Hello Everyone,
Thank you in advance. I hold a Permanent EU Residence Permit issued in Italy. I intend to move to Germany after summer to look for jobs there and stay there in future. In this case after arriving to Germany and finding a house what kind of residence permit should I apply there? Can I apply a permit without a confirmed job appointment letter? Can I stay there for a few months, work part time job and look for full time work in that time? If so, what is the process?
Moderation
Hi nisarg-1402 ,
welcome to our forum and thank you for your question.
With a permanent EU residence permit from another EU country you can enter Germany without a visa and stay for max. 90 days without an extra permit. However, if you plan to stay longer in Germany and/or work, you would need to apply for a residence permit in 90 days after arrival. https://italien.diplo.de/it-de/service/visa-aktuell/-/2582298 (The page is also available in Italian.)
You mention that you want to work part-time whilst looking for a full-time job. For this purpose, the residence permit for job search (the so-called “Chancenkarte”, AufenthG §20a) might be a good option for you. You can read more about the specific requirements and rights here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/opportunity-card
If you decide for this option, you would first need to apply for the residence permit at the local immigration office responsible for you after you arrive in Germany. If you fulfil certain requirements, you will be granted the permit. You are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week during the period of job search. As soon as you receive a concrete job offer, you can apply for a residence permit for skilled workers (§18a, §18b, or §18g). You can also have a look at different types of residence permit for skilled workers here: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa-residence/types Of course, if you find a job before coming to Germany or in the 90 days period of your initial stay (without work permit), you can directly apply for a residence permit for skilled workers and skip the permit for job search.
As a holder of a permanent EU residence permit, you can enter Germany without a visa but it might be worth asking the German embassy in Italy if it's possible for you to get a visa (for example for Chancenkarte §24) there. Entering Germany with a job search visa would give you an advantage of being able to start working part-time immediately after arrival. Otherwise, you would need to wait until you are issued a residence permit in Germany, which might take a while (up to several months). This can be more or less important depending on your financial situation.
At some point after holding one or more residence permit(s) (with varying duration depending on the type of permit and other factors such as german language skill) you will become eligible for a permanent residence permit and permanent EU residence permit. With the new permanent EU residence permit, you will lose your previous Italian one.
I hope this was helpful for you and let us know if you have any further questions. Good luck with your job search and relocation to Germany!
Best wishes
Seoyoung
Seoyoung _Community Management Support I just wanted to clarify one small thing about Opportunity card. I have taken an appointment with the embassy. Once I receive the opportunity card and I arrive in Germany , Do I have to apply for a residence or settlement permit again at the local foreign office or can I start job search and specifically work part time immediately, once I find a house, open bank account and finish other formalities ?
Thanks in Advance
Nisarg
Hey @nisarg-1402 , Thank you for coming back to us. Once you have received your Opportunity Card and arrived in Germany, you will need to apply for a residence permit §20a at the local foreign office (Ausländerbehörde). At the same time you can start looking for a job. You may also find this link useful: https://handbookgermany.de/en/registration Best Barbara
Barbara (Community Manager) Thank you for your quick and kind response. I will have a secondary part-time employment contract from a company there in Germany, which I will present at the embassy for my proof of funds. I was wondering how to decide the starting date of employment as the resident permit takes time in addition to the processing time taken by the embassy.
Thank you again
Regards
Nisarg
Dear nisarg-1402 ,
firstly, that is great that you have a part-time job offer in sight.
In general, as a holder of Chancenkarte one is allowed to work up to 20h per week alongside their job search. The visa is usually issued for one year. This means that you would not necessarily have to go to the immigration office after arrival to change the visa to an according residence permit (plastic card). However, it is important that your visa includes an additional condition ("Nebenbestimmung") which states that you are allowed to work on this visa. If your visa doesn't mention the work permit, you might need to go to the immigration office and ask them to give you a plastic card with the work permit. As Chancenkarte has been introduced rather recently, we are beginning to hear different experiences people have had in specific situations. It is not yet very clear to us, if initial visa for Chancenkarte is always issued with an explicit work permit. We would be happy if you'd report back to us how it went in your case.
About your contract: What you could do with the starting date of the employment is to set it as close to your arrival as possible, as your part time job will be your proof of finances. You can also add a line saying that the contract will become valid as soon as the necessary visa (including work permit) will be issued. With this additional condition, you and your employer can already sign the contract before your appointment. Here is the information about this option, which is thought for main job contracts for work visas but can be applied to your part time job too. "A non-EU applicant may (conditionally) sign the employment contract before obtaining a valid visa. You can state in the contract that it will only take effect once a valid visa has been issued." https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/looking-for-foreign-professionals/entering/german-work-visa
Let us know if you have any further questions and wish you good luck with your appointment. We'd be curious to hear back from you!
Best wishes
Seoyoung
Thank you very much Seoyoung _Community Management Support . I will surely update you with everything about the process once I am done.
Regards
Nisarg