This part in particular really stuck with me. Even as a relatively wealthy white immigrant, Germany can often feel unwelcoming -- especially having to deal with the bureaucracy and even more...
Releasing its new study, however, the Bertelsmann Foundation said those foreign workers wouldn't come "without a more welcoming culture throughout local authorities and businesses," and without "the perspective of staying long-term."
One example cited by Germany's DPA news agency offers food for thought.
The outlet quoted a Syrian refugee who fled the civil war in his native country in 2016, aged 21, before graduating from universities in western Germany with bachelor's and master's degrees.
Now an IT specialist, trained in Germany, he is moving to Switzerland.
"I gave my very best here in order to be considered an equal but I felt discrimination and rejection," he said, recounting denigration in social circles and part-time work while waiting for an acceptable job offer which never came.
"I want to be treated as an equal," he said. "But I'm not going to beg for it."
For Bertelsmann's Schultz, the case is "unfortunately not an anomaly. Germany can't afford that and must become more attractive."
This part in particular really stuck with me. Even as a relatively wealthy white immigrant, Germany can often feel unwelcoming -- especially having to deal with the bureaucracy and even more especially with the Ausländerbehörde (the foreigner's authority that handles residence permits and citizenship applications) which is incredibly overwhelmed and dysfunctional even when compared to other Amts. I can only imagine it's worse for immigrants and refugees who have to cope with the monumental amount of racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia throughout Germany right now.
Yeah, fully agree - German here with a non-EU-citizen wife. You'd think us being married would make things easier, or her having a German PhD, or having worked here for many years... Nope,...
Yeah, fully agree - German here with a non-EU-citizen wife. You'd think us being married would make things easier, or her having a German PhD, or having worked here for many years... Nope, recently moved back from the US, it's been 5 months and she still doesn't have Visa settled, still isn't allowed to work... It's almost as dysfunctional as the US system imo. Absolutely terrible, we should be ashamed as a country.
The US system is definitely way worse in many ways afaik (and I'm the opposite of optimistic about it going forward), but that's an incredibly low bar. I'm also very privileged because I have an...
The US system is definitely way worse in many ways afaik (and I'm the opposite of optimistic about it going forward), but that's an incredibly low bar. I'm also very privileged because I have an "EU* citizen but not German" spouse for my visa, and the Schengen-wide rules for that are more permissive in some ways than most countries' spouse visas even are. Plus I was lucky enough to apply when I lived in Potsdam rather than Berlin. You could even get appointments by email there 🥲
If you have the money, hire an immigration lawyer to send the appropriate threatening letters to the Ausländerbehörde. I've heard that's often the only way to get anything with them sorted in a remotely timely manner.
Haha, that reminds me that initially things looked more bleak - we had to leave the us in a bit of a rush (because of visa issues stemming from the dos not doing their job for 1.5 years, funnily...
Haha, that reminds me that initially things looked more bleak - we had to leave the us in a bit of a rush (because of visa issues stemming from the dos not doing their job for 1.5 years, funnily enough) and they Ausländerzentrum was threatening that my wife would have to leave Germany again and reapply for her visa from abroad... A friend at the auswärtiges amt told us we could just move to Denmark for a month because as you mentioned, the within-eu rules are less strict then the German ones. How does any of this make sense... :D
We have considering seeking a certificate of citizenship due to recent law changes regarding eligibility. Collecting the right documentation takes time, and at the end of it, there is still the...
We have considering seeking a certificate of citizenship due to recent law changes regarding eligibility. Collecting the right documentation takes time, and at the end of it, there is still the wait for everything to be processed. For my mother, it's more about the connection to her grandmother than a desire to leave the United States. For me, I suppose having more options is nice. I'm under no illusion that emigration is easy or that other countries are problem-free. Nationalism is rearing its ugly head around the world.
What's funny is that when we talk to various German friends about pursuing citizenship, they say in disbelief, 'Why would you want to do that?' I suppose they see the problems in their own country in finer detail and see only broad strokes of the US (though I suspect they are more informed of US events than many Americans). If the attitude of our own friends is to discourage us from living there, I can only imagine what it is like for Ausländer that are non-white or lack a strong support network.
Your German friends are absolutely silly for not seeing the advantages to getting German citizenship. The ability to live anywhere in the Schengen area alone is worth it for the increased freedom...
Your German friends are absolutely silly for not seeing the advantages to getting German citizenship. The ability to live anywhere in the Schengen area alone is worth it for the increased freedom imo, and a German passport gives you visa-free access to a few more countries than a US passport does. And, of course, if you ever plan on living in Germany, having the rights of a citizen is obviously superior to any alternative -- even the closest equivalent, an EU permanent residency, gives you less freedom and doesn't give you the right to vote. I definitely won't get mine in time to vote in the coming election, but I'm hoping I manage to get it before the CDU gut the new immigration laws too badly.
This part in particular really stuck with me. Even as a relatively wealthy white immigrant, Germany can often feel unwelcoming -- especially having to deal with the bureaucracy and even more especially with the Ausländerbehörde (the foreigner's authority that handles residence permits and citizenship applications) which is incredibly overwhelmed and dysfunctional even when compared to other Amts. I can only imagine it's worse for immigrants and refugees who have to cope with the monumental amount of racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia throughout Germany right now.
Yeah, fully agree - German here with a non-EU-citizen wife. You'd think us being married would make things easier, or her having a German PhD, or having worked here for many years... Nope, recently moved back from the US, it's been 5 months and she still doesn't have Visa settled, still isn't allowed to work... It's almost as dysfunctional as the US system imo. Absolutely terrible, we should be ashamed as a country.
The US system is definitely way worse in many ways afaik (and I'm the opposite of optimistic about it going forward), but that's an incredibly low bar. I'm also very privileged because I have an "EU* citizen but not German" spouse for my visa, and the Schengen-wide rules for that are more permissive in some ways than most countries' spouse visas even are. Plus I was lucky enough to apply when I lived in Potsdam rather than Berlin. You could even get appointments by email there 🥲
If you have the money, hire an immigration lawyer to send the appropriate threatening letters to the Ausländerbehörde. I've heard that's often the only way to get anything with them sorted in a remotely timely manner.
Haha, that reminds me that initially things looked more bleak - we had to leave the us in a bit of a rush (because of visa issues stemming from the dos not doing their job for 1.5 years, funnily enough) and they Ausländerzentrum was threatening that my wife would have to leave Germany again and reapply for her visa from abroad... A friend at the auswärtiges amt told us we could just move to Denmark for a month because as you mentioned, the within-eu rules are less strict then the German ones. How does any of this make sense... :D
Oh it's all an absolute clown show. Nothing makes you feel quite as unwelcome in Germany the Ausländerbehörde.
We have considering seeking a certificate of citizenship due to recent law changes regarding eligibility. Collecting the right documentation takes time, and at the end of it, there is still the wait for everything to be processed. For my mother, it's more about the connection to her grandmother than a desire to leave the United States. For me, I suppose having more options is nice. I'm under no illusion that emigration is easy or that other countries are problem-free. Nationalism is rearing its ugly head around the world.
What's funny is that when we talk to various German friends about pursuing citizenship, they say in disbelief, 'Why would you want to do that?' I suppose they see the problems in their own country in finer detail and see only broad strokes of the US (though I suspect they are more informed of US events than many Americans). If the attitude of our own friends is to discourage us from living there, I can only imagine what it is like for Ausländer that are non-white or lack a strong support network.
Your German friends are absolutely silly for not seeing the advantages to getting German citizenship. The ability to live anywhere in the Schengen area alone is worth it for the increased freedom imo, and a German passport gives you visa-free access to a few more countries than a US passport does. And, of course, if you ever plan on living in Germany, having the rights of a citizen is obviously superior to any alternative -- even the closest equivalent, an EU permanent residency, gives you less freedom and doesn't give you the right to vote. I definitely won't get mine in time to vote in the coming election, but I'm hoping I manage to get it before the CDU gut the new immigration laws too badly.