# American couple wanting to move to Germany



## Humblefish (Jul 19, 2015)

My wife & I, having previously lived in London for 3 years, would like to move to Germany. She is a data architect for a large telecom - I want to open an aquarium store. I guess what we are really wanting to do is make a new life for ourselves in Germany.

How possible is this? I know we will need to learn German, adopt to Germany ways to fully integrate into society. We are prepared to do whatever is necessary.

Any helpful tips? Any good job search engines to help get us started?

TIA


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Your wife will have an easier time of it than you - if her skills are in demand she should be able to find work, quite possibly in English. For you, opening a retail store without knowledge of the language and culture might prove to be challenging. (Assuming you don't already have EU citizenship, you'd both need residence permits. If your wife is offered an IT job that should be relatively straightforward. For you, not so straightforward.) 

Not sure how much time you've spent in Germany but a temporary stay, if your wife could get a contract gig for six or twelve months, would give you an idea of how well you'd adapt.

Just use the regular job boards: Monster, StepStone, LinkedIn. Use the .de extension where needed.


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## Humblefish (Jul 19, 2015)

Nononymous, thank you for the response. While we lived in London we visited Berlin, Freiburg (twice) and also explored the Black Forest a bit. So, nothing extensive but we did get our feet wet. While I realize it was just week long trips, we were always impressed by the beauty, culture, cleanliness of Germany. It just resonated with us.

My wife has started applying for jobs in Germany, mostly Berlin. We also have purchased software to begin learning German. We're eager to just get an opportunity and make the most of it.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Humblefish said:


> My wife & I, having previously lived in London for 3 years, would like to move to Germany. She is a data architect for a large telecom - I want to open an aquarium store. I guess what we are really wanting to do is make a new life for ourselves in Germany.
> 
> How possible is this? I know we will need to learn German, adopt to Germany ways to fully integrate into society. We are prepared to do whatever is necessary.
> 
> ...


Your situation would depend on what kind of job offer your wife gets.

If she gets a job offer that satisfies the requirements for a BlueCard, you as her dependent would have instant unrestricted access to the job market and you would both have an accelerated route to settlement (indefinite residence permit).

If she is sponsored for a regular work permit, you would not automatically be allowed to work in Germany for the first three years but you could apply for a work permit in your own right if you find a sponsor or could apply for the self-employment permit. I don't see why the authorities should kick up a fuss since you would already be living in Germany.

Apart from the job sites, you can also look through the adverts in the big newspapers. 

For Berlin that would be:

Jobbörse StepStone: Jobs und Stellenangebote

and:

Stellenmarkt Tagesspiegel


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## Humblefish (Jul 19, 2015)

Thank you ALKB for the information. I will put it to good use. We resume job hunting again this weekend.


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