Hey, I am really enjoying the German101 podcast. I listen to it everyday! I am currently engaged to a German lady. I met her whilst I was in the military. I recently got out of the military and I am wanting to move back to Germany. My German linguistic abilities are not so good right now but, i am still learning. I would like to live in Germany and marry her. Does any one know what I should do first in order to make this happen. She wants me back before Christmas this year. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

-Quincy L. Lawrence
on_q230@yahoo.com

First, learn German well. Feel free to listen to the Newbie Series and the Beginner Series at the same time in order to create a synergy effect that will help you learn really fast. Once you know German well, it’s easier to get permission to stay in Germany long-term, and it’s easier to make a good impression on her relatives.

Germany is “not a country of immigration”, as our politicians liked to say over the years. This is supposed to mean that, unlike the USA, Germany is neither based on immigration nor likely to see much, due to recent history. However, politicians were wrong and Germany is among the countries with the highest amount of (non-naturalized) immigrants worldwide. Anyway, because of that false belief, Germany’s laws are not well adapted to this situation, and Germany finds itself accepting a lot of unskilled workers (especially from Turkey or Eastern Europe) and asylum seekers, while doing a good job at keeping out highly-qualified professionals from first-world countries.

Your best bet is probably to come here as a tourist and then get employed with a German company (universities can employ foreigners with less hassle). If you have employment, and your employer is patient enough to wait for all the paperwork to go through, you may live and work in Germany for as long as your employment lasts. If you have worked here for at least 2 years without interruption, your next visa for staying and working here will be independent of your employment. This is done as a precaution against people coming here to take advantage of Germany’s great social net (universal healthcare, good unemployment money…). Chuck can tell you about this process in detail.

Unfortunately, due to the wrong belief I mentioned earlier, the most hassle-free way to get permission to stay and work here is to have German ancestors or to marry a German.