# Moving to Germany



## Smatta (Jun 4, 2016)

Hi all. I am a US citizen, and Ive been working for 5 years now in NZ as a mechanical engineer. I work in building services, where I design HVAC (heating and cooling systems) for buidings. I have visited Germany several times, and for many reasons I would love to migrate here. I am currently here on vacation, also looking for work. Can anyone give some tips?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

The only tips are to learn German as quickly as possible, and to work in a field where there is enough demand that employers can easily obtain work permits for non-EU citizens. Since you haven't said otherwise, I'm assuming that you have neither German language skills nor an EU/EEA passport. 

I've no idea if your field of work is a good fit for non-EU citizens, or if there are specific requirements, training or certification that you'd need to be hired in Germany - you'll have to do some research. I'm also not sure what the language expectations are in your field - with some jobs you can get away with English only, others require decent German.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

It's not going to be easy in any event. As a non-EU national, you fall behind any similarly qualified German national and any EU national able to exercise their right of free movement to live and work in Germany. So your best option is to try to highlight any unique or unusual qualification, skill or experience you may have.

Definitely try to work through your current employer - if they have offices or customers or suppliers in Germany. It would be an advantage if you have fluent German, as being bi-lingual may help to get your CV noticed. Play up your international experience - both in NZ and in the US (if you have US experience). Do your homework on any company you are approaching and be prepared to tell them what special skills and experience you have that will be of interest to them. Just remember, there is a certain amount of hassle they will have to go through to hire you (work authorization, sponsoring a work visa, etc.) so address the issue of why they should bother with all that before they put the question to you.

And be prepared to take your time in finding a job in Germany. In my case it took a year and a half of looking (20+ years ago), so you need to maintain your options, either to stay where you are or to consider reasonable alternatives. If you know people in Germany who are in your line of work, network like crazy to get a sense of what the job hunting protocol is and what sorts of salaries are reasonable. You'll also need to respond to the inevitable question about whether you're prepared to move yourself to Germany if necessary. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## *Sunshine* (Mar 13, 2016)

Smatta said:


> I work in building services, where I design HVAC (heating and cooling systems) for buidings.


Is your German good enough to properly understand building codes written in German?


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