Moving to Germany

Hello gerdmyburgh!

Your discussion has been moved to Germany forum for better visibility.

I hope that other members will help you soon.

Harmonie.

The German embassy cannot tell you, if you can apply for a Long-term Visa?

Could they tell you, if you can own property as a Non-EU resident?

One way to stay in Germany longer is to find a job and get a Visa that way, but that's probably not part of the plan

Maybe one option to get answers would be to contact your embassy in Germany?

Good Luck!

What they told me, is that I am allowed to own property, but my stay may not exceed three months per cycle. German consulate in Cape Town advised me to speak to a lawyer dealing with immigration matters.

In Germany, like in all other countries, you need a good reason to be granted long-term residency visa. Ownership of property is not considered such by German immigration law. Employment is, as another poster already pointed out. Others are family ties, German ancestry, political asylum, residency in another EU country, and possibly other scenarios - but the criteria and formalities for each are complicated and cannot be discussed exhaustively in an open forum like this.
The authorities are not allowed to give legal advice - that's why the embassy reacts like that - so consulting an experienced lawyer really is the best advice.

Thanks, Beppi. Next step would be to find a really experienced lawyer. The first one on the list obtained from the German Consulate responded that they are not really experienced in this field.
Interesting, France, also an interesting possibility with lots of affordable rural properties suitable for small scale farming, offers a `wealth` visa, essentially the applicant must prove possession of certain assets. This visa doesn't allow the holder access to work or state privileges.
Best wishes.
G.