It's not always so simple though, I moved to France when I was younger for a few years and thanks to a girlfriend who spoke French fluently and living there, I

It's not always so simple though, I moved to France when I was younger for a few years and thanks to a girlfriend who spoke French fluently and living there, I managed to pick it up relatively quickly. However, even after a year or so, when I had to go to some more 'official' appointments (for like CAF and banks, etc.), it was like I didn't speak French at all. None of the language they used was language I used in daily life. My wife is Chinese, speaks English great but when she has to fill out more official forms she still struggles with some of the language used. I do understand their point that English should probably be available in these instances - of course the contracts will be upheld in German. I do think when moving to a new country, people should learn the local language, but languages are big and the subset we need for daily, effective communication is quite small.