4 ms·

I successfully applied for a work visa here in Berlin, and I was blown away by how quick the process was, especially in contrast to the stories I hear about the

I successfully applied for a work visa here in Berlin, and I was blown away by how quick the process was, especially in contrast to the stories I hear about the same process in the US. From submitting all the paperwork to getting word that my application was approved, it took a grand total of 7 days. I was expecting to wait at least a few weeks, but it seems that the new Blue Card legislation has really streamlined things. For anyone considering working in Germany, I would definitely recommend looking into the Blue Card, which offers some advantages over the normal work permit: - It's initially valid for 4 years. For limited contracts, it's valid for the length of the contract plus 3 months. - After 36 months with a Blue Card, you can apply for permanent residency (as opposed to 5 years with the normal work permit). This is lowered to only 21 months if you can prove B1-level German proficiency. - You can leave the EU for up to 12 months without losing your visa status (versus 6 months with the normal work permit). - After 18 months, you're free to live and work in any other EU country. Further details: http://www.bluecard-eu.de/eu-blue-card-germany/ http://www.bluecard-eu.de/eu-blue-card-germany/

makmanalp 13y ago
So what's the catch? What's worse about the Blue Card / why would you ever get the work permit?
- arjunnarayan 13y ago
  I think the blue card is only for some restricted occupations (in tech, science, mathematics, etc.) and has a minimum salary requirement (of about 46k euros/year). Which shouldn't be a problem for the HN demographic.
  - guido4000 13y ago
    For IT occupations the limit is even lower: € 36.192 per year.
    - toomuchtodo 13y ago
      For workers under 29 years of age. 30 and above is something like € 52.000/year (at least for The Netherlands).
- speedracr 13y ago
  The Blue Card requires that you have a job contract or very concrete job offer with a minimum salary, and will more or less be tied to that job: If you lose your job, they apparently can give you some time to find a new one, but you may get kicked out if you fail in that endeavor. Also, if you want to change jobs away from the one that originally got you the Blue Card, you'll have to get formal approval. (Edit: this would probably apply to a regular work permit, as well. I'm German, so I never had this problem. Still, you can apparently even apply to get a work permit as a freelancer, which would then make life much easier for you if you don't want to tie yourself to a Blue Card job for that long.) Other than that, there seems to be no catch - the Blue Card is meant to attract highly skilled workers, so once that hurdle is cleared (>> minimum salary, university education, easier for certain high-in-demand sectors), the EU countries seem pretty happy to have Blue Card holders stay - as they should be.
  - makmanalp 13y ago
    So, still better than an H-1B :P
  - peterjmag 13y ago
    Yep, the permit is tied to a specific job for the first two years[1]. From what I understand, it's pretty easy to get approval for a different job, as long as the job description is similar. Interestingly, my residence permit also says "selbständig Tätigkeit gestattet" (self-employment permitted), so it seems I could freelance here without needing a different visa. [1] http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/index.php/dienstleistung/324659/en/ http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/index....
toomuchtodo 13y ago
Can you apply for the Blue Card prior to finding employment? Or must you find an employer first to sponsor you?
- thetrb 13y ago
  I don't think so. Here are the FAQ about the blue card: http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/_function/faq-table.html?nn=3064818 http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/... Quote: "What preconditions need to be met in order for an EU Blue Card to be issued? 1. Applicants must provide proof of a completed university degree. If the university degree was not awarded in Germany, it must either be recognised or comparable to a German university degree. 2. Applicants must either provide proof of a concrete employment offer or present an employment contract that has been signed or that already exists. 3. This offer or contract must be based on a minimum gross annual salary."
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    Ouch. No degree disqualifies you? I guess some places don't take technical experience.
    - _vn5r 13y ago
      The french equivalent says that you can have the education or 5+ years experience
      - toomuchtodo 13y ago
        This is wonderful. Thank you.
        walshemj 13y ago
        This might only applys in France in the eu each state implements directives from the EU as it sees fit there can be wide discrepancies For example the way the Spanish implemented TUPE (how employees are treated in take over) is basically a big f$%k you to the EU as it makes no attempt to implement even anything close to the spirit of the directive. I suspect that Germany might be stricter on the university Degree. Also not all Eu states implemented it Uk Eire and Denmark did not.
thetrb 13y ago
The link you posted is some inofficial site. Here's the official information: http://www.bamf.de/EN/DasBAMF/Aufgaben/BlaueKarte/blauekarte-node.html http://www.bamf.de/EN/DasBAMF/Aufgaben/BlaueKarte/blauekarte...
cesarbs 13y ago
Do you think it will continue to be this simple to get a Blue Card? I currently live in the US but Europe is "the dream" for my wife and I. We just don't move now because my wife is going to college here, so we want to wait for her to graduate first. But we fear by the time she graduates (probably 2 years from now), it won't be so easy to get to Europe anymore.

makmanalp 13y ago

So what's the catch? What's worse about the Blue Card / why would you ever get the work permit?

arjunnarayan 13y ago
I think the blue card is only for some restricted occupations (in tech, science, mathematics, etc.) and has a minimum salary requirement (of about 46k euros/year). Which shouldn't be a problem for the HN demographic.
- guido4000 13y ago
  For IT occupations the limit is even lower: € 36.192 per year.
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    For workers under 29 years of age. 30 and above is something like € 52.000/year (at least for The Netherlands).
speedracr 13y ago
The Blue Card requires that you have a job contract or very concrete job offer with a minimum salary, and will more or less be tied to that job: If you lose your job, they apparently can give you some time to find a new one, but you may get kicked out if you fail in that endeavor. Also, if you want to change jobs away from the one that originally got you the Blue Card, you'll have to get formal approval. (Edit: this would probably apply to a regular work permit, as well. I'm German, so I never had this problem. Still, you can apparently even apply to get a work permit as a freelancer, which would then make life much easier for you if you don't want to tie yourself to a Blue Card job for that long.) Other than that, there seems to be no catch - the Blue Card is meant to attract highly skilled workers, so once that hurdle is cleared (>> minimum salary, university education, easier for certain high-in-demand sectors), the EU countries seem pretty happy to have Blue Card holders stay - as they should be.
- makmanalp 13y ago
  So, still better than an H-1B :P
- peterjmag 13y ago
  Yep, the permit is tied to a specific job for the first two years[1]. From what I understand, it's pretty easy to get approval for a different job, as long as the job description is similar. Interestingly, my residence permit also says "selbständig Tätigkeit gestattet" (self-employment permitted), so it seems I could freelance here without needing a different visa. [1] http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/index.php/dienstleistung/324659/en/ http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/index....

toomuchtodo 13y ago

Can you apply for the Blue Card prior to finding employment? Or must you find an employer first to sponsor you?

thetrb 13y ago
I don't think so. Here are the FAQ about the blue card: http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/_function/faq-table.html?nn=3064818 http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/... Quote: "What preconditions need to be met in order for an EU Blue Card to be issued? 1. Applicants must provide proof of a completed university degree. If the university degree was not awarded in Germany, it must either be recognised or comparable to a German university degree. 2. Applicants must either provide proof of a concrete employment offer or present an employment contract that has been signed or that already exists. 3. This offer or contract must be based on a minimum gross annual salary."
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  Ouch. No degree disqualifies you? I guess some places don't take technical experience.
  - _vn5r 13y ago
    The french equivalent says that you can have the education or 5+ years experience
    - toomuchtodo 13y ago
      This is wonderful. Thank you.
      - walshemj 13y ago
        This might only applys in France in the eu each state implements directives from the EU as it sees fit there can be wide discrepancies For example the way the Spanish implemented TUPE (how employees are treated in take over) is basically a big f$%k you to the EU as it makes no attempt to implement even anything close to the spirit of the directive. I suspect that Germany might be stricter on the university Degree. Also not all Eu states implemented it Uk Eire and Denmark did not.

thetrb 13y ago

The link you posted is some inofficial site. Here's the official information: http://www.bamf.de/EN/DasBAMF/Aufgaben/BlaueKarte/blauekarte-node.html http://www.bamf.de/EN/DasBAMF/Aufgaben/BlaueKarte/blauekarte...

cesarbs 13y ago

Do you think it will continue to be this simple to get a Blue Card? I currently live in the US but Europe is "the dream" for my wife and I. We just don't move now because my wife is going to college here, so we want to wait for her to graduate first. But we fear by the time she graduates (probably 2 years from now), it won't be so easy to get to Europe anymore.