# New timeline, where and when to apply.



## twoturboz (Jun 18, 2012)

Hello all,

Today I received my letter of intent as well as my employment contract from my current company. I am in the US xfering to Germany. My appointment at the Los Angeles consulate is this Friday morning. My company would prefer to have me in Germany by mid August. 

Obviously, it will probably take at LEAST 8 weeks for me to get my employment/residence permit - so this will be impossible. But I have read that, as an American, I have up to 90 days to apply AFTER my arrival. I know this is risky, but I work for a large corporation and am almost certain it will be approved. 

So the question is, can I just move to Germany, choose an apartment, start working for my company, and apply as soon as I get to Germany? Or does this provision not allow work or residence until approval of said visa? 

Thank you.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

If your current employer is transferring you, shouldn't they be handling the visa? I know when I moved to Germany, the employer took care of everything related to immigration.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twoturboz (Jun 18, 2012)

Bevdeforges said:


> If your current employer is transferring you, shouldn't they be handling the visa? I know when I moved to Germany, the employer took care of everything related to immigration.
> Cheers,
> Bev


Unfortunately, they're making me take care of it.


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## vronchen (Jan 26, 2012)

twoturboz said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Today I received my letter of intent as well as my employment contract from my current company. I am in the US xfering to Germany. My appointment at the Los Angeles consulate is this Friday morning. My company would prefer to have me in Germany by mid August.
> 
> ...


While you can enter Germany under the VWP and apply for a work permit while in Germany, I am pretty sure you are not allowed to work until your visa is processed. You might ask if it is considerably faster to get the work permit in Germany, but I personally don't think so as they still have to do the "Vorrangprüfung" (check if the job cannot be filled with an EU citizen).


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