How to Move to Germany Without a Job Offer
Look, we’ve all stared out the car window in crawling traffic, watching the strip mall hellscape that is our reality and dreamed of being on a ski slope in the Alps, or drinking Pilsners in a Bavarian village, or clubbing until 8 a.m. in Berlin. And by clubbing I mean taking in the city’s rich history. Doesn’t being able to jet off to Paris on a 50 euro Ryanair flight sound pretty great as you pass by another Supercuts?
But you don’t have any job prospects in Germany to get you visa sponsorship. You’ve never met a German you wanted to marry for EU access. Or they didn’t want to marry you; we’ve all been there. And you might be too old for a Working Holiday Visa, fuck those lucky youths.
But you’re a creative soul, right? Even if you don’t actually work in a creative job, there’s a yearning to fully unleash that side of you that slickly finds a way through a sticky situation, makes the cash flow work in your benefit when the paycheck is tight, and knows that you could have been a great playwright if your parents had just encouraged you enough.
Well good. Because there’s a visa option for you that’s far more accessible than marrying a German. But it will take your creative side and an eligible career field to make it happen.
Let’s have a look at it, ways to stay motivated despite the internet bullshit you will have to wade through for clear information, and then a guide for what not to do because I would never have done these things in order to solve some potential challenges.
But one thing I need you to hold on to tightly while reading: nothing in the process is absolute, which is actually in your favor. “But, but…” you mutter as I put my fingers to your lips — nothing is absolute. Hold on to that glorious bit of info.
The Freelance Visa
Germany provides a freelance residency permit for up to three years to people from non-EU countries, if they work in a long and incomplete list of career fields (nothing is absolute). Essentially, you show that you have training in that field, a certificate or degree, and that you have found potential clients in Germany who are willing to contract you for work after you have the visa.
That’s right, I said after. You do not need to actually have employment — in fact, “employment” is a bad word when applying for a freelance visa — that is currently paying you anything in order to get the visa. Don’t worry about those clients just yet — I’ll address them later — but typically they are German companies or someone running a business who can use your skills.
If you work as an artist — an umbrella term under which a lot of careers can fall (nothing is absolute) — or a language teacher, you’re at an even greater advantage. An artist freelance visa or language teacher freelance visa can be approved on the day that you have an appointment to turn over documents (yes, there will be documents), and you walk out with the legal right to spend at least 365 days trying to understand what the big deal is with currywurst anyway. For other career fields, it takes up to three months to get an answer on your application
I won’t go into the actual process of getting the visa. That has been covered, and covered, and covered extensively by people who are willing to write longer articles than I am. If you’re going to move to Germany, you will be doing a lot of research anyway, might as well start with the visa.
There are a few takeaways I am not too lazy to leave you with:
- You will need several documents pertaining to your finances, insurance, training in your field, letters from potential clients, housing, CV (in German), and a description of your job (in German). Still easier than a shotgun wedding.
- You will want to save money in order to go. Not only will you have to show that you have funds to support yourself in case you don’t get paying clients, you will just want to be able to support yourself in case you don’t get paying clients. Eating is essential. And you will need to hit the ground running with some cash, because:
- You will need to go to Germany to get the visa. Yep, you gotta take the plunge in order to take the plunge. If you’re from certain countries, you have up to 90 days to stay just as a tourist. This gives you plenty of time to sort your affairs and make an appointment with the Ausländerbehörde, the foreign affairs office. If your appointment date falls past the 90 days of your visa — entirely possible as they fill up fast — you have the legal right to stay until that date. Same with waiting for an answer on your application.
So there you go. There’s your ticket into spending one to three years living in Germany. Yep, it’s going to take some planning and work, but it’s accessible if you’re willing to make the effort and take that plunge that a lot of people don’t and end up regretting.
Now that you know that the option exists and you’ve decided to make it happen, tread really carefully with:
The Internet Bullshit Machine
I don’t mean to knock any of the blogs or articles that go into the process of arriving in Germany and getting the visa. Peruse as much as you can to know what you need to do and to be as informed as possible. There is a lot of detailed information and first-person experiences to help you navigate.
But that’s the issue: everyone has a different experience depending on where in Germany they lived, where they applied, the officer they applied with, the time of day they applied, which way the wind was blowing that day. The German need for following rules to a T sometimes applies; the Berlin love of giving the finger to hard rules sometimes applies. Nothing is absolute.
Don’t even listen to me. I got my visa in 2015 and things could have changed or maybe the person I applied with liked my shirt. I also had steady monthly income already for my freelance work from a U.S. company, so that may have smoothed some rough waters.
None of this is meant to discourage you. In fact, what it means is that even though you might read about this or that obstacle and feel daunted, just remember that most people are successful in getting the visa. It’s really not a high bar, and you can appeal the decision on the off-chance it’s denied (usually for missing paperwork).
Don’t take anyone’s problems to mean you’ll have the same. Don’t take anyone’s internet-splaining declarations as golden truth. I have read over and over that you need a German bank account to get the visa. This never came up for me (still, get an N26 account right away, it makes life a lot easier). I have read that you need German insurance. I had travel insurance, and though I was told that in order to have my visa renewed I would need German insurance, it was approved.
It’s also not meant to make you think you won’t need any of the necessary documents. But obtaining them is different for everyone. Everyone has a different experience getting housing and finding clients to write a letter. Some people find creative ways (remember: you’re creative!) to make these things happen. Creative ways to, um, avoid listed below…
The internet has a lot of ‘splaining to do. Take the essentials, leave out the problems. If you stay focused, organized and determined, you’ll get the visa.
Creative Solutions to Avoid When Encountering Problems.
Bending the rules is creative, sure, but no one I ever knew would ever have felt the need to take the drastic steps with things like:
- Bank balance info
Do: Save and have the amount required for visa approval in your bank account.
Don’t: Photoshop your downloaded bank records to show the required amounts. You can’t Photoshop cash at the Aldi.
2. Letters of Intent
Do: Network your ass off to find real clients who can say they intend to contract you. Join a coworking space, go to Meetups, join Facebook groups, etc.
Don’t: Ask your new friends to write letters for you for their made up companies or just make up friends who write letters because you know that no overworked civil servant is going to call Hester Feldman.
3. Training Certification
Do: Have or get certification in a field, especially artistic, that is covered by the freelance visa.
Don’t: Photoshop the certificate you could have earned had you finished the graphics design course you got on Groupon.
4. Housing
Do: Get a sublet when you arrive and try to get your address formally registered (the Anmeldung, a topic I have avoided here due to PTSD. You will learn it quick), so you can bring that registration to your visa appointment. At the very least, get a sublet agreement from the apartment’s landlord. Ignore the internet-splainers who say you must bring in an Anmeldung.
Don’t: Make up a sublet agreement with the Spanish DJ/tour guide you’re renting a spare room from for two months who’s never actually met the landlord besides owning a building is capitalist repression anyway.
5. Job Description
Do: use that creativity to make your job fit one that you know will work for the freelance visa. I was keywording photos for a stock photography company. I wrote a description that made my work fit graphic design, thus artist freelance visa eligible. I’m not saying lie by any means, but the officer checking your job just wants their life to be easy. If you work is somehow related to one on the job list, tell them exactly how. They really just want to finish your case and see the back of you anyway.
Stop dreaming and start planning! Good luck!
