die Ausländerbehörde

A lot has been said about the Ausländerbehörde (Landesamt für Einwanderung - foreigners office/immigration office), and yet it has always remained a mystery.

In this article I will shed light on the Ausländerbehörde and focus on its actions. In general, the office issues visas and residence permits for immigrants /foreigners living in Germany. It is important to note that a residence permit in Germany does not necessarily indicate a work permit (depending of course on the specific visa held by the immigrant).

Every city in Germany has its own Ausländerbehörde (foreigners office) that handles immigrants living in that same German city, and every foreigners office has an official website on the Internet and from that website you can book appointments online. In case your visa expires on a certain date, you can schedule a meeting at the foreigners office about two months before it expires. I would like to answer two common questions that many immigrants ask me. The first question is whether a student who has completed  his master's degree studies at a German academic institution, could have been issued a work visa when he is offered a brutto monthly salary of less than 2500€ ? There have been previous cases where the foreigners office has set strict criteria and has not approved the work visa for master's degree graduates who studied at a German academic institution.

A second question is whether there is still an employment preference of German candidates over foreign candidates? Since many times in the past the work visa of a foreign candidate was not approved, because when the application was sent to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal agency for work), they did not see in that specific position as necessary or professional role, and therefore preferred not to approve the immigrant work visa and allow the company offering the job to employ a German candidate instead.

As for the first question (and it's not just for graduate students studying in Germany) the problem was always in converting the current visa to a work visa. For example, converting a study visa to a work visa, converting a work holiday visa or converting a job seeker visa into a work visa (by the way, graduates in Germany are entitled to stay on German soil for 18 months after completing their degree so that they can find a suitable job). Indeed, there have been cases in the past where the foreigners office did not approve the conversion, but in most cases the lack of approval came due to the fact that the applicant/candidate did not fulfill his obligations for the first visa he obtained prior to the conversion. For example, the candidate did not finish his academic duties or tried to convert the visa ahead of time. Therefore, when you come to Germany as an immigrant it is critical to choose the right route for you as an immigrant from the beginning.

So, if you are interested in working, look for a job immediately and focus on a work visa, if you are interested in studying, focus only on your academic studies and complete all the obligations to the same German academic institution in which you study. Remember, if you start a certain route and choose a certain visa, do not change it until you have completed your obligation according to the requirements of that visa.

It is also important to remember that if you do not have a European passport (schengen area) and the only way you have chosen to enter Germany is by studying for a master's degree at a German academic institution, there will be a double disadvantage for you:

• The first disadvantage is that during your studies you will not be able to work full time in a company, so you will have to come to Germany with more savings for your studies period of time.
• The second disadvantage is that after finishing your studies, in many cases you will have to find a company that will sponsor you for a work visa and at the same time you will have to present to the Ausländerbehörde a proof that you are earning according to your master's degree salary criteria (according to what you have studied at the German academic institution).

Therefore a big problem arises for those who have completed a master's degree in Germany due to the fact that in many cases, even after they find a job in Germany, they do not meet the criteria of the salary which is set for them, and therefore if you can avoid master's studies and directly submit your application for a work visa (if you find a job before your arrival in Germany or after your arrival, choose this option so that you can save yourself future problems regarding salary criteria).

Regarding the second question of prioritizing a German candidate over a foreign candidate. First of all, always remember that even if your work visa was not approved, you have an option to file an appeal and to ask your company to explain why you deserve that position over a German candidate.

In addition, this has also happened in some cases and again it is a matter of visa conversion for general jobs that do not require qualified, high demand special skills. The good news is that it no longer exists and foreign workers without a European passport (schengen area), can apply for any job without any problem due to a significant change in the German immigration policies and significant relief for foreign immigrants who do not have a European passport (schengen area).

The foreigners office is considered by many to be a mystery and no one really knows how they operate (kind of like a secret intelligence agency. What's going on behind the scenes?). But the truth is that if you go for example to the Welcome Center (Willkommenszentrum) in Berlin and also if you go to the foreigners office, sometimes you will come across clerks who are not familiar with the immigration policies themselves (regarding certain questions) as there are a lot of immigrants from different nationalities, and each country has its own immigration policies in Germany.

And so those clerks usually pull out a thick book (a bureaucratic book of German immigration policy that includes all nationalities in it). In your meeting with them, they will read from the book and be able to tell you what is the relevant immigration policy according to your nationality. Unfortunately I see youtubers posting on Youtube consultation videos for immigrants that are inaccurate or rumored so most of those videos are not 100% accurate. At the same time, always remember immigration policies are constantly changing, and a video you watched a few weeks ago regarding an immigration policy does not represent the current immigration policy as for today. So how do you really know the policy? How can immigration policy really be followed? Of course you can read more articles online, however at the same time remember that they are also inaccurate sometimes. So what is the solution you are probably asking?

The most effective solution is to ask the same immigration clerk during your meeting with him at the foreigners office what is your next bureaucratic procedure as an immigrant. Always consult with the immigration officials so that you can get accurate answers and plan your immigration process better later on. For example, you came to the immigration official in order to get your work visa. During your meeting, you will consult with the clerk on how to speed up and accelerate your immigration process for the next time, and obtain for example a long-term residency, whether you are entitled to it or not yet?, when you are entitled to it? What are the requirements?, etc.

Remember that not all of the information is available to you online and only immigration officials are authorized to answer these questions. Beyond that, when immigrants come to the foreigners office they usually feel stress and anxiety and tend to ask themselves "what will happen if they do not approve my visa?" I want to reassure you first, and state that you have nothing to worry about as long as you have fulfilled your obligations for your current visa. Secondly, in every meeting of mine at the foreigners office, I got the impression that these are professional clerks who are interested in helping you. Remember that the job of the officials at the foreigners office is to help you and make it easier for you.

In addition, I would also like to point out from my personal experience that the bureaucracy in Germany, contrary to many opinions, is uncomplicated and can even be friendly. Remember the bureaucratic institutions in Germany are designed to help you as an immigrant, and everyone's goal is to make your immigration journey easier so that you can contribute to the German economy and society.