Any success story to share about Germany Job Seeker Visa?

Hi,

I would also be interested in hearing some success stories. I recently applied and received my job seekers visa and I am planning on moving in March

Hey Stephan,

Congratulations on your visa !
Would you mind sharing your motivation letter (by deleting your personal details)? Could you please drop a message in my inbox.
May I know how long it took for your Visa processing ?

Yes sure I'll see what I can do. The processing was unbelievable, I waited one day and got an email confirmation from my local German embassy saying that the German Alien's office has approved the visa. All that is required now is travel medical insurance and a flight reservation, then the visa will be processed and issued. If all your documents that go to the embassy are spot-on correct, it's just a matter of them checking and processing your information; at least this was my experience.

One piece of advice I can give is that telephone enquiries are frustrating and you don't always get all the answers you need. Rather go to your local embassy with your queries written down, then speak to someone and briefly ask all your questions. The embassy is much friendlier when you ask questions before your official appointment, rather than going in on the day that you have to hand everything in and there is incorrect/insufficient documentation.

Regards
Stephan

Just one day ! Wow !
That's really informative.
I heard that motivation/cover letter plays an important role of how one presents self.
Would it be possible for you to share the letter that you have enclosed with the Visa application, excluding your personal information. I'd private message you my email id shortly.
Appreciate your help !

Cheers,
Harsha.

Hi

I am applying for a Germany Job seeker Visa and i have consulate interview on 18th Feb.
I have 6+ years of experience in SAP HR.
Have anyone gone through the interview process in Chennai Recently? Please let me know the nature of interview. Any advises are Highly Appreciated. Looking forward for a reply.

Thanks

Hello Stephen
Can we send mail to consulate to ask for results earlier?
consulate has provided me a date and i didn t receive any mail till now

Even i was given a date to collect my passport(20th day). When and In which consulate u attended the interview?

It was in Chennai.

Mine is also Chennai Consulate

Did anyone get call or mail? What did the consulate tell you exactly after the visa interview

Hello Stephan

I hope this post is not too old to reply to .


I was wondering if you can share your success with me . I'm wanting to apply for a job seekers visa , I have all the necessary documents but am wanting to know what the key is to getting the visa approved . I heard that the letter plays a huge part . Any key things to add.

Any help or advice will be appreciated !

Thank you

Hi Djemielah

This is an old post and I've since forgotten most of what the process was like. The cover letter should just be one page long as far as I remember, so keeping it short and concise is what they're implying. With my application I started with what I was doing at the time, just finished studying and looking for work abroad. I did some research as to where I wanted to apply for work (named a few companies) and in my case I had interviews lined up. I then explained that I'm living with German nationals and so showed that my accommodation was already sorted (I guess this helped my application)

If you can give the consulate an idea of what you are planning on doing In the time-frame it would be beneficial to your application. Are you applying from South Africa? I know that the job seekers visa (at my time) was valid for 6 months so I mentioned that I was planning on going for interviews and attending a German course to improve my German. (I trust that you've heard of this but look at the Goethe Institute, they have great courses available).
Just out of interest, where are you planning on moving?

I hope that this helps

Regards
Stephan

Hi Stephen

Thank you so much for the quick response! Much appreciated.

Yes I am applying from South Africa - Cape Town .

I will be staying with German nationals and have the letter of obligation from them .  Yes I heard that learning German will make it much easier to integrate as well as for interviews.  Planning on moving to berlin . I went on a shengan visa there last year and fell in love with the city!!

Thank you so much for your help!!!!

Please find two questions and its answer given by a German employer, which may helps you.

Q1:
Would you prefer to hire an international candidate(non-EU citizen) ? If yes, will you process VISA for the candidate or you just hire only those people already having a visa.

The honest answer is that certainly for EU tech companies it's far, far, far easier and less costly to hire a EU citizen. Larger organisations do it as they have the organisational structure to manage the process, but they have to sponsor the individual which incurs a cost and gives them admin responsibilities (such as making sure they adhere to their visa requirements while in the country). A small or medium business would usually avoid this for those reasons (although you might find exceptions).

Personally, If I were to hire someone who was not resident in the UK or EU (that is quite a big worry for me) then I'd need confirmation they had permission to remain indefinitely - and that's almost impossible because in order for them to get that, I'd have to sponsor them, which as I've said, I wouldn't feel was worth the money or effort where there is a local pool of talent. The big risk for a small business is to spend the money then find the individual isn't the right person for the job.

If you apply to larger european companies, they may often help you through those boundaries - however - you have to remember you have to fit into the skills requirement in order to successfully acquire a visa in the first place, so I would definitely do some more research on this, ideally find out from someone who has done it before. I don't think you are in an impossible situation, however I do think this isn't going to be a walk in the park.

Q2:
I am also planning to apply for a visit visa for 2-3 months time and look for a job directly in Germany by staying in Berlin or Munich.Is that more better to find a job rather than applying from abroad?

I think potentially yes - however - I am not an expert so you should do more research. The benefit is to the employer a) they can meet you in person, b) they don't have to worry about you not turning up, you're already halfway here, and c) it just feels more likely its going to work. I think the reality is that you being in another country would be seen as a hurdle - certainly in a business of our size doing recruitment.

Hi Stephan,

I hope you are still reachable on that website.
I read most of the Job Seeker posts.

I want to get a job seeker visa. But I have just graduated from uni in June'17. I have bachelor degree. Most of the people are experienced in their working field.

If I do not misunderstood, you applied to Job Seeker Visa after finishing your studies right?
It is a huge question in my mind and haven't found anything.

I wish I can hear from you soon.

Best Regards,

Melike

Hi brother I'm srijith I'm from India currently working in South Africa I came here on 2014 by critical skills visa .now it's almost 5 years now overall there was a good and bad experience here my car got hijacked once and I got mugged more then 6 times.now I'm tired my next destination  I'm planning to go Germany I'm a mechanical engineer I haven't seen anyone applying for job seeker visa in South Africa but I'm pursuing my German class in Lynwood in Pretoria. I really don't know how to get the medical insurance here ..even if I get medical insurance for six months will they refund my amount if my visa is unsuccessful? Overall will you please advise how much minimum rands should I show them the bank balance etc?

Hello everyone,

Some off topic comments have been removed from this thread. Also note that the OP hasn't post on her topic since 2014.

Thank you,
Christine

Hi dear I d highly appreciate your guidance As me and my friend is in process .we sent our british certificates to Germany for qualification .I do not know is that essential or no ?
Could you communicate with me on what’s up
***

Special thanks to beppi...I got my German job seeker visa for Germany @beppi this guy has definitely played a important role in my process  no doubts he is a real positive thinker and motivated me to go further... finally I achieved it done and dusted...so friends I will be leaving on Feb to Stuttgart from Johannesburg once of bye bye for everyone I will be available until Feb 2020 any South African locals who one wants any assistance related to German job seeker visa just ping me .as per my research unfortunately german job seeker process is slightly different in other countries for eg: India (Mumbai) German consulate you need to pay 45000 Indian rupees for just for ur qualification verification but we're as mine was different so I don't want to give you a generic process information where its my subject may not relevant for ur visa process hence I can give a Cristal clear visa processing information only for local South Africans

Thanks and regards
Srijith

Beppi, well done as always, super helpful !!

Srijith: Thanks a lot for the positive remarks - it’s a nice change from the average poster I help here, most of whom say no thanks and many do not ever post again, especially if the answer was not what they wanted to hear (but, well, I cannot change the facts for them!).
I hope you will stick around on the forum and contribute your valuable first-hand knowledge of getting a JSV, settling in and finding a job in Germany.
We have monthly expat.com gatherings, which you are welcome to attend (you will automatically receive invitations once you change your location to Stuttgart). And if you feel like experiencing authentic Swabian culture, food and wine, contact me when you’re here an I’ll bring you to a local “Besenwirtschaft” (something few foreigners manage).

Thanks very much beppi..I can see you have given more than 9000 posts that is unimaginable. I really don't know how many of them recognised it..There is a quote saying by Hugo pratt.."There are people who help you in life. I've been given a helping hand, and that's why I feel it's my duty to help younger artists."

This is actually a eye opener for me not only for the visa processing but to help others in various aspects being helpful and helping others brings you a joy in heart which is really a priceless one I have learnt that

I will be grateful and honoured to receive a monthly invitation and also looking forward to contact you

Thanks and regards
Srijith

hi wanna ask about are there any specific job that allow or not for JSV, for example can i take part time job with this visa and how is the process to change the visa from jsv to working visa?

This is an official webpage (even in English, which is rare!) about this topic:
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einr … d-arbeiten
As I understand it, there are restrictions on kind of job, but not on the worktime - as long as you earn above the threshold.

Here is an official page, but it is quite vague (and in German only, of course):
https://www.service-bw.de/leistung/-/sb … leistung-0

mario_prayanto wrote:

hi wanna ask about are there any specific job that allow or not for JSV, for example can i take part time job with this visa and how is the process to change the visa from jsv to working visa?

The JSV is for skilled workers looking for what should be well paid jobs. While there is not likely any specific minimum of number of hours, this simply doesn't fit to any time of part time job. Anyway, a JSV is a preliminary acceptance if one gets a job. This means one registers and has limited residency upon getting a fitting job. They don’t actually apply for a work visa; they are already in the country having entered on the JSV. People often confuse residency permit with visa. A visa only allows one into a country – and for a specific purpose.

Hello beppi
currently iam in Stuttgart finally I managed to get a contract  ( Zeitarbeit) from the work agency. Which I will be working in a different company but the work contract will be in the name of agency .so some of my friends in Stuttgart who got contract from the Zeitarbeit they were not able to convert thier job seeker visa to work permit. All received a rejection mail which says  temporary (Zeitarbeit) contract its invalid the contract must be from the employer. So in my case my friends adviced me to try in different aüslanderbehorde because I got a offer from bavaria. What is your suggestion? Is there any case you know who converted job seeker visa by using Zeitarbeit contract?

Sorry, I have no idea about this. But it is an interesting question  -so please come back here and post your findings for the benefits of other readers!
However, this is not a good time to look for a job in Germany (or anywhere else, I guess). Temp workers have little job protection and are usually the first to be laid off.

Is it still active?

I want to know how long does it take to convert your Job seeker visa to blue card after getting a working contract?

I am here in Germany on job seeker visa and to my surprise many people are not giving me house since its just a 6 months VISA and also many companies are rejecting me stating that the visa conversion will take time which they don't want to invest time in.

I am now in a stuck situation, anyone with the experience of this conversion process please help me with your words.

I am a software engineer with 5 years of experience.

@Anuj359 The JSV is meant for people who apply for a normal work visa (not Blue Card) once they find a job. The duration depends on your local authorities who process it, so there is a great variation depending on location, how many foreigners are there, how well the authority is staffed and how efficient your appointed officer is. In general, German authorities are slow, so do not expect it fast - several months seem to be normal.

And you are right: With the current housing shortage in most German cities, landlords can choose among many applicants - and then of course short-term tenants (less than a year) are less preferred. In addition, there are only few furnished places, and they are expensive. I recommend using hostels or short-term apartments instead.

@Anuj359 Also: I just saw your job search ad on this site: Your salary expectation is too high (for a newbie in Germany, with limited language skills and therefore usability for employers) - and mentioning work-life-balance in a search ad will be interpreted as "I am lazy", so better leave that out!