# I am thinking of moving to Germany



## jamescorkington

Hi guys I am thinking about moving to Germany, I am from Ireland but am currently living in the UK, I don't have any qualifications so will this be problem? I would like to know am I wasting my time? I don't know that much about the place so if anybody could offer any info it would be much appreciated


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## CampoKid

If you are a good German speaker then there is plenty of unskilled work around, although it's poorly paid compared to similar work in the UK.

You will need to register at the town hall and as a job-seeker, as soon as you have private health insurance and somewhere to live. Health insurance initially cost around €130 per month and increase in cost in line with your pay. It is compulsory. 

You then have a maximum of 6 months to find work, or you will be asked to leave the country.

If you don't speak German to an 'able to have day-to-day conversations' level then you can sign up for the state run VHS Deutsch course, at a cost of €120 per month.

The course, for some bizarre reason, is 8 months long and you must still have a job, or prove you have the funds to stay, at the 6 month point. 

So, if you speak German - get yourself over there, if you don't, you will need a few thousand in savings before you find work.


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## jamescorkington

Thanks for your help I have a bit of welding and powder coating experience no certificates though I'm going to start learning german online I did it in school so hopefully it will come back to me cheers again. james


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## MrTweek

> I don't have any qualifications so will this be problem? I would like to know am I wasting my time?


That is really hard to tell, depends on you and what you want. Unemployment is kind of low in Germany at the moment, so that's a good thing for you.
But generally, Germans tend to like certificates and degrees and that kind of stuff. "A bit of experience" will probably not help you. That leaves unskilled labour for you so you'll probably have to learn the language. Since you are likely to work with unskilled colleagues, they will probably not speak English, or just very basic.

@CampoKid: Almost everything you wrote is wrong.


> You will need to register at the town hall and as a job-seeker, as soon as you have private health insurance and somewhere to live. Health insurance initially cost around €130 per month and increase in cost in line with your pay. It is compulsory.


Since when is private health insurance compulsory? You actually need to make at least around 50K p.a. to be eligible for it at all. And even then it's not compulsory.



> You then have a maximum of 6 months to find work, or you will be asked to leave the country.


Again, this is completely wrong. As a citizen of the European Union, he can stay in the country as long as he wants, no matter if he has a job or not.


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## Gioppino

jamescorkington said:


> Hi guys I am thinking about moving to Germany, I am from Ireland but am currently living in the UK


I'm in a similar situation and I've been asking myself the same question for some time.




jamescorkington said:


> I don't have any qualifications so will this be problem? I don't know that much about the place


You've pretty much answered your own questions. Without written qualifications, no local contacts and presumably little German, you'd be faced with a long period of readjustment before you can find proper work. The Germans are very formal and want to see written qualifications and references and ideally expect you to be integrated with the territory.

If you have a massive war chest it's worth the gamble.


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## CampoKid

MrTweak, if only I was wrong, but as this is exactly the situation I am currently in, I think I am more than qualified to offer advice.

Firstly, the only health insurance you can have in Germany is private health insurance - there is no state health insurance - and it is illegal for you to live in Germany without it, and you must show proof of this when you register at the town hall. I am surprised you do not know this and even more surprised that you appear to be living in Germany without health insurance.

Secondly, As I have only this week been helping a European friend who has received the dreaded 'prove you have the funds to support yourself or leave' letter, I am pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. I know of three other Europeans who have also received this letter this year, exactly 6 months after registering as job-seekers.

Yes, you can stay in Germany as long as you like - provided you have the means to support yourself financially, which for most people means they must be working.

Obviously, I don't know your exact circumstances, but instead of berating people who are currently living this issue, you could instead share your experiences...


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## MrTweek

> I think I am more than qualified to offer advice.[...] there is no state health insurance


Dude, I am German and I was on state health insurance all my life.
There might be a chance that this is not available for non-EU citizens. You never pointed out your nationality though. Since James an EU-citizen, other rules might apply to him than to you.



> Secondly, As I have only this week been helping a European friend who has received the dreaded 'prove you have the funds to support yourself or leave' letter, I am pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. I know of three other Europeans who have also received this letter this year, exactly 6 months after registering as job-seekers.


Where were the from? I am pretty sure it can't be Ireland. While there are some special rules for certain Eastern European countries, these won't apply to him. He is Irish, he can stay in Germany as long as he wants. It's his basic right.


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## Bluecollarman

I doubt very much if It is mandatory for EU citizens to have health care coverage and funds to live for 6 months in order to move to and live in Germany.


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## James3214

I think it means 'mandatory' in the sense that you have to show proof of both when registering at the local 'bürgeramt'. You could obviously move and live in Germany without both but wouldn't get very far if you applied for a bank a/c or even try to get a place to live.


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## helfprincess

CampoKid said:


> ..
> If you don't speak German to an 'able to have day-to-day conversations' level then you can sign up for the state run VHS Deutsch course, at a cost of €120 per month....


Hi CampoKid, may I know which VHS offers 120 per month? I'll be in gross-gerau and looked at the VHS in Frankfurt, Darmstadt & Gross-Gerau, all are around 300 Eur per month. Or is that from 50% off for the unemployed? Also since I'll be joining my husband (a German), I'll have to do a mandatory Integrationkurs. I read somewhere it can be free, and it can also be 1 Eur an hour. Do you have info regarding this? Thank you :smile:


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