How to Immigrate to Germany for Work

If you are looking to immigrate to another country with ample job opportunities and exceptional quality of life, why not consider Germany?

In this post, I will share how to immigrate to Germany for work.

Why Choose Germany?

Top Job Opportunities

They rate Germany as one of the top 5 countries for job opportunities in 2020.

Top Overall Country for Living

Also, Germany is the overall 4th best country in the world to work and live-in in 2020 (source US News).

Top Quality of Life

Germany is one of the top 10 countries in the world for the best quality of life in 2020 (source US News).

Robust Economy

Germany is the strongest economy in Europe. Immigrating to Germany can a life-changing decision for oneself and their next generations to come. Life is about choices, and the choices we make today determine who we and our next generations become tomorrow. Often we struggle with finding an excellent job in our country and yearn for a better quality of life for us and our family. We don’t know about the opportunities in other countries like Germany. And don’t know how to start the transition. Since we don’t have all the information, we don’t gather the courage and willingness to take the risk to move to another country. And live our dreams. The post aims to provide you all the information you need with resources to help you make this transition.

New Immigration Policy

Germany has enacted the Skilled Immigration Act effective March 1, 2020, for foreign qualified professionals which makes it easier for foreign applicants to look for a job in Germany.

According to a report by Gilles Pison in World Economic Forum on March 13, 2019, and United Nations data, Germany had 10.2 million foreign-born immigrants in 2019, which is 12.5% of the population and the fourth highest in the world.

Free Higher Education

Another reason to choose Germany is that Germany provides mostly free higher education both under-graduation and graduation for not only EU countries but all countries in the world. All funding of higher education in German universities is through taxpayers’ money. Germany believes it covers the education cost once the immigrant works and lives in Germany thereafter. Free education helps build good-will for Germany and helps build a stronger and diverse nation in the long term.

How to Immigrate to Germany?

So let’s get started. As with most countries, there are a couple of ways to immigrate to Germany for work.

Study

Why the study is the best way to immigrate for work?

The best way to immigrate to Germany for work is to pursue higher education in Germany.

First, higher education for most universities in Germany is free. It imparts education in both German and English.

Second, it provides an ideal opportunity to learn German while still studying.

Third, it helps immigrants assimilate into the German way of life and imbibe their culture early on.

Fourth, with a German university education, it is much easier to apply and find jobs in Germany.

Fifth, it sets the stage for a faster permanent residency in Germany.

According to Study in Germany top 10 German Universities for International Students in 2020 are:

1. Technical University of Munich

2. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

3. Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

4. Humboldt University of Berlin

5. KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

6. Free University of Berlin

7. RWTH Aachen University

8. Berlin Institute of Technology

9. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

10. Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg

Other online resources available to explore universities in Germany are following:

• Topuniversities
• Mastersportal
• Timeshighereducation
• DW
• Mygermanuniversity
• Studyeu
• Usnews
• Gooverseas
• Edarabia
• Shikshastudyabroad

Visas to Study in Germany

According to GermanyVisa, there are three types of visas meant for people intending to pursue educational activities in Germany:

1. Language Course Visa (Visa for Language Learning)–for short German language educational activities lasting from 3 months up to 1 year.
2. Student Applicant Visa (Visum Zur Studienbewerbung)–if trying to find the right program but still haven’t got the confirmation letter from the University.
3. Student Visa (Visum Zu Studienzwecken)–if accepted to a German university.

Work

Germany provides several visa options to move to Germany for work.

Job Seeker Visa

According to GermanyVisa, the job seeker visa for Germany is a Long-Term Residency Permit, which allows one to stay in the country for six months and look for a job. If at the end of the six months one has found a place of employment, they will get a German work visa and can work and live there. Having a job seeker visa does not allow one to work immediately in Germany. It only means that one can visit the country and look for a job during your stay.

Germany Working (Employment) Visa

According to GermanyVisa, citizens of the following countries can apply for their residence permit for work purposes after entering Germany without a visa.

• EEA/EU member states and the United States of America
• Australia
• Canada
• Israel
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Switzerland
• the Republic of Korea

It requires citizens of the rest of the countries to get a visa for work before traveling to Germany. It requires a job offer to apply for a work (employment) visa.

German Freelance “Freiberufler” (Self-employment) Visa

According to GermanyVisa, the Liberal ‘freelance’ professions in Germany, according to EStG §18, are self-employment jobs in the following fields:

• Healthcare.
• Law.
• Tax and business counseling.
• Scientific/technical.
• Linguistic and information-transmitting.

The Income Tax Act of Germany (EStG) has a public listing of liberal and commercial professions. The ultimate judgment on whether a profession qualifies as a liberal or as a commercial profession lies in the hands of the local tax office ‘Finanzamt’.

The Application Process for Germany Visa

According to GermanyVisa, the following are the steps to apply for a German visa.

Prepare your visa application

Make an appointment

Go to the Application Center

Visa application submission

Entering of application information

Biometric data collection

Apply online for a German visa: https://videx.diplo.de/videx/desktop/index.html

You may leave your comments and queries in the comments section.