What Nobody tells you about Permanent Residency in Germany

These days we are brainwashed to follow the trends. Be it a platform, an app, a website, your school, the field you should choose in your Bachelors or just your entire decision of moving to a different country. Everybody tries to influence your mind with their own opinions and 95% of the people succumb to it, give in to whatever the other person is telling him is ‘better for you’ even when he might not have any idea of the situation and might be telling the exact same thing that he listened from somebody else, with some level of exaggeration, because who doesn’t?

As soon as the 12th-grade finishes or Bachelors finishes, most of the people think about moving to Canada, Australia or the United States because they have seen other people do it, they have seen their friends do it and that’s where the whole idea of moving to different country pops up: frustration with the education system and job market in India and because the friend of your father told you that his uncle’s son moved to the United States or Canada or Australia because the salary is insanely high and it’s very easy to get permanent residency (well, leave the United States out of it in the PR part. It can take up to 9 years to get a permanent residency there through lottery system).

When everybody talks about moving to a different country and residing there, Germany rarely comes up in anybody’s mind because the perception is that it is not possible to reside for a longer duration after your studies here. Some of it comes from the hesitation of breaking the German language barrier and other comes from no or less knowledge about the immigration system of Germany.

How easy it is to get PR in Germany?

If you want to settle down in Germany for a longer duration and enjoy all the benefits of a citizen other than the right to vote and use the consular services of the country when in another country. Germany only rewards highly educated and skilled people with a chance to get a permanent residency, for other less skilled professions, the story isn’t as simple. Most of the people come to Germany for their studies and then just after 2 years of their studies (it doesn’t matter if you want to do Bachelors, Masters or PhD). Following are the requirements that you need to fulfill for a permanent residency after 2 years of working, once your studies are finished:

• German university degree certificate (Bachelors, Masters or PhD)
• Have a residency permit since at least 2 years (you get it automatically when you start working)
• In case of freelancing, the 2 years of work should be in line with what you studied during your degree in Germany
• Must have paid social contributions for at least 24 months
• Must have sufficient income to financially support yourself and a public health insurance
• No crimes/offenses (Even just normal fines can obstruct your Permanent Residency application!)
• B1 level of German

What documents are needed to apply for PR?

• Valid passport
• 1 current biometric photograph
• Filled out application form
• Certificates
• Bank statements and Salary Slips
• Rental contract for the apartment/house
• Proof of social contribution payments
• Health Insurance document
• City registration

You can read the details here (link is in German): https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326558/

How much does it cost to get a PR?

The application for a permanent residency or a Niederlassungserlaubnis generally costs 113 Euros (the price can vary from city to city).

Can the laws be easier?

Germany has been trying to encourage people to come to the country and take up the highly skilled and qualified jobs because they have been in a great need of new and young workforce who can continue the legacy of German economy forward and this is the reason it is so extremely easy for highly qualified people to get a job, permanent residency and citizenship afterwards. No other developed country offers the permanent residency just after 2 months without any questions asked! But again, this would last maximum for another 5-6 years till Germany is overflown with people again and they don’t need anymore. So, if you are thinking about coming to Germany, right now is literally the golden phase when you can do that. Even the rules for PR had been renewed in 2017 to make Germany more attractive and so far it has been working out, but the number of vacancies in jobs that the country still faces is a gap which only a next few years of heavy immigration of skilled labor will bridge. Although for the people looking for shortcuts, Germany would never be a smart place to come because of the language barriers and respect for education, but if you are a skilled person who is in the school right now or doing a Bachelors or Masters, Germany offers you a great standard of living with great work-life balance and easiness to settle down here for a longer term once your studies are done!

Share this post with other people and let them why you are planning to come to Germany and how easy it is to shift to Germany for highly skilled and qualified people which isnt’t mentioned anywhere!