Do you have any questions relating to studying, working and living in Germany?
Do you have any stories or tips that you want to share with our readers?
Do you want to write a guest post or are you looking for a partnership?
Please write me anything or ask me any questions!
I would be more than happy to share my experience and help!
Just write me an email: [email protected]
Does my choice between a 3 semester course and a 4 semester course affect my duration of stayback after studies to search for a job?
If you satisfy the requirement, you can apply for a job seeking visa after your graduation. Your choice between three or four semester course should not affect the duration of your job seeking visa.
hello,
very glad to find your page as i’m 100% Hongkonger and living work aboard in Germany. First year know nothing about everything. thus by reading your article about sick leave system, health insurance are just like a light tower in a dark ocean. A quick question, is it necessary to do I have to do tax declaration? i don’t know any german yet but if hire a taxi advisor not sure if it’s worth and dun know any good one in FFM. Looking forward for your reply
Hi Coco,
Thanks a lot for reading my blog. I am glad to hear that it can help you!
If you are working in Germany, yes you have to do tax declaration unless you are in tax class 1 and 4.
Do you speak German? If not, it may be easier to use a tax advisor.
Unfortunately I cannot recommend one in FFM.
But you can ask your colleagues for recommendation there.
I may write another post about tax in the future.
Stay tuned and I hope it can help others who are on the same boat.
Sindy
Hi
I love Germany Gus because they are principled. I want to be married to a German between 48-58.
Iam a Ugandan National aged 43
My fiancee living and working in Germany was supposed to join me in France on the 17th of August for her 12 days vacation….this morning ,the 12th of August , she broke her toe ,and was given 4 to 5 weeks sick leave….of course…our vacation is ruined ,as you can imagine…my question is …when she is healed …by the end of September , is she still allowed to take that ruined vacation…?? thank you for your help
She can cancel her original vacation and fill the period with her sick leave. And those original vacation days will not be used and she can move those vacation days to a later time.
Thank you for your blog, I have a plan to study in Germany, but I never learn German before. Now want to spend all of my saving to attend one year of language course and need to reach at B2. I am not sure i can do it or not. Do you have any advice basic on my situation?
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
Is your question about if you can reach B2 after one year? I think it is possible to reach B2 if you study German intensively for one year in Germany. But what is your plan after reaching B2? Apply for an university in Germany? You would still need some money during your studies in Germany. Just don’t forget to budget those cost as well when you move to Germany.
Hi,
Very helpful information you provided here and appreciate the efforts you made for people like us living here in Germany as a foreigner. I’d like to suggest you write some articles regarding house/home insurance. There are so many different types of these insurances covering different damage and e.g. there is even a specific insurance for “broken glass”. It would be very grateful if you can share your knowledge about it. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for your suggestion! I am glad to hear that you find my blog helpful. I wrote about difference insurance in this article here, which includes also home insurance: Insurance in Germany – Which one do you need? Does it help or do you need other information?
Thanks for your reply. The thing is you might be able to find one company offering the best deal for one certain insurance, 3 insurances from 3 companies. Will you get the best/cheaper offer if you buy all insurances (e.g. Car/house/building insurances) from one company? Have you done such assessment?
No I haven’t done such assessment. My feeling is that it is better to find the best deals for different insurances from different companies. Firstly, because one insurance company may not offer all kinds of insurance. Secondly, I feel somehow better to divert my risk in different companies (in case one goes bankrupt or difficult to claim money from). Thirdly, I haven’t heard any deals from insurance company that they give you a discount if you buy different kinds of insurances. It is just my feeling and I may be wrong. In fact, I personally buy all my insurances through my finance adviser and I trusted him to find the best deal for each of these insurances. If you want, I can refer my finance adviser to you. You can ask him any questions as he can give you professional advice.
Hope it helps!
Sindy
I have interested to purchase a land in Kissing, Near Augsburg, Germany for a house. What will be approx cost for 250’sqmtrs Land. Thanks & Regards.
PKDas
Thanks for your message. Have you checked out this article? It describes the general process, cost, and how to find property to buy in Germany. Hope it helps!
Hi, I just discovered your blog and find it very interesting and cool. I’am french and I am thinking about moving to germany for my master degres, but I worried a lot about my family and my friends here in France. Was it difficult for you to live that far for your firends/family. Ho often can you see your family/friend? (if it’s not an an indiscriminate question)
Hi Lucie, thanks a lot for your message! Yes, it is sometimes hard to be so far away from my friends and family back home. I see my parents normally once a year. Since I have kids now, I mostly fly them here to Germany for a few weeks in the summer. However, because of Covid, I haven’t been back home or seen my parents for 2 years already. France is not that far away from Germany. I have a lot of French friends in Germany. They visit home very often. So, I think it shouldn’t be too bad for you. If you are thinking about doing a master degree in Germany, it normally takes about 1.5-2 years. I think it will be a very good chance for you to see if you like to live in Germany during this time. If you find it too hard, you can always move back to France after graduation. Don’t forget that you will meet new friends here in Germany as well 🙂
Hi,
Very nice blog
I am from Middle East and I go to marry German woman in half a year.
I plan to live between 2 countries.
(because I get more money in my original country for the same profession I would work in Germany)
1. what type of residency I may get?
2. I want to buy a property and take a mortgage, will I be still treated as foreigner after my marriage?
3. May I get German citizenship after my marriage after some time by still residing in 2 countries?
Anyway, Do you provide kind of paid consulting services about relocation to Germany etc.. If yes, pls let me know. I have a lot of questions and it is hard to dig the answers everywhere. 🙂
Thanks
Noam,
Thanks for your message!
1. You can probably get a spouse visa. See details here.
2. There is no problem for you to buy a property. However, if you do not have a work contract in Germany and earn in Euro, it will be hard for you to get a mortgage in Germany. For more details, check out this.
3. The answer depends. Normally, if you have a resident permit in Germany, you can apply for German citizenship after some time if you meet the criteria (passing citizenship test, German level, living x years in Germany, etc.). Depending on which resident permit you hold, you may not be allowed to leave Germany for certain period of time. For more details about citizenship, see here:
Unfortunately I do not provide paid consulting services. All the advice I give is purely based on my knowledge and experience. I am not a lawyer and no guarantee that everything is correct. But I am happy to help and provide guidance at the best I can.
Hope it helps,
Sindy
Hi Noam,
I read your blog and maternity leave and parental benefits. It was so in detail. Thank you so much!
I am new in Germany and I just switched to permanent job. I have some queries on maternity leave and parental benefits. Is there any rules/law that in order to get full benefits of Maternity leave and parental leave,I need to be working for a company for certain duration like 6 months or 1 year?
I will be joining a company in Feb and I am thinking to plan in May/June. Will I get all the benefits? I heard some different things so I am confused
Tanya,
Thanks a lot for reading and I am glad you like my blog 🙂
As far as I know, you don’t have to work for a certain duration before you can have the benefits.
For example, even if you are still in probation and you are pregnant, your employer cannot fire you any more.
And you can go to maternity leave and can get the same money (Mutterschaftsgeld) like someone else who is not in probation.
Hope it helps,
Sindy
Regarding the article on cell phone suppliers in Germany, why wasn’t Fonic included?
Gary, thanks for your comment! The selection is based on personal experience, quality and reputation of the mobile operators, contract flexibility, and thorough research. There are many mobile providers in Germany and I cannot include every one of them. That is why I also suggested in my article that one can use a comparison tool if they want to choose from more different options. Hope it helps!
hello, i will move out Germany back to HK/ Taiwan soon, is there any moving company you can recommend? Apart from Seven Seas, as they cant ship non-standard carton thing. thanks!
pat
ps. 1 year ago i wrote u and buy you a coffee, now i ask write u again is asking to move out : )
Pat,
Thanks for reaching out! I hope you have enjoyed your stay in Germany.
I recommend getting several quotes from different moving companies so that you can compare.
You can check this article about how to do it: https://www.mylifeingermany.com/moving-tips/
The article also gives you other tips relating to moving.
Hope it helps and good luck with your move!
Best regards,
Sindy
Hi there Sindy
Great post, makes for a wonderful reading.
One question – I am in ELSTER now but dont see how / where I can claim for unterhaltserklaerung – parents maintenance. Please help. Thanks Arijit
Arijit,
Maintenance expense is part of the income tax return.
The form is called “Anlage Unterhalt”
I have not done it directly in ELSTER before as I always use a tax program.
But I suppose you should find the same in ELSTER when you go through the steps filing your income tax return.
Hope it helps,
Sindy
Dear Sindy,
Thank you very much for your informative blog. I have questions on sending money back home for the old parents:
1. Do you think the stamp from public notary is sufficient for the maintenance form? Because I have difficulty to find a local officer from my home country (Indonesia) who can stamp this
2. Do you have some guides to fill in the section “B. Economic Situation of The Supported Person”? Because I am confused with few stuffs, e.g., should I leave the column empty or filled with 0 if it is not relevant. Also on the Assets section, how do I fill the explanation for “Total Value of Assets” and “Of which” ?
Regards,
Vincent
Vincent,
Thanks for your comment.
1. For me, my parents’ forms were signed by the commissioner for Oaths in Hong Kong. They won’t check any accuracy of the forms but my parents need to declare officially by themselves that the form is true and correct. Then they will stamp on it. My German tax office accepted this form. I am not sure how it works for Indonesia as I can only tell from my experience in Hong Kong. But I suppose it may be similar.
2. For me, I left some blank and some filled with 0. I think it doesn’t really matter.
3. I estimate the total value of assets of my parents and put the total number there. Then, I stated what the assets are. For example, a house and bank account. I put some comment in the explanation that the house is a self-living house.
Note that I am not a tax advisor and cannot give you tax advice. I can only share my own experience of filing Tax in Germany.
If you need individual tax advice, please contact a tax advisor.
Hope it helps!
Sindy
Hi Sindy,
I wanted to reach out to tell you that your website, http://www.mylifeingermany.com, is amazing and incredibly helpful. Thank you for the valuable information you provide. I’m interested in studying, working, and living in Germany. Could you guide me on how to start the process of applying to study in Germany? I would greatly appreciate a step-by-step guide on preparing/starting to apply for studying abroad in Germany, including the list of necessary documentation I must ready.
Additionally, I have a master’s degree in International Relations and an LLB degree. Could you provide guidance on choosing an English program for me, such as M.Phil/PhD in International Relations or a master’s degree in Law? Also, I’m curious to know if it’s possible to change/switch the field of my study program to apply for fields like digital business or business.
Thank you so much for your assistance! Your help is greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
Waqar
Waqar,
Thanks for your comment. I would recommend starting with this website: https://www.daad.org/en/study-research-in-germany/study-in-germany/
Back then, I used this to search for my program and understand all the requirement.
You can check the details of the programs to see if they are in English.
Hope it helps!
Sindy