So, you got your contract in a company in Germany? Well congratulations. This is the ultimate guide on what you need to do after you get your contract as a non-Eu citisen.
I personally got lucky on Stack Overflow jobs but I have a few other links for you too:
I have noticed that Germans don't use .Net, C# or that kind of stuff, so the market for those topics looks a little rough. Mobile developers, all kind of JavaScript developers, Java back-end (or even Kotlin) developers look pretty lucky IMO.
I believe Germans love a written confirmation from you. Like: Yea, I accept. (at least).
Unfortunately, as a non-Eu Albanian citizen, you would need hell lot of time to set things off right. You need at least 3 months to prepare to get there.
I believe that every software engineer salary should make you qualified for the blue card. What the heck is the Blue Card? Well, the Greek call it Prasino Karta, the Italians call it Carta Biancha, the Americans call it The Green Card. The Germans call it Die blaue Karte (Don't be scared of Der, Die, Das yet). It's just a card where you take permission from the German government to stay 4 years in Germany. It all depends on the salary though. If it is 43K+ per year, you are fully qualified for it.
Well, you can't immediately apply for that. You need a 6 month VISA and once you have that, you can come to Germany to apply for it.
Once you have all the agreement with the company, you should immediately schedule a meeting at the Embasy of Germany in Albania. Germans don't usually create confusion on any website, so the process should be pretty easy. So in order to schedule a meeting on the German Embassy, I am redirecting you to an information link, and the schedule link is just on the bottom of the page (just in case they change the links sometimes).
Please read the whole process and do exactly the amount of actions required. Not more, not less.
After the scheduling is correct, you should receive an email in which you MUST confirm in 24 hours that you are going to be in that meeting. After that, it's on. You are in a queue to schedule the meeting. You should be able to get the date of the meeting in a couple of days (max a week), which possibly is one month from the moment you receive the email or a little bit more or less.
Uh boy/girl, now you're in trouble. This is the documents you would need to bring to the day of meeting in the Embassy. Please, check the link if there are any changes. Don't hold this repository responsible for your Visa failure.
Before I start, note that every document needs at least 2 copies to be handed over to the Embassy *Note: You might wanna do a scan all the papers because after the Embassy meeting, your employer will get a letter from the Work Agency where they require you to send all the papers that you have applied with in the Embassy
You need 2 copies of hand written application form. All the information should be totally honest and one single lie on that form is supposed to penalize you for all future applications. If you have ever been to jail, or if you carry a disease you better don't lie. Now, there are some specific questions but feel free to reach me on twitter because there are a little bit confusing for us as Albanians.(Like the question "What are your means of subsistence?").
Note: After 1st February 2020, the German Embassy is accepting only electronic forms. But you will be notified for that on your email. I applied on January 2020 so sorry, can't help you with that.
I used to pay 70 Euros in Albanian Lek with the days current currency (That day I payed 9200 ALL). Make sure to bring the money exactly as much as is required, because less money can't buy a valid application, and more money doesn't give you change and it's not accepted. Let's say you give 10000 ALL and you say: "Keep the change!". Hell no! That's considered corruption, and failing your meeting that day. The Embassy guys are not cashiers. The payment as you may have noticed is made inside, on the day of meeting, in the interview point. You will receive the bill, don't worry.
This is easy, just make sure they are 6 months old or newer. The format should be 40 with 30 mm but if you go to any photography studio in Tirana, you can just say: "I need a picture for the German Embassy".
The passport MUST be the same as what you used to schedule the meeting. It should be valid and must not be 6 months or less before the expiry date. If the passport number doesn't match with the passport number of the application, try other countries for that year or convince the company to work remotely.
You must show the job offer to the embassy. You must have the original one, so your future manager/boss must mail it to you. The contract must have on the last page your bosses signature along with the seal of the company. Not having one of them, just hope noone notices it. Usually the company should send you two copies, one should go back to Germany with your signature.
Please be patient with the Albanian mail and make sure the envelope contains your phone number otherwise the postman will never find you
Before you get the job contract, I believe they should email you a PDF version for you.
Now this is the only step that takes a lot of time. Take all your qualifications (only copies, not original documents), and go to the rectors office (known as Rektorati, it's in Qyteti Studenti, Godina Liria or at informatics department's secretary in case you have studied at Fakulteti i Shkencave te Natyres). Hand over your Diploma (and the master degree if you have one), to the secretary along with your note list (I also handed over a "Vertetim qe e ke ate diplome" but it's not mandatory). Tell the secretary the country you want to prepare those papers for (you should pay a small fee, 500 ALL to the bank). This will be sealed by the rector. Meanwhile you need to prove the world that your degree(s) is/are valid. So you must go to Anabin Database. Here, you must search for your degree exactly as it is described in the original paper you have.
Note: The "Information technology and communication" and "Informatics" degree are on the same category and please say this to the Embassy interviewer". Should appear like: Informatike/Teknologji Informacioni dhe komunikimi.
A small pop-up window will appear. Print that out 3 times (2 are required, i like 3 just in case) in German, 3 times in English.
10 days later, the rectors office will call you and just go there to get the diploma with the rectors seal. Once you receive the sealed papers, go to the postal office. Send those papers to the foreign ministry of Albania for a seal called "Vule apostile per Gjermani". Another fee will be for you there. In 48 hours at maximum, your papers will be back.
Once you have the rectors seal and the foreign ministry seal, go to a notary office. Legalize all papers you have and translate them to German.
You don't need that unless you are a nurse. Skip it.
Ok. In Germany, you need to be medically insured in all cases. This will be reduced from your salary and the company will handle that for you. But, the application must be done by you, yourself. It really depends what company will you use for your medical insurance. Most of people use TK (so did I). Fill the application form and in 24 hours you will receive the confirmation of it. Remember to place the starting date of the insurance, the first day of your job in the contract, otherwise you will pay money you shouldn't. Once you are accepted, email one of their agents to send a copy of the contract to you by email (usually they scan it). Another option would be to get it from your employer, as they also receive the same paper for you by local mail.
Now you are ready for the embassy meeting.
First of all, I would advice you to go 10 minutes early. Of course you have a time for your meeting, but being punctual is the key here. Have all your papers with you (what is described above). A guy will call out thy name: "Winged Dragon of Ra". When you enter the building, you must leave the phone and all metal crap you carry with you in a closet (you will have a key for that). Once you pas the metal detector, you will meet the secretary. She will confirm your meeting and will mark it as valid. She will make a check up for all the documents. She is there to save time for the interviewers, so if something goes wrong with your papers, you will not enter the building at all. Chill out, the interveiwer is cuter and calmer than her, honestly. I had great time with the interviewer. Well, once everything is OK with your papers, you enter the building. The interviewer calls you. Usually, they don't ask many questions when you are for the blue card, they just stand in front of the computer to verify the validity of every information they are receiving. Here you make the payment also (at the end). I personally got asked only with 3 questions:
- Marital status
- Have you ever requested a political asylum (hope you haven't)
- How good is your German (don't worry, if you don't know German, no problem)
At the end, the interviewer says: You will be notified by email and than you leave.
You will receive an email saying that the embassy has made a decision for your application. You won't receive the answer by email. You must go to the Embassy to get it. For the blue card, Germans have never been harsh. I don't know anyone who hasn't made it with a Visa, so don't worry so much about it. Make sure to print the invitation email otherwise you get nothing that day.
Germans are pretty fair on their judgements so there is probably something wrong with you. I can't help you in this step, but probably a new application should be fine. I don't really know.
Now is the time for the toughest test of your life. Finding a house to rent in Germany. It's hard, even for software engineers and you need luck, a lot of luck.
Finding a house in Germany can make a grow man cry. Well, as said, finding a house is pretty hard in Germany, especially in Berlin, Munich or Cologne. I have made a list of tips and tricks on finding a house in Germany but don't forget there are plenty of other houses too.
I have used these websites to find a house in Germany:
If you require shared apartments, look for Homefully.
Small trick, if you have to do with agents, better email them and ignore the system.
Note that all sites have an app version in play store or app store. The only one that is not English friendly is Immowelt (but honestly it's very nice as a site) Also, there are specific websites depending on the city you are movin in
You will have a lot of pressure for the house. Start searching as quick as you get the Visa. 1 month before, is too late. Trust me.
Don't be the nice guy when you look for an appartment. Go there and YELL at people that you are looking for an accommodation. They will help you.
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Try Facebook groups. For every city there are plenty of groups that look like: "Albaner in Dortmund" or "Shqiptaret ne Berlin". They might help you.
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Reddit. There should be a city channel in reddit and they help you a lot.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT COOPERATE WITH **** WHO DON'T SIGN A HOUSE CONTRACT. NO HOUSE CONTRACT, YOU CAN'T DO BASICALLY NOTHING IN GERMANY (AND YOU ARE BOTH BREAKING THE LAW). WILL EXPLAIN LATER WHY
This is not that hard. All a Landlord requires is being stable and proving that you are able to pay, that you are able to take care of the house and that you are punctual. I made a small template to write to the Landlord to start negotiating for the house. It's good to make it in German, but hopefully they speak English (they might reply in German but they fully understand you):
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren
Ich werde von Albanien nach Deutschland ziehen, um einen neuen Job in [Your City] zu beginnen. Ich bin Softwareentwickler bei [Your company name]. Ich bin albanischer Staatsbürger und [Your age] Jahre alt. Mein Gehalt wird voraussichtlich [Your salary] Euro pro Jahr betragen. Ich suche eine Wohnung zur Miete in [Your city] und möchte einen Besichtigungstermin vereinbaren. Mein Deutsch ist leider nicht gut. Können Sie sich auch auf Englisch verständigen? Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[Your Name]
Cmon, you are a programmer, you are good with variables. Your salary will decide his response. You are not the only candidate so, probably they will schedule a meeting or something.
Well, you can stay with Airbnb or Booking for a fortnite and schedule meetings locally in Germany. Also requires luck.
Without a house contract, you can't receive the "Anmeldung". The "Anmeldung" is a proof of residence in your city. Without it, you can't open a bank account, you can't do literally anything. No "Anmeldung", no party. I guess this also answers the question: "Why can't I use a long term Airbnb accommodation?".
That's the easiest part of the whole guide. Just go to the website of the city you are going to live in and schedule a meeting with the office. You can also email them, or call them. You have a lot of guides on the internet for this step just Google search "Anmeldung in [Your city]"
Unfortunately, because of the Corona Virus situation, I was unable to to go with a regular meeting about adress registration (Anmeldung). So I sent the letters by mail.
In a couple of days you would need to check your mailbox for any letters from the KVR office you sent the letters to. And just a weak later you should receive your Tax id information. After you have the Tax Id, you can go to any bank and open a bank account.
You need to send an email to the migration.kvr@muenchen.de with your full name, birthday, birthplace and your current address to schedule the meeting for the Blue card. Wait for their response, and check out the documentation you need to send them (mostly it's nearly the same documents you handled to the Albanian Embassy).
Yes you do need a tax id, unless you are working illegally. And you cannot have a bank account without a Tax id.
After you get the Tax ID. You need to open the bank account to receive the salary. In Germany, as far as I personally am concerned, you can choose whatever bank you like inside the Europian Union. I personally chose Sparkasse, but you can choose whatever you want. Take your passport, your TaxID letter (and your Anmeldung), schedule a meeting with the bank and that's it.
Once you get registered in Munich, you will get a letter to get registered in the Rundfunkbeitrag. It's basically a tax that you have to pay for public broadcasts of radio and television. Mandatory. Be careful with their dates though, you must pay in the date that is stated on the document you will get.
Not mandatory! However Landlords appreciate you for having this. Well, works like this: You break my 3000$ laptop and you have no money to pay me back, and I'm so angry with you and really hate you right now. So, you can just use the liability insurance document, I get my money back, and I don't hate you anymore. You just pay an ammount of small money each month (5-10 Euros).
You might like to also pay the Legal insurance, it saves a lot of money and time to find a lawyer when you actually need it, if you actually need it
I have had thousands of problems with the application since it resulted that the COVID-19 situation delayed the process a lot. What you have to do in these situations is to contact the foreigners office by email and ask for a meeting. They will come back to you in a few days asking for your documents. Scan everything they ask and send them. Normally, they ask for the same documents that you have handed over in the local embassy. The process inside is a very ordinary process. Once you have the meeting confirmation on your email, you can show it to the man/woman at the door so you can get in. Then, wait for your name + number to be displayed in the screen, in the area that you are supposed to wait (every detail is on your email). All you have to do in that office is stay, place your fingerprints in the scanner, answer some pretty basic questions (it's better if you speak German, but not obligatory for the Blue Card). You would have to pay a fee that is normally 120 Eu or less, cash or local German debit card and nothing more. After the successful process, you will get a Fiktionsbescheinigung, which is just a temporary "Blue Card" until your original/normal one gets printed (you have to wait for at least 2 months). In 2 months and a half ~ 3 months, your blue card and you work permit will be in your adress, or you have to go to the closest postal office to collect it. This is your passport, your ID card, your everything. Congratulations, you made it!
Note You can use the Blue Card electronically, for buying cigarettes on the machines at the streets or for some services that use online ID verification. To be honest I have never used it.
Now that you can fully stay in Germany legally, in 33 months (blue card is valid for 4 years), it is your right to apply for the temporary residence permit (unless the laws change). It would not hurt to learn some German meanwhile because after 2 years of the residence permit, you have the right to ask for the German Citizenship, unless you want to keep yours. But you need a B2 level of German, and to know some history of the country.