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Green road to Germany
| German Green Card |
US H-1B Visa |
| Valid for five years |
Valid for six years |
| 20,000 visas are available |
1,85,000 visas are available |
| In Germany, there is no concept of employment through contracting companies |
In the US many H-1B holders work for contracting companies |
| Spouse can get a work permit after a year |
Spouse cannot work on H-4 |
| Cannot stay in Germany after the expiry of the visa period. |
Can continue to reside in the US by applying for green card. |
 ife in the downturn is not without its ironies. While there is a gradual exodus of IT professionals from US, oft referred to as "the brave new world" and "the land of opportunity", Germany, known for its shrill anti-immigrant rhetoric and xenophobic attitudes, has thrown open its doors to IT professionals desperate to accumulate professional value by adding the magical words "foreign experience to their resumes.
Germany entered the talent fray for IT professionals in August 2000 when in a surprising move to tide over the shortage of skilled workers, it announced 20,000 visas for non-EU IT professionals. By August 2001, 9,000 IT workers were employed of which a large number are Indians. Each week, about 150 foreign workers are granted a German-style "green card'' that allows them to work up to five years in the country but unlike its US counterpart does not grant them permanent residence.
There are however other advantages. Unlike the US, it is not impossible for Indian professionals to look for jobs directly in
Germany. The Federal Appointment Agency of Germany set up an online Job Fair for applicants on 20 June 2000. Prospective jobseekers can submit their resumes at the agency site, www.arbeitsamt.de. Companies post job openings regularly on the online fair and the agency helps match the candidate's skill sets with the company's requirements. Furthermore, the Zentralstelle fur Arbeitsvermittlung in Bonn, a body responsible for job placement of foreigners, can be reached at the following e-mail address Bon-ZAV.IT-Experts@arbeitsamt.de. Professionals can log on to the following web sites to find jobs in Germany:
As per German law, these web sites do not charge candidates for their services. The appropriate amount is charged from the employer upon successful placement in Germany.
Alternately, candidates can also apply directly to a company in Germany through an advertisement in a trade magazine or the Internet. If a company employee or employment agency recruits you in your home country, make certain that the appointment is legal. Request the employer for the written permit from the Federal Employment Agency or from a State Employment Office in Germany to validate the legality of your employment.
Criterion for eligibility
To apply for a job in Germany under the Green Card scheme the candidate must be a Computer specialists with a university or a polytechnic college degree - Bachelor or Masters degree - in any IT-related subject, such as computer science, or communication engineering. Specialists without a college degree can work in Germany if the company agrees in writing to pay an annual salary DM 100,000 or more, before taxes and deductions. Theoretically, prospective candidates do not require to have a minimum work experience to acquire a green card. But as companies are looking for experts and not trainees, candidates with minimum two years work experience have higher chances of finding a job.
Although individuals can apply for a job directly, they cannot apply for the work permit. Once an employer expresses interest in the jobseeker's candidature, the prospective employer must apply for a written notice of intent to issue a work permit at the local employment office. The application must be accompanied with the right documents such as the appointment letter and copies of the candidate's educational certificates. The documentation must be submitted in German. If the employer provides a written pledge to pay the employee DM 100,000 or more before taxes, the employer need not submit the candidate's educational certificates.
In addition the employment officer requires a description of the position available including the working conditions.
The Employment Office takes a week to verify that German or EU specialists cannot fill the position in question. The Office also checks whether the applicant has the required qualifications and whether the prospective employer will provide the same salary and working conditions for foreign specialists as for equally qualified German candidates.
Documents for Stamping
Once the Employment Office issues the work permit or the intent to issue the work permit, the employer needs to forward it to the candidate. Armed with this precious document, the candidate can go to the nearest German Embassy for stamping. The other documents are:
- Valid Passport
- Long term visa application. The form can be collected from the German Embassy. The embassy does not charge for the form.
- Covering letter from the company
- Three copies of the work permit or the Employment Office's notice of intent to issue the work visa
- One passport-size photograph
- The visa fee is Rs. 1,060 and must be paid in cash.
The German Embassy takes approximately three days to process the visa. Once the candidate gets the visa, he can fly to Germany.
On arrival
Once an employer arrives in Germany, the employee must go to the nearest city hall (at the Einwohnermeldeamt) or at the Immigration Office (Auslanderamt). At the immigration office, the employee must apply for a residence permit. For this, the employee will need to have a written contract of employment and your visa. If the candidate has left for Germany on the basis of the Federal Employment's Office intent to issue the work permit, the employee needs to apply for a work permit at the local immigration office. Normally, the work permit will be issued within five days. The work permit is issued in accordance with the length of your employment contract and will not exceed five years.
Shifting jobs
After two years a green card holder can shift jobs without applying for a new visa. There will not be another check to see if German or EU specialists could fill the job. However the new employer must pay the same salary.
Spouse Visa
Spouse and unmarried children under 16 can accompany the green card holder right away. During the visa process, the employee must provide adequate proof of housing in Germany for a family. If the candidate does not have adequate housing available before arrival, he/she can send for family soon after having found a suitable place to live. Unlike the H-4 visa, one year after arriving in Germany, the spouse will be eligible for a work permit.
The German Government, hence, seems to have pulled all stops to woo skilled talent with its streamlined visa process, non-bureaucratic procedures, direct employment with a company, easy transfer of visa, work permits for the spouse after a year et all. With the downturn in the US showing no signs of reversal, it may just be worth taking the road to Germany!
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