Any Germans here (or expats living in Germany?)

SirKonstantine

SirKonstantine

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Jun 15, 2011
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I moved to Germany because my girlfriend is German and her family is here.

Now, I need a visa.

I'm aiming towards the self-employment visa but, last week, the Foreigner's Office denied my application.

Basically, showing your bank statement and saying "I do SEO" is not enough.

They want a business plan and 2-3 letters of intent from German business owners.

Basically, I'll need a business reason to stay in the country if I want to live here even if I'm financially stable and from the US.

Any Germans in here who could write me a letter? No, you don't have to actually hire me afterwards, its only a letter of intent. You can write it as yourself or your company.

Let me know. I'll be forever grateful (or will buy you a beer if/when you're in Berlin).
 


Don't sweat this. This is totally normal. I had to do something similar when I applied for an Investment Visa in Hong Kong back in 2005 in order to establish my residency here. 7 years later and I gained permanent residency and right of abode.

For me I had to provide a business plan, hire at least one HK based employee, and prove that I had enough capital to establish the business.

There are without a doubt a few Germans here. I am sure there are Germans on Fiverr too if you need to widen your search. Just word it the right way like "Looking for German logo expert for logo and future business opportunities". Would you have the opportunity of gaining permanent residency in Germany after several years?
 
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bluechinagroup said:
Don't sweat this. This is totally normal. I had to do something similar when I applied for an Investment Visa in Hong Kong back in 2005 in order to establish my residency here. 7 years later and I gained permanent residency and right of abode.

For me I had to provide a business plan, hire at least one HK based employee, and prove that I had enough capital to establish the business.

There are without a doubt a few Germans here. I am sure there are Germans on Fiverr too if you need to widen your search. Just word it the right way like "Looking for German logo expert for logo and future business opportunities". Would you have the opportunity of gaining permanent residency in Germany after several years?
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Wow, that's insane you had to hire someone.

Haha Fiverr will be my option of last resort. From what I've read, the gov actually calls the individuals up.

After 5 years if I meet certain bureaucratic requirements -_-
 
I'm genuinely surprised it's that easy. US and even the UK require you to drop big money to emigrate. Try meetup or something similar, Berlin has got a huge expat & startup scene.
 
This probably isn't difficult at all. Half the unfree world is already living in Germany. Just do what is needed. A shortcut could be to figure out if another EU country has better arrangements, look into something like Romania perhaps. There should be tons about this online, try one of the digital nomad groups.
 
A visa for a beer? LOL only on WF.

If you're American you can stay 3 months in Germany visa-free, then all you have to do is exit Germany and re-enter, right? That's what I did when I lived in China, I kept getting 3 month L visas (tourist visas) and exiting to Hong Kong for a day or 2 to renew it and fly back. I eventually got a 12 months multiple-reentry visa which made life much easier...
 
ask your gf if they have a friend with some construction company or whatever
pay them a little dollars and draft an employment contract.
go back with contract, instant greencard *(aufenthaltsbewilligung)
 
nicmakaveli said:
ask your gf if they have a friend with some construction company or whatever
pay them a little dollars and draft an employment contract.
go back with contract, instant greencard *(aufenthaltsbewilligung)
Click to expand...

yea good luck convincing german authorities an american came to work construction lol. the easiest eu immigration path for americans is the dutch self employment agreement (only us and japanese get the privilege), you need a few thousand euros in the bank and a "business plan". then you get residence and become a citizen in a few years. also sweden has a simple pathway for self employed but he'll take 5-10 years to become a citizen. the easiest for direct access to germany is marriage or an eu immigrant ancestor.
 
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nicmakaveli said:
ask your gf if they have a friend with some construction company or whatever
pay them a little dollars and draft an employment contract.
go back with contract, instant greencard *(aufenthaltsbewilligung)
Click to expand...

As far as dumb ass ideas go from people who don't know what they're blabbing about, this one really takes the cake. Immigration departments in developed countries typically only give you a work visa if you are doing a skilled job that can't easily be done by one of their own nationals.

Why even go through these full retard schemes when the self employment visa is relatively speaking pretty straight forward? The Dutch residency path that blue12 suggested is an even better idea since according to him it can lead to EU citizenship (check with a lawyer on this).
 
bluechinagroup said:
As far as dumb ass ideas go from people who don't know what they're blabbing about, this one really takes the cake. Immigration departments in developed countries typically only give you a work visa if you are doing a skilled job that can't easily be done by one of their own nationals.

Why even go through these full retard schemes when the self employment visa is relatively speaking pretty straight forward? The Dutch residency path that blue12 suggested is an even better idea since according to him it can lead to EU citizenship (check with a lawyer on this).
Click to expand...
i was trying to help. the rules are pretty straight forward. i know a few people who have companies in germany austria holland just for this. work contracts for usually people from eastern europe and africa.
you need a residency, and a contract not limited on time with a salary guaranteeing you you can pay the social security equivalent and health insurance.
nothing more.
there is a gazillion more ways, all of which are really not complicated.
they just care about the paperwork and that you can pay what you have to and will not rely on them to provide you with basic living needs thats it.
 
nicmakaveli said:
i was trying to help. the rules are pretty straight forward. i know a few people who have companies in germany austria holland just for this. work contracts for usually people from eastern europe and africa.
you need a residency, and a contract not limited on time with a salary guaranteeing you you can pay the social security equivalent and health insurance.
nothing more.
there is a gazillion more ways, all of which are really not complicated.
they just care about the paperwork and that you can pay what you have to and will not rely on them to provide you with basic living needs thats it.
Click to expand...

I guess Germans don't want to do construction jobs and leave it to the foreigners from lower income countries that aren't part of the EU.

But I think for OP's situation, a self employment visa makes much more sense. It's really not that hard to do, and you don't need to do sham employment.
 
bluechinagroup said:
I guess Germans don't want to do construction jobs and leave it to the foreigners from lower income countries that aren't part of the EU.

But I think for OP's situation, a self employment visa makes much more sense. It's really not that hard to do, and you don't need to do sham employment.
Click to expand...
i agree with you.
i didnt know about this way when i added my post.
And this seems the easiest way by far.
construction was also a stupid example. it could be any kind of company.

there is one similar way i know of in germany though.
but since konstantine said gf and not wife i didnt think it relevant.

as a foreigner you can start a company, ag or gmbh (first is a shareholder which can also be a holding and just over see an asset second is like limited liability and needs less capital).
And you can hire yourself.
the thing is.
you can own 99 of 100 shares. and be the ceo.
but there has to also be a german, or somebody with full german residencyship who has the power of attorney.
means they could clean your bank account.
 
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