A Step by Step Guide to pave your way to Immigration
This page will give you a step-by-step overview on what will happen during the application process, in which order and what is to be done when applying. Of course each case is different. In case you are unsure or have questions, please feel free to book an initial consultation, or use my service number.
Initial Consultation
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Legal "First Aid" – via my Service Number
For more details on legal help now and on the spot or legal "first aid".
Visa application process steps
The process steps of the application process are the following:
- Do you need a visa to enter Germany for residential purposes or can you apply from home? In other words, do you enjoy the visa waiver privilege and can you apply after entering? Click here for the answer!
- On what grounds do you want to enter Germany?
- Collect relevant documents for your application and have a copy ready – especially diplomas! In case they are not in English, please have them translated – directly into German!
- Either make an appointment at the next German consulate (visa section) or enter Germany on your 90-day visa waiver. When arranging the appointment at the consulate do make sure you mention that you want/need a national visa for residential purposes, otherwise, you might go in vain.
- After entering Germany, move into your apartment/house, or at least take a temporary lease,
- Register with basic suppliers like electricity, gas, telephone, internet, etc.
- Register your address at the Meldestelle / Einwohnermeldeamt (registration office) of your municipality,
- Now you can open a private bank account,
- Make an appointment at the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) of your municipality. Depending on the grounds of your application, you might get the permit on the spot or you will receive a Fiktionsbescheinigung when your visa waiver period or entry visa is about to expire.
This is about how it all works. Sounds simple? We admit; that the process described so abstractly seems really easy. The problems lie in how persuading you are in showing that you meet the requirements. Case deciders in immigration tend to deny more applications than they grant.
Good to know about registering your address ...
Did you know that when you first arrive in Germany, you can rent an apartment temporarily and use its address for your initial address registration?
Once you are fully settled you can start looking for your dream home and then change the address registration later. The authorities require an address registration from every person moving into his or her apartment or house within 2 weeks. This registration doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever. Germany is a free country.
After registering your address, you will automatically receive your tax ID from the Bundeszentrale für Steuern, a federal tax office. You need this number for your employer when you file a tax return, or otherwise when an identification is somehow relevant for tax matters.
You can check out the following providers for a short-term rental: