Reply With Quote
google "usa germany work visas residence permits"
My stepson visited Germany a couple of summers ago and then last summer had a friend from German stay with us. So he has it in his head that he wants to move to Germany and live there. But he does not want to go to school. Just wants to find a job and work.
However, it's not as easy as it sounds. You have to apply to some local board to get the residence permit. And from what I understand, they usually don't give this to non-skilled workers.
Does anyone know anything about the process and if it's even possible for a non-German (unskilled) to get some permit that allows him to live for over a year there?
I'm thinking his best and maybe only option is to get in an exchange student program for the first year. But like I said, he doesn't want to go to school.
google "usa germany work visas residence permits"
let him work in your meat market
If he is under 18, there might be a way. You will have to do the research, but I remember something to the effect that if your family emigrated to the US before 1948 (or some date) that you can choose to take the citizenship of the country from whence they came. If that happens to be an EU country, you can then immigrate to Germany as an unskilled worker (unskilled worker immigration is not available for Non-EU citizens). I remember there was some statute of limitations... look into it. The program may not even be in effect anymore. It was obviously a while ago that I read about it. This is probably his only chance. Otherwise, school is probably the only route.
I've done plenty of Googling. And talking to real Germans. From everything I've read/learned, a local agency makes the final decision so there is no definate answer until one gets over there and applies. I've been told that there are things you can do that make it more likely they will approve the move. One is to learn German which he is now doing. I just threw this out to Spurstalk to see if anyone had any experience in the matter and if there were other tips/shortcuts to give him better odds.
Thanks. That's interesting. This hadn't been brought up before so I'm wondering if it's still available. But I'll look into it.
Tell him he isn't going anywhere until he finishes high school.
Done that. It actually worked out well. I told him that they would look at all his information, including transcripts, before they made the decision. So far, it's cured his Senioritis.
Join Army
Ask to be stationed in Germany
Go AWOL
You're welcome.
Does your son sprechen sie Deutsch? If so, he should look at this site:
http://www.info4alien.de/
All about working as a foreigner in Germany, but it's all in German. He'll also have to get a work permit, which isn't easy because:
To qualify as for a German work permit, the basic requirements for the employee and the German company are as follows:
- The potential employee has to be employed on equal terms as a German employee.
- German or other European nationals are not available to fill the position.
- Usually the employee must have a university degree or comparable qualification. For some positions there are special requirements.
- The German company must be registered at the Labor Authorities in Germany and apply for a Corporate Registration Number.
See http://www.workpermit.com/germany/employer.htm. About 75000 permits are issued yearly, half of which are in IT.
Good luck to him, it's a great country. Really would be easiest if he went to study.
Good info...thanks. Looks like the work/residence visa is a long shot at best.
A suggestion made to me by an German who is a U.S. attorney was for him to enroll for a class or two at the German equivalent of a community college and try to find work while he's there. Ideally some sort of internship. But I don't think he'd make enough $ to live there. He has a couple of friends (also 18 or so) who said he could stay with them but I'm not comfortable sending him over on the word of another teenager whose parents are paying for their appartment.
The more I look and hear, the more I'm convinced that the student exchange is really the only way it's going to happen for him.
Yeah, I'd come across that as well. I guess I've been hoping that there was some sort of backdoor way to do it and that the local agency had a lot of flexibility.
There's also some kind of language study visa but again the issue at that point is him earning some money to live off of.
When I lived in Berlin in the mid and late 70's, there were a large number of unskilled foreign workers referred to as "gastarbeiter", or guest worker. These tended to be Turkish, and could commonly be seen doing street construction and kitchen work. With the reunification of Germany, there were suddenly many, many former East Germans looking for work, and Germany began paying gastarbeiter to go back to their country of origin, figuring that it was cheaper in the long run to pay relocation expenses than to pay welfare benefits. The only jobs really available to unskilled "auslanders" are menial labor type jobs that German citizens don't want to do, since current law does not allow a foreigner to take a job that a German citizen wants.
They can't kick all of them out though. Germans need their Doener Kebabs.
Pretty much. If Germany is anything like Canada immigration wise (their governments are similar in many other aspects) then they'll welcome an educated young American who looks like he has something to offer (I know this because I'm strongly considering moving to Canada and the people I've talked to said I'd have no problem getting legal status once I'm done with school).
Right now though it sounds like an 18 year old kid who doesn't have a clue what's good for him.
You hit the nail on the head. He's been to Germany for one month and he's convinced that it's better over there than here. In reality, I think he went over and spent a lot of time partying with his friends and saw some cool historical sites. But I'm not going to stand in his way if he really wants to move over there. But I'm also not going to fund some wild goose chase of a dream if it's not realisitc.
Me and his mom have told him we'd pay for his ticket over there but he's got to give us a legitimate plan of what he's going to do. My hope is that he comes to the same conclusion that your post and all the others have confirmed. So maybe if he really wants to do this, he will go the education route. In which case, we'd (me and his mom) be more supportive.
And another thing to point out, as hard as it is to be successful in this country right now without an education, it's next to impossible in socialist countries like Canada or Germany. The poverty threshold in Canada is 40k just to give you an idea. An 18 year old moving to Germany with no education and no money is a recipe for disaster.
Yeah I hear you. I've done quite a bit of research comparing economies, cost of living, etc. But he's 18 and doesn't think I know anything. And I don't want to be the one that he looks back on in 10 years and blames for not letting him live his dream. So like I said, I'm not going to stand in his way but I'm also not going to be the never ending source of funds.
I wouldn't even pay for his ticket. If he wants to act like he knows it all and is an adult, I'd say I wouldn't stop him, but I'm not going to baby him either. A real adult handles his business and gets it done on his own. It's strict but with the promise of freedom. And speaking as an adult, its definitely fair. It's also what's best because he'll need to learn how to take care of himself once he moves out there.
Does he have any programming skills/experiences?
If so he can try his luck at Bwin. It's an online gambling site with large office in Vienna (Austria, but what's the difference...above the basement level), official corporate language is English and they're not very uptight about formal education.
dude needs to get his straight. One month out internationally and he's a bonafide naturalized citizen? at 18, with no education, no skills, and at best, the most elementary usage of the language?
let him have it straight: you're 18 now, a grown man by most accounts, and if you want to move to DE without an education or skills or (probably) even a working knowledge of the German language, go right the ahead. Just don't look to me/us when goes sour.
He's graduating high school and the ticket is his main present. At the least, he will want to go spend time with his friends for a month or so. I don't have a problem with that.
No programming.Does he have any programming skills/experiences?
If so he can try his luck at Bwin. It's an online gambling site with large office in Vienna (Austria, but what's the difference...above the basement level
That's easy to say. But hard to implement considering I'm married to his mom who is...well...a mom. If he got over there and was in a serious bind, I'm sure I'd have to help him through it. Like I said, I'm getting him the plane ticket as his senior present. I'm probably going to get it with a 2 month return date so he will have time to come back and get in school here if he wants. If he finds something over there, then great.
The family dynamics with me being the stepdad make it a little more complicated than it might seem.
UT at Austin has a Deutschuebendegesellschaft if he wants to practice. (lit: german practicing society)
IT is a little informal society club thing that meets at Schultz's beer garten, so maybe not for an unaccompanied minor.
If he is serious about immersion in german the University of New Mexico runs a summer immersion course
http://www.unm.edu/~fll/german/summerschool.html
Get into one of those, it helped me immensely. (RG= degree in german from UT)
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
