The Ultimate Guide to American Immigration to Germany
Looking to move from the US to Germany? I don’t blame you at all – it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. That being said the immigration process isn’t easy.
This Guide to American immigration to Germany has some very specific steps that you need to follow in order to make everything official and legal.
Luckily, I’ve been through the process, so let me be your guide through the German immigration process as a US citizen. Let’s dive in and find out more.
Can I use a Schengen Visa to move to Germany?
First things first, you cannot use a Schengen Visa to move to Germany for a prolonged period. The Schengen Visa is an amazing way to visit a lot of European countries, but it’s definitely not a permanent solution.
The whole point of the Schengen Visa is freedom of movement within many European countries for up to 90 days within 180 days without having to pay for a formal visa. This is obviously great for tourists and people who want to spend the summer backpacking through Europe, but it’s not good for a full-time move.
Even if you’re planning to move to Germany for three months or under, the Schengen Visa isn’t ideal because you actually can’t legally work on this visa. If you get caught, you can get deported and even banned from coming back as a tourist in the future.
Simply put, it’s just not worth the risk. You need to go through one of the many official channels to live and work in Germany as a US citizen.
Does Germany have a Digital Nomad Visa?
While Germany doesn’t have a formal digital nomad visa yet, it does have a freelancer visa that works in a similar way to the Schengen Visa with some crucial differences.
A freelancer visa in Germany is normally given out to liberal professions including artists and musicians. They usually last three months, but unlike the Schengen Visa, you can work during this period.
In order to be eligible for this three-month freelancer visa, you need to prove that you have enough means to support yourself and you need to include a detailed project or business plan in your application to justify why you’re coming to Germany to work.
Other than that, the visa application process is very similar to all other types wherein you have an application form, need to show your passport, extra passport photos, and more.
After the three months is up, you can apply for a residence permit to make your stay in Germany more permanent and get access to all those amazing German social services.
Types of Residence Permits for US Citizens
So, let’s get into the different kinds of residence permits for US Citizens. You can apply for your electronic residence permit after the 90 days of your Schengen Visa is up or after your freelance visa has come to an end.
If you know that you’re planning on staying in Germany permanently, you can apply for a residence permit once you arrive in Germany or you can apply for it from the States, but I’ll go into those differences later.
Standard Residence Permit
The first residence permit that you’re going to need to get is the Standard Residence Permit. This allows you to work in Germany as a US citizen, join training courses, reunite with family members, and more.
It’s important to note that this residence permit isn’t permanent. You need to renew your residence permit year after year until you have lived in Germany for at least five years. Only then can you apply for a settlement permit or permanent residency, which we’ll dive into now.
Settlement Permit or Permanent Residence
Once you’ve spent five years living and working in Germany, going through the residence permit reapplication every year, you’ll finally be eligible for either a settlement permit or permanent residency.
This is basically a US Green Card and it essentially means you get all the perks of becoming a German citizen without having to give up your existing citizenship and passport. However, there are a few hoops that you need to jump through in order to get one of these coveted permits.
First of all, you need to have lived in Germany for at least five years and completed an integration course. This shows that you know all about German culture and how different parts of a German lifestyle work.
It’s kind of like a crash course version of a citizenship test and there is an exam at the end that you need to pass.
You also have to prove that you have a decent handle on the German language. There are courses all over the country and you can work up from your A1 all the way up to fluency with different exams.
B1 is considered a good German language level in order to assimilate and pass the requirements for a permanent residency. Having lived in Germany for five years, you probably should be able to speak and understand a decent amount of German anyway!
Finally, you need to prove that you can financially support yourself while you’re in Germany. This essentially means that you’re not going to be a burden to the state and that you’re actually going to contribute to the German economy.
The difference between applying for immigration from Germany or from the US
As I’ve mentioned, you can either apply for your residence permit from the US, before you travel, or you can apply in the country from Germany. Here are the differences between the two so that you can work out which will work better for you.
Applying from the US
If you apply for your residence permit for Germany from the US, it means that you’re not wasting your 90-day allowance once you’re actually in the country on red tape and paperwork.
You’ll need to have immigration meetings at one of the German consulates that can be found in the majority of the big US cities.
You’ll also need to allow a lot more time for your paperwork to go through as you’re sending details back and forth to Germany. On average, applying for a residence permit from the US takes around three months, which is a lot longer than the process would take if you were actually in Germany.
Applying from Germany
If you opt to apply for your residence permit while you’re in Germany, the process is definitely a lot quicker. That being said, you do need to do a lot of prep before you enter the country if that’s the case.
You need to have a place to live and a job with a steady income set up before you arrive. This is because you only have 90 days to get everything pushed through and done before you have to leave the country, so having as much sorted in advance is of paramount importance.
As the first step towards getting a residence permit is registering your address and in order to secure a lease you’ll need proof of income, getting set up in Germany can be a confusing and sometimes contradictory process.
So, take time to make plans before you actually get to Germany, and it’ll be a lot less stressful once you get there.
From here, you’ll follow the standard immigration process that I’m going to outline step-by-step below.
7 Steps to Apply for Immigration to Germany from the USA
So, now you know the different types of immigration permits for moving to Germany from the US, what’s the actual process for making this a reality? I’ve broken it down step-by-step so that you don’t get confused by the stereotypical German bureaucracy – trust me, it’s definitely a thing!
1. Register your address
The crucial first official step towards getting your residence permit is registering your address with the local authorities. This process is called the Anmeldung process and you’ll need to bring paperwork to prove one of two things.
You either need to show your rental lease or your title deeds to a purchased property. Interestingly enough though, you can’t actually set up a lease in Germany without a German bank account or without proof of income.
However, many German banks won’t let you set up an account without proof of address, so this can be tricky and takes some time and a whole bunch of red tape to sort out.
2. Get decent health insurance
If you want to get your residency permit for Germany, you have to get health insurance. It’s mandatory in Germany and you won’t be able to register with a doctor’s surgery or access many healthcare services without it.
There are plenty of public and private insurance providers, and many German employers offer health insurance as part of the remuneration package. You also don’t want to try and use American health insurance because no healthcare professional in Germany is going to accept it!
3. Get a German bank account
A German bank account is one of the first things that you’re going to want to set up. You won’t be able to get paid by your employer, pay taxes, or set up a rental lease without one. Honestly, you won’t even be able to get a mobile contract without one.
From solely a visa and residence permit point of view, you need to have a German bank account set up with enough money transferred into it to support yourself in Germany.
Even if you have employment set up and can support yourself through your wages, this doesn’t matter. You need proof of funds upfront in order to get your hands on a residence permit.
The suggestion is to research the cost of living for the German city or area you’re going to be moving to and add sufficient funds from your US account into your shiny new German account.
4. Pay any permit fees
Unfortunately, residence permits aren’t free. Luckily, they’re not as expensive as a lot of other visas and residence permits in other countries. If you’re applying for your residence permit for the first time, it’s going to cost you 110 Euros for the application to go through.
Every year that you want to renew your residence permit, the application fee drops to 80 Euros. Once you’ve paid your application fees, make sure that you hold onto the receipts. This is super important because you need to submit your receipt as part of your final documentation to prove that you’ve paid the application fee.
5. Display above-basic German language skills
If you’re moving to a new country permanently, you need to make sure that you can speak or at least understand the language to a basic level. Germany has made this a requirement for getting your residence permit, with a higher language requirement if you’re applying for your permanent residence permit.
When you’re applying for your residence permit, you need to prove that you have a B1 level of German. For reference, A1 and A2 are considered basic, B1 and B2 are considered proficient, and C1 and C2 are advanced or fluent.
These are standard levels that are used by language examiners all around the world.
To get your permit, you need to complete a B1 German language exam. These are held all over the country and you’ll need the official pass certification as part of your residency application.
Make sure you book one of these exams early as they get booked up quickly and you might need to travel across the country to find an available slot within your application time frame.
6. Book your Residence Permit appointment
This is the main appointment that you need to get booked way in advance. Whether you’re applying at the German Embassy in the US or the Aliens Authority Office in Germany, you need to get an appointment so that they can take a look at all your documentation and check your German language skills to make sure you’re not lying.
These can be booked up a couple of weeks or even months in advance, so you can always book an appointment as one of the first things you do in this residence permit application process, and set up things like health insurance, bank accounts, and German lessons in between.
This appointment is the rubber stamping of your German residency permit, so you need to have this in before your 90 days are up, otherwise, you’re going to have to leave Germany for at least another 90 days before you can come back and restart the process.
7. Get all your documents in order
The paperwork involved in getting a German residency permit is no joke at all. The bureaucracy is real and you need to make sure you have all the below in order, and I’d suggest having multiple copies of each just in case.
- A completed application form. These are available from the German Embassy, and if you are applying from the US, you’ll need to submit two copies, instead of just one.
- A valid passport with at least four months of validity past the point your residency permit would run out.
- Two passport-quality photos
- Confirmation from German authorities of your registered address in Germany,
- Proof of financial security, including bank statements, tax documents, or other financial documents that show you can support yourself while living in Germany.
- Either a letter from your employer confirming you have an employment offer or a contract from your employer. This is only necessary if you’re applying for a work-based permit over say a family reunification permit etc.
- Proof of health insurance
- The receipt that shows you’ve paid your application fees.
- Any other documents specific to your visa will be outlined in your residence permit appointment email.
A lot of these pieces of paperwork will be needed for moving abroad tasks like getting a lease on an apartment, setting up a bank account, or registering for school or college courses. So, you need multiple copies of all of these documents.
Summary
If you’re a US citizen thinking about moving to Germany, there are a lot of different hoops that you need to jump through. These include strict language requirements, registering your address, and buying decent health insurance, among other things.
Applying for your German residency permit can be a long and tedious process, so organization is key – especially as you only have 90 days actually in Germany to complete the process. I’d suggest doing as much as you can before you arrive, such as booking language exams and booking residence permit appointments.
This means you can focus your time in Germany on setting up your accommodation and getting a bank account sorted – the kinds of tasks that have to be done in person, in Germany.
Of course, as the years roll on, the process will get easier, as you’ll already have all your documentation and admin set up. Eventually, the five years will pass and you’ll be ready to apply for your settlement permit or permanent residency!
