# Resume to get to germany



## akmetal

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone knew if there was a way to test if ones resume is good enough to get into germany if things were to go awry here in the USA (either at a national level or if you simply had too many personally liabilities to comfortably live in the USA any longer). I am aware that Germany only takes about 2.5% of thoes that apply for permentant resident status to become a citizen.

Obviously learning german would be key but I would think to be part of that 2.5% your going to need a strong resume. I personally have a chemical engineering degree with a PE and soon to have a masters in elecrical engineering. Not sure if that will cut it since its not a PhD though both degrees are from prestigious universities.


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## ALKB

akmetal said:


> Hello,
> 
> I was wondering if anyone knew if there was a way to test if ones resume is good enough to get into germany if things were to go awry here in the USA (either at a national level or if you simply had too many personally liabilities to comfortably live in the USA any longer). I am aware that Germany only takes about 2.5% of thoes that apply for permentant resident status to become a citizen.
> 
> Obviously learning german would be key but I would think to be part of that 2.5% your going to need a strong resume. I personally have a chemical engineering degree with a PE and soon to have a masters in elecrical engineering. Not sure if that will cut it since its not a PhD though both degrees are from prestigious universities.


Your resume is not really a key point for naturalisation, although they will ask you for a CV when you submit your application.

The general requirements are:

-You have to have been a legal resident of Germany for at least eight years (unless you are married to a German national, in that case, three years)

-You need to be in full time employment (how much you earn is secondary)

-Your work contract needs to have been valid for at least six months at the time of application (the probationary period must be over)

-Your work contract should be permanent

-You need to pass the German language test 

-You need to pass the naturalisation test

-You should not rely on public funds, although working and 'topping up' with ALG II is permissble if you have a family, for example. Housing allowance, child benefit, etc. is all okay and will not work against you. 

If all your documents are in order, the naturalisation department will contact all sorts of government agencies for background checks. Usually it takes around three months to hear back from all of them.

If that is all cleared, you will receive a document that is called 'Assurance of Nationality', stating that they will grant you German nationality as soon as you resign your old nationality. In some cases you are allowed to keep your nationality: when you are an EU national or when your home country simply does not accept resignations of nationality. Best check that beforehand.

With that document you then go to your local Embassy to surrender your passports, etc. Only when you receive a document releasing you from your original nationality, the naturalisation department will check the general requirements again (as in, are you still working full time, etc.) and issue the naturalisation certificate. With this you can then go to your local authority to get your German ID card and passport.

My husband is currently going through this and we hope to have it all done and dusted by summer.

I think the key to naturalisation for you is not to get a good enough CV for naturalisation, it´s rather finding an employer who will sponsor you for a residence and work permit. Once you have a steady job here it´s then more or less just a case of keeping that job and staying out of trouble.


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## akmetal

ALKB said:


> Your resume is not really a key point for naturalisation, although they will ask you for a CV when you submit your application.
> 
> The general requirements are:
> 
> -You have to have been a legal resident of Germany for at least eight years (unless you are married to a German national, in that case, three years)
> 
> -You need to be in full time employment (how much you earn is secondary)
> 
> -Your work contract needs to have been valid for at least six months at the time of application (the probationary period must be over)
> 
> -Your work contract should be permanent
> 
> -You need to pass the German language test
> 
> -You need to pass the naturalisation test
> 
> -You should not rely on public funds, although working and 'topping up' with ALG II is permissble if you have a family, for example. Housing allowance, child benefit, etc. is all okay and will not work against you.
> 
> If all your documents are in order, the naturalisation department will contact all sorts of government agencies for background checks. Usually it takes around three months to hear back from all of them.
> 
> If that is all cleared, you will receive a document that is called 'Assurance of Nationality', stating that they will grant you German nationality as soon as you resign your old nationality. In some cases you are allowed to keep your nationality: when you are an EU national or when your home country simply does not accept resignations of nationality. Best check that beforehand.
> 
> With that document you then go to your local Embassy to surrender your passports, etc. Only when you receive a document releasing you from your original nationality, the naturalisation department will check the general requirements again (as in, are you still working full time, etc.) and issue the naturalisation certificate. With this you can then go to your local authority to get your German ID card and passport.
> 
> My husband is currently going through this and we hope to have it all done and dusted by summer.
> 
> I think the key to naturalisation for you is not to get a good enough CV for naturalisation, it´s rather finding an employer who will sponsor you for a residence and work permit. Once you have a steady job here it´s then more or less just a case of keeping that job and staying out of trouble.


So basicly the CV will hopefully just help you land a job there. Is it possible to work for the german govt as an expat?


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## ALKB

akmetal said:


> Hello,
> 
> I was wondering if anyone knew if there was a way to test if ones resume is good enough to get into germany if things were to go awry here in the USA (either at a national level or if you simply had too many personally liabilities to comfortably live in the USA any longer). I am aware that Germany only takes about 2.5% of thoes that apply for permentant resident status to become a citizen.
> 
> Obviously learning german would be key but I would think to be part of that 2.5% your going to need a strong resume. I personally have a chemical engineering degree with a PE and soon to have a masters in elecrical engineering. Not sure if that will cut it since its not a PhD though both degrees are from prestigious universities.


As for getting into Germany in the first place, electrical engineering is not bad. But be aware that while nearly all offered positions require fluent English, fluent or very good German is a given.

Experience is also very important.

To get an idea, you can try 

Jobs & Stellenangebote mit der Online Jobsuche finden | Jobbörse Monster.de

put 'electrical engineer' rather than 'Elektroingenieur' into the left search field and leave the right one as it is, that will give you all adverts within Germany regardless of location.

A few of those ads are completely in English, that could be a strong hint that the working language is also English and they would consider somebody from outside the EU.

It can´t hurt to send an email to their HR department and ask, the worst they can say is 'no'.

Also ask about the preferred form of application, if it is not mentioned. A lot of companies want online applications but some insist on postal. In any case, you will need the following: a good application photo and copies of your certificates, degrees and references.

An application picture is somewhat like something you would get done for a yearbook. A bit bigger than passport and you looking upbeat, friendly and all around employable. It goes either into the right hand corner of your CV or on an extra 'cover page'. "Bewerbungsmappen" are slowly getting out of fashion, so the photo on CV variety is more likely.

Good luck!


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## ALKB

akmetal said:


> So basicly the CV will hopefully just help you land a job there. Is it possible to work for the german govt as an expat?


Generally, yes. You could not become a 'servant of the state' or work for the military until you are naturalised but you could work for any Ministry or authority as a civil employee. 

The German government might not be likely to sponsor you, though unless you have some very specialised skill that is desperately needed.

This

Stellenangebote für Angestellte und Beamte

is the official job site of the German government. If you put 'elektro' into the upper search field, it does come up with quite a few vacancies for electrical engineers...

Oh, yeah, don#t bother with any ads from the 'Bundesnachrichtendienst' (secret service), they can#t employ foreign nationals, either. The Police is not as picky


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## akmetal

Thank you for the info, I will have to hot link this thread for future reference. Learning german will be the next hurtle, does rosetta stone do a good job of covering the german language?


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## ALKB

You are welcome 

I have never used or seen rosetta stone; my husband learned German while in Germany through language courses and immersion.

I think it's always good to have a real person to discuss with when learning a language - maybe your university offers some affordable courses?


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## ALKB

By the way, it was just recently in the news that we are already 8000 engineers short and the situation is only to get more serious due to our demographic development. The German government has taken the first steps to make it easier for foreign engineers to get a work visa ('Blue Card').

I´d start learning German now, get at least a year of experience under your belt and I think you´ll stand a really good chance


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## mad sam

Germans... hfffffffffff, they make everything difficult.


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## James3214

mad sam said:


> Germans... hfffffffffff, they make everything difficult.


Maybe, but difficult tends to be right most of the time!


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## ALKB

mad sam said:


> Germans... hfffffffffff, they make everything difficult.


How so? 

It´s pretty much along the same lines as these things go across Europe.


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## stefanm

another thing, in germany it is fairly common to put a picture of yourself on the cv. You do not do that very often in the uk, correct?


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## Seb*

stefanm said:


> another thing, in germany it is fairly common to put a picture of yourself on the cv. You do not do that very often in the uk, correct?


Correct, you are actually encouraged NOT to include a picture.


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## akmetal

Thank you for all the great information, it just seems like the handwriting is on the wall in the USA and things are going down the toilet. We would need a complete overhaul of the family law courts and laws as well as all of congress, tax laws etc and I don't see that happening.

Is it possible to own property in Germany as a foreigner, say a hangar at a muni airport somewhere in Germany. I own a pitts S2B and I could never part with her, could I buy and own a hangar in Germany and when the crap hits the fan fly my plane somewhere to have it put in a container and shipped to the hangar I would own in Germany?

If you had that property there and some money as well as a good CV and you had to leave in an emergency fashion (US passport was about to be revoked, etc) could you apply for asylum or some sort of refugee status until you could sort everything out, find a job there etc. Could you be given a german passport if your US passport was revoked so you could leave the USA. Or perhaps charter a private flight out of the country?

I looked at the US state department web site and it appears Germany and the USA do not have the best relations which is a good thing.


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## Nononymous

The black helicopters would probably catch your plane before the frontier, unfortunately.


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## ALKB

akmetal said:


> Thank you for all the great information, it just seems like the handwriting is on the wall in the USA and things are going down the toilet. We would need a complete overhaul of the family law courts and laws as well as all of congress, tax laws etc and I don't see that happening.
> 
> Is it possible to own property in Germany as a foreigner, say a hangar at a muni airport somewhere in Germany. I own a pitts S2B and I could never part with her, could I buy and own a hangar in Germany and when the crap hits the fan fly my plane somewhere to have it put in a container and shipped to the hangar I would own in Germany?
> 
> If you had that property there and some money as well as a good CV and you had to leave in an emergency fashion (US passport was about to be revoked, etc) could you apply for asylum or some sort of refugee status until you could sort everything out, find a job there etc. Could you be given a german passport if your US passport was revoked so you could leave the USA. Or perhaps charter a private flight out of the country?
> 
> I looked at the US state department web site and it appears Germany and the USA do not have the best relations which is a good thing.


Anybody can buy/own property in Germany but owning property is not a factor in the decision of granting a residence permit. You can own several properties, earn rent through them, declare/pay your taxes on that income in Germany and still be denied a residence permit.

Relations between Germany and the US may be strained but I doubt that any sort of asylum claim would be granted.

If your US passport would be revoked (what are we talking about here??), and you would make it into Germany, the only thing you might get is a foreigner's ID for stateless persons. Not something I'd aspire to.


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## akmetal

Family law court issues (child suppor/alimony), law suit issues, etc.


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## beppi

Foreigners are free to own any kind of real estate, including aircraft hangars I imagine. But these do certainly not come cheap (as does owning any kind of aircraft in Europe), so make sure you'll bring a few million dollars to make this plan work!
A person suffering political persecution in his home country can apply for asylum (refugee status) in Germany. The USA is not considered persecuting anyone, and there have been no prior cases of asylum approved for USA citizens. Asylum has nothing to do with citizenship (which is certainly not given because of a situation as you describe).


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## MrTweek

> A person suffering political persecution in his home country can apply for asylum (refugee status) in Germany. The USA is not considered persecuting anyone, and there have been no prior cases of asylum approved for USA citizens. Asylum has nothing to do with citizenship (which is certainly not given because of a situation as you describe).


Unless you'd be facing death penalty, that's a breach of human rights and thus Germany would not extradite you.


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## Euro-VA

A problem you might not have considered is license, if you have an FAA license you would have to port it to JAA, which can be quite tough. I once looked into converting my CAA to JAA and after reading a very long list of criteria, including more theory exams, gave up!
Having said that I believe if you have a CPL or higher (I just have PPL/A), or more than 100 hrs PIC it can be easier.
There is the weather consideration also, if you are in a part of Germany with real winters, snow, short days, poor vis, you can end up with months of downtime. 

Brian

lane:



akmetal said:


> Is it possible to own property in Germany as a foreigner, say a hangar at a muni airport somewhere in Germany. I own a pitts S2B and I could never part with her, could I buy and own a hangar in Germany and when the crap hits the fan fly my plane somewhere to have it put in a container and shipped to the hangar I would own in Germany?


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## akmetal

Euro-VA said:


> A problem you might not have considered is license, if you have an FAA license you would have to port it to JAA, which can be quite tough. I once looked into converting my CAA to JAA and after reading a very long list of criteria, including more theory exams, gave up!
> Having said that I believe if you have a CPL or higher (I just have PPL/A), or more than 100 hrs PIC it can be easier.
> There is the weather consideration also, if you are in a part of Germany with real winters, snow, short days, poor vis, you can end up with months of downtime.
> 
> Brian
> 
> lane:


The flying season is about the same where I am so it would just be a matter of transferring the license.


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