-be that gets you the work visa. There are many, many fraudulent "agents" out there who will not be able to deliver what they are promising. And you wind up the one in trouble for it.


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## jollyfrancis

Oh..sorry...The agent said "job Seeker Visa" not Work Visa. My mistake !
But is it worth paying around 80K INR for getting a job seeker visa from the German Embassy valid for 6 months ?

Thanks for your prompt responses.


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## ALKB

jollyfrancis said:


> Oh..sorry...The agent said "job Seeker Visa" not Work Visa. My mistake !
> But is it worth paying around 80K INR for getting a job seeker visa from the German Embassy valid for 6 months ?
> 
> Thanks for your prompt responses.


Why would you need an agent to apply for a jobseeker visa?

Have you actually done any research on that visa?

It allows you to go to Germany for up to 6 months - if you are skilled and can prove that you have enough money to pay your living expenses for the time the visa is valid and that you have access to adequate accommodation.

You are NOT allowed to work on that visa, it's more like a pre-approval for a work visa but only if you find an employer that is able and willing to sponsor you can you apply for a work permit in country. You cannot work until the actual work permit is issued. 

So, you'd have to give up your current job (unless your employer would be willing to give you a six month leave of absence) without any guarantee of success.

Also, you'd have to show the German Embassy that you have researched Germany and life in Germany and that you have already tried to apply for jobs from where you are now.

Not enough research/not enough genuine interest in Germany is one of the top reasons for rejection for that visa. So, do your homework and don't come across as somebody who doesn't care where they end up as long as it's Europe and you won't need to pay a huge fee for somebody to fill in a form for you.


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## jollyfrancis

ALKB said:


> Why would you need an agent to apply for a jobseeker visa?
> 
> Have you actually done any research on that visa?
> 
> It allows you to go to Germany for up to 6 months - if you are skilled and can prove that you have enough money to pay your living expenses for the time the visa is valid and that you have access to adequate accommodation.
> 
> You are NOT allowed to work on that visa, it's more like a pre-approval for a work visa but only if you find an employer that is able and willing to sponsor you can you apply for a work permit in country. You cannot work until the actual work permit is issued.
> 
> So, you'd have to give up your current job (unless your employer would be willing to give you a six month leave of absence) without any guarantee of success.
> 
> Also, you'd have to show the German Embassy that you have researched Germany and life in Germany and that you have already tried to apply for jobs from where you are now.
> 
> Not enough research/not enough genuine interest in Germany is one of the top reasons for rejection for that visa. So, do your homework and don't come across as somebody who doesn't care where they end up as long as it's Europe and you won't need to pay a huge fee for somebody to fill in a form for you.




HI ALKB

Thanks for your very truthful response.

As you aptly said, we (my friend & myself) will submit the application at the Embassy directly instead of paying the unnecessary agent payment. 

We have and doing research about the Germany job market and the expenses that might be incurred during our job search till we find an employer. We both are in IT sector and we have seen many job postings across different companies in the job search portals in Germany. Hopefully we may be able to get a job there. God bless us. 

But one point as mentioned in your post that "Not enough research/not enough genuine interest in Germany is one of the top reasons for rejection for that visa" is a point to further looked into. We find that we do not need to attend an interview with the Embassy for the job seeker visa. Can you please guide us how the officials assess our genuine interest if there is no personal interview?

Regarding accommodation, we hope we could reserve one before we present our application. That is the process right ?

Regarding employer sponsorship, is there any chance that we get an employer by offering our free service for some period of time ? How people normally arrange this in your understanding ?

Thanks once again for your quick and factual replies.


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## ALKB

jollyfrancis said:


> But one point as mentioned in your post that "Not enough research/not enough genuine interest in Germany is one of the top reasons for rejection for that visa" is a point to further looked into. We find that we do not need to attend an interview with the Embassy for the job seeker visa. Can you please guide us how the officials assess our genuine interest if there is no personal interview?


There is some sort of cover letter/personal statement that you submit as part of your supporting documents. It should avoid generic stuff and focus on your specific situation. Adding print outs of applications/correspondence with German companies is also useful. As far as I can tell, the Embassy wants to see that you have already made an effort to find sponsorship without jobseeker visa (much cheaper, you should try that in any case!) and had some feedback.



jollyfrancis said:


> Regarding accommodation, we hope we could reserve one before we present our application. That is the process right ?


You either need proof of booked accommodation or an official guarantee letter from somebody resident in Germany willing to put you up.



jollyfrancis said:


> Regarding employer sponsorship, is there any chance that we get an employer by offering our free service for some period of time ? How people normally arrange this in your understanding ?
> 
> Thanks once again for your quick and factual replies.


You can't work on Jobseeker visa, not even for free. I you are employed/sponsored, you should be paid - anything else will get you in trouble with taxes and health insurance and whatnot. Sponsorship is arranged by applying, interviewing and getting a job offer. German language skills are always a plus because it shows that you are genuinely interested in staying long term. 

Do you have dependents who are going to join you in Germany?

If so (and also if you don't have dependents), you should also look into BlueCard vs. traditional work permit and keep in mind the minimum salary requirements for both.


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## jollyfrancis

Yes, I have my dependent spouse who will join with me in Germany at first. Later, my son, who is planning to go to Australia for higher studies in Finance, will also join.

As a matter of fact, I applied few companies in Germany and EU, but they sent some sort of system reply that the conditions do not meet their customer requirements, etc. Any how, I will keep on applying and find out how it turns out to be.

I heard EU card is a good option through which you can work anywhere in EU. But I could not find any helpful link to proceed for the same. Also from review by people, some links asked them to pay money for document assessment and later they did not hear anything and generally they remarked that it is not a real helpful link.

Thanks & regards.


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## jollyfrancis

Also, I have started my self-learning German language through books and youtube videos in the internet. It is nice going ahead...


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## Bevdeforges

jollyfrancis said:


> I heard EU card is a good option through which you can work anywhere in EU. But I could not find any helpful link to proceed for the same..


The EU Blue Card is a good option - but be very sure to read all the fine print. You have to work for a minimum period of time in the country through which you obtained the card - at least 2 years, I think it is, though it may vary by country - before you can move on.


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## ALKB

jollyfrancis said:


> Yes, I have my dependent spouse who will join with me in Germany at first. Later, my son, who is planning to go to Australia for higher studies in Finance, will also join.
> 
> As a matter of fact, I applied few companies in Germany and EU, but they sent some sort of system reply that the conditions do not meet their customer requirements, etc. Any how, I will keep on applying and find out how it turns out to be.
> 
> I heard EU card is a good option through which you can work anywhere in EU. But I could not find any helpful link to proceed for the same. Also from review by people, some links asked them to pay money for document assessment and later they did not hear anything and generally they remarked that it is not a real helpful link.
> 
> Thanks & regards.


BAMF - Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge - The EU Blue Card

Bluecard is not a Europe-wide work permit. Time spent on BlueCard in one country can be counted towards PR in another EU country, that's all. You still have to qualify for BlueCard in each country separately. It has definite advantages for dependents, though, like dependent spouses do not have to show German language skills before a residence permit is issued and they have instant unrestricted access to the job market. Dependent spouses of a regular work permit holder are not allowed to work for 1-3 years.

How old is your son?


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