Having lived in Germany, this brings back a few bad memories. So many processes feel overly complicated, frequently requiring lawyers or other highly-paid specialists. Add stacks of papers on top of that, faxes, certified translations etc.
Sometimes it feels, like the State there acts as a great gatekeeper instead of a facilitator.
Other times, you may feel, there's a "cartel" between the government officials and the aforementioned specialists -- pay some agent to magically pull out a near appointment slot, instead of waiting a few months to see a clerk.
I could speak B2-level German, so the language wasn't really that much of a problem. I can only imagine how much harder it's for people just starting in Germany.
Depends. If you are European (and work on IT) and immigrate to Germany without knowing the language, it's not that hard because there isn't so much paperwork you need to do. Basically:
- registration (it's rather easy, and sometimes they do speak English)
- bank account. It's all online (why would you prefer it otherwise?), so google translate is all you need
- job. Well, there are plenty of IT jobs in Germany that do not require German (and they are usually the ones who pay more)
- health insurance. Some companies speak English, and all the public health insurance companies offer rather the same, so go for the English-speaking ones
- apartment. Just show them your software-engineer-who-only-speaks-english payroll (or contract if you don't have a payroll yet) and you'll probably become their most promising applicant
- doctors. They all speak English (if you find one that doesn't or refuses then just find another)
If you intend to live in the country for some years, you'll be fine with little German (B1 level). If you want to live there for more than 10 years then sure go learn the language properly.
For the ones who are not european and do not work on IT, tons of paperwork and suffering if you don't know the language from the very beginning.
>- apartment. Just show them your software-engineer-who-only-speaks-english payroll (or contract if you don't have a payroll yet) and you'll probably become their most promising applicant
That's not entirely accurate and YMMV.
One, unless you work for a FANG or a well funded scale-up, not everyone moving to Germany on a dev job will be making super high wages, which is what's needed to stand out at an apartment visit, as other more traditional skilled professions in German big cities also make good money, and high-paying dev jobs are difficult to land.
And two, usually German landlords tend to prefer a local on a stable, if average paid government job (teacher, doctor, police officer, notary, social worker, birocrat, etc.) than an foreign IT worker on higher wage who just arrived in the country, doesn't speak German, has no rental/employment/credit history yet, and hasn't passed his probation period yet, and all he has is an employment contract with a large number on it.
For what it's worth, the companies seeking foreign employment either want dirt cheap labour (in which case you won't find an appartement any time soon) or are very big, very rich companies that do offer significant wages. As far as I can tell, Germany is rather in-looking when it comes to their highly skilled workforce so when you do get in, you get in at the top or all the way at the bottom.
If you move to Germany before having found a job, you'll have to get those high wages and the fancy appartement that comes with it yourself. You probably won't, especially if you're coming from a country with extremely high wages for devs like the USA or to some extent the UK, and expect around the same amount of money.
Social factors do play a role (it's easier to connect to someone who doesn't need you to switch to a foreign language just for them) but there is dedicated expat housing all around the world, for a price. Learning German and about German culture will definitely help your chances, both in securing a job and in everything else in Germany.
Sometimes it feels, like the State there acts as a great gatekeeper instead of a facilitator.
Other times, you may feel, there's a "cartel" between the government officials and the aforementioned specialists -- pay some agent to magically pull out a near appointment slot, instead of waiting a few months to see a clerk.
I could speak B2-level German, so the language wasn't really that much of a problem. I can only imagine how much harder it's for people just starting in Germany.