cahnellven:


No country comes remotely close to germany in terms of part time jobs and a working social economy . In norway,there are plentiful jobs but the overall standard of living is higher than germany's and the pay is about the same,plus the country is damn cold .

Simply put,germany is better in all ramifications,but that doesnt negate the fact that norway is a great choice.

Curled from BBC

"Everyone's moving to Germany."

So says Govan, a thin, bearded French jazz musician from Lyon whom I meet in a German language class for people recently arrived in Berlin.

"In one month," he says, "I met lot of people from everywhere."

The faces around the table are young, the accents mainly European. They tell a story about how the demography of this country is changing fast.

Germany is now the world's second most popular destination - after the US - for immigrants. And they are arriving in the hundreds of thousands.

Net migration to Germany has not been this high for 20 years, and even the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) describes it as a boom. In 2012, 400,000 so-called "permanent migrants" arrived here.

They are people who have the right to stay for more than a year. That represents an increase of 38% on the year before.

They are coming from Eastern Europe, but also from the countries of the southern Eurozone, lured by Germany's stronger economy and jobs market.

And they are being welcomed with open arms - by the government at least - because Germany has a significant skills gap, and a worryingly low birth rate.

"Immigrants are on average younger and the German population is on average older, so immigrants are welcome," says Dr Ingrid Tucci, from the German Institute for Economic Research.

"It's important to attract students and highly qualified people. So the government is making it easier for them, trying to invest and put a culture of welcome in place."

Helmut Kohl
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl didn't want Turkish immigrants to settle permanently
Here they call it "Willkommenskultur".

In practice it means free or cheap German language lessons for immigrants plus integration and citizenship classes.

As Berlin's senator for work, integration and women, it is Dilek Kolat's job to facilitate Willkommenskultur in the city.

"Every academic, every employer will tell you we need skilled migration. There's a change in perception in wider society.

"We don't look at migrants as a possible threat or a possible problem, but we look at them as potential.

"What can they bring to society? Business[es] are approaching the senate and asking how can we get the young refugees into apprenticeships which at the moment aren't taken up by German kids."

But Willkommenskultur is also about attitude.

And - politically at least - it's changed substantially since the days of Helmut Kohl.

Under his leadership Germany was 'not a country of immigration' despite the hundreds of thousands of Turkish migrant workers who'd been invited here in the sixties.

They had been recruited to help with Germany's post-war reconstruction.

And - as their families and friends arrived to join them - Germany's immigration figures spiked for the first time since the Second World War. In 1970 for example annual net immigration stood at more than half a million.

Private papers recently published by the German news website Spiegel Online reveal Chancellor Kohl told then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982 that he wanted to halve the number of Turks living in Germany. They did not, he said, "integrate well".

Today they are an established community. Stroll through the Berlin district of Neukoln and you pass hundreds of businesses run by their children and grandchildren.

In the window of one of the restaurants here, a large chunk of roasting meat turns slowly on a spit. Inside, a woman with a headscarf sips tea from a glass in front of a counter stacked with kebabs and and flatbreads ready for the lunchtime rush.

It is owned by Hassan - an earnest man in his 40s, who arrived in Germany with his parents when he was 13. But he worries about immigration today.

'It's great people come to Germany. They should be able to come. But people who don't work shouldn't be able to stay. Look at me - I work 20 hours a day.

"There are a lot of beggars. They have no money but ask for food. I give them kebabs, pizzas, but my heart breaks - I can't give food to everyone."

Neither, it seems, can some German towns and cities, who are largely responsible for the welfare of immigrants.

Frauke Petry, lead AfD candidate in Saxony, addresses reporters on 1 September
Leaders of the anti-euro AfD want tighter controls on immigration
Last year the mayors of 16 large German cities wrote to the government asking for help with unemployed migrants flooding into their regions from Eastern Europe. Places like Cologne, Dortmund and Hanover have struggled to cope.

And there is growing support in Germany for a new political party. Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) acknowledges the need for migrant workers but still wants tighter controls on immigration.

This, though, is a country still haunted by the atrocities of World War Two.

People here are mindful of how devastating the consequences of "Rassenhass" - racial hatred - can be.

And bear in mind most of today's migrants are moving within the EU.

Since Bulgaria and Romania acceded in 2007 there's been a significant increase of immigrants from both countries - 67,000 Romanians and 29,000 Bulgarians arrived in the first half of 2013.

In response to public concern about the numbers, Angela Merkel's government pledged to crack down on migrants who fraudulently claimed benefits but - in the words of one politician from her conservative CDU party - free movement for workers is "one of the main pillars of the European Union".

So, as Dr Tucci says: "There aren't a lot of tensions - Germany doesn't compare with countries like France where tensions are more virulent.

"It's important though to say the population has to be prepared for immigration. There are perhaps fears of newcomers. So political rhetoric is important."

Back in the language class, I meet Alissa and David - an architect and a musicians' agent - who have arrived from Milan.

"We discovered that Milan was too expensive for us and the quality of life was not so good," says David.

"We had some money and we decided to buy a flat here in Berlin because it was cheaper than Italy.

"We were looking for a real metropolis, and in Europe the big cities are too expensive. Berlin was the only solution. The only problem is the language."

But, adds Alissa: "I feel at home."

She is in good company. More than 7.6 million foreigners are registered as living in Germany. It is the highest number since records began in 1967.

In the words of President Joachim Gauck: "A look at our country shows how bizarre it is that some people cling to the idea that there could be such a thing as a homogenous, closed single-coloured Germany.

"It's not easy to grasp what it is to be German - and it keeps changing


This tells alot about Germany.........

dojo12:

hello house, justwise, you ask me a question and I have replied thinking that u will give more light on my issue, pls I still need your contribution and any other person in the house who is vast on rise issue to help out,this is d reason why I am here. thanks all

Ok..what has changed from the last time you applied? Were you married then, working and own a business as it's now?

Belly213:
Curled from BBC

"Everyone's moving to Germany."

So says Govan, a thin, bearded French jazz musician from Lyon whom I meet in a German language class for people recently arrived in Berlin.

"In one month," he says, "I met lot of people from everywhere."

The faces around the table are young, the accents mainly European. They tell a story about how the demography of this country is changing fast.

Germany is now the world's second most popular destination - after the US - for immigrants. And they are arriving in the hundreds of thousands.

Net migration to Germany has not been this high for 20 years, and even the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) describes it as a boom. In 2012, 400,000 so-called "permanent migrants" arrived here.

They are people who have the right to stay for more than a year. That represents an increase of 38% on the year before.

They are coming from Eastern Europe, but also from the countries of the southern Eurozone, lured by Germany's stronger economy and jobs market.

And they are being welcomed with open arms - by the government at least - because Germany has a significant skills gap, and a worryingly low birth rate.

"Immigrants are on average younger and the German population is on average older, so immigrants are welcome," says Dr Ingrid Tucci, from the German Institute for Economic Research.

"It's important to attract students and highly qualified people. So the government is making it easier for them, trying to invest and put a culture of welcome in place."

Helmut Kohl
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl didn't want Turkish immigrants to settle permanently
Here they call it "Willkommenskultur".

In practice it means free or cheap German language lessons for immigrants plus integration and citizenship classes.

As Berlin's senator for work, integration and women, it is Dilek Kolat's job to facilitate Willkommenskultur in the city.

"Every academic, every employer will tell you we need skilled migration. There's a change in perception in wider society.

"We don't look at migrants as a possible threat or a possible problem, but we look at them as potential.

"What can they bring to society? Business[es] are approaching the senate and asking how can we get the young refugees into apprenticeships which at the moment aren't taken up by German kids."

But Willkommenskultur is also about attitude.

And - politically at least - it's changed substantially since the days of Helmut Kohl.

Under his leadership Germany was 'not a country of immigration' despite the hundreds of thousands of Turkish migrant workers who'd been invited here in the sixties.

They had been recruited to help with Germany's post-war reconstruction.

And - as their families and friends arrived to join them - Germany's immigration figures spiked for the first time since the Second World War. In 1970 for example annual net immigration stood at more than half a million.

Private papers recently published by the German news website Spiegel Online reveal Chancellor Kohl told then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982 that he wanted to halve the number of Turks living in Germany. They did not, he said, "integrate well".

Today they are an established community. Stroll through the Berlin district of Neukoln and you pass hundreds of businesses run by their children and grandchildren.

In the window of one of the restaurants here, a large chunk of roasting meat turns slowly on a spit. Inside, a woman with a headscarf sips tea from a glass in front of a counter stacked with kebabs and and flatbreads ready for the lunchtime rush.

It is owned by Hassan - an earnest man in his 40s, who arrived in Germany with his parents when he was 13. But he worries about immigration today.

'It's great people come to Germany. They should be able to come. But people who don't work shouldn't be able to stay. Look at me - I work 20 hours a day.

"There are a lot of beggars. They have no money but ask for food. I give them kebabs, pizzas, but my heart breaks - I can't give food to everyone."

Neither, it seems, can some German towns and cities, who are largely responsible for the welfare of immigrants.

Frauke Petry, lead AfD candidate in Saxony, addresses reporters on 1 September
Leaders of the anti-euro AfD want tighter controls on immigration
Last year the mayors of 16 large German cities wrote to the government asking for help with unemployed migrants flooding into their regions from Eastern Europe. Places like Cologne, Dortmund and Hanover have struggled to cope.

And there is growing support in Germany for a new political party. Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) acknowledges the need for migrant workers but still wants tighter controls on immigration.

This, though, is a country still haunted by the atrocities of World War Two.

People here are mindful of how devastating the consequences of "Rassenhass" - racial hatred - can be.

And bear in mind most of today's migrants are moving within the EU.

Since Bulgaria and Romania acceded in 2007 there's been a significant increase of immigrants from both countries - 67,000 Romanians and 29,000 Bulgarians arrived in the first half of 2013.

In response to public concern about the numbers, Angela Merkel's government pledged to crack down on migrants who fraudulently claimed benefits but - in the words of one politician from her conservative CDU party - free movement for workers is "one of the main pillars of the European Union".

So, as Dr Tucci says: "There aren't a lot of tensions - Germany doesn't compare with countries like France where tensions are more virulent.

"It's important though to say the population has to be prepared for immigration. There are perhaps fears of newcomers. So political rhetoric is important."

Back in the language class, I meet Alissa and David - an architect and a musicians' agent - who have arrived from Milan.

"We discovered that Milan was too expensive for us and the quality of life was not so good," says David.

"We had some money and we decided to buy a flat here in Berlin because it was cheaper than Italy.

"We were looking for a real metropolis, and in Europe the big cities are too expensive. Berlin was the only solution. The only problem is the language."

But, adds Alissa: "I feel at home."

She is in good company. More than 7.6 million foreigners are registered as living in Germany. It is the highest number since records began in 1967.

In the words of President Joachim Gauck: "A look at our country shows how bizarre it is that some people cling to the idea that there could be such a thing as a homogenous, closed single-coloured Germany.

"It's not easy to grasp what it is to be German - and it keeps changing


This tells alot about Germany.........

fighalo:
Hi guys, Thanks for the informations you guys have posted on this thread. I appreciate, and God bless you all. Please I want to apply for an undergraduate course next year. The 1.6million that is required for proof of financial wateve, wil I b providing that 1.6million naira annually?.

rymalex:
how complex is it to get a german work visa. please i need help. hi hoodrat.

rymalex:
is it possible for one to get into Germany before getting a job and a workpermit? if it is, on what visa type?

kennyoguns0509:
House I need ur advice can I switch to another university when I get to Germany I'm applying for MSc program but my first choice course is not available for summer I want to apply for similar course and when it's winter period I will apply to another university is it possible house

kennyoguns0509:
Hello house I really need ur advice on diz can I switch to another university when I get to Germany because am applying for MSc but my preferred course is not available for summer so if I apply for similar course and when I get there during winter can apply to another university for another master program

betty55:
Brothers and sisters please help me thank the Lord for his Devine favour in my life, most of you read about my ugly incidents on the 30th of last month, when I was robbed of my passport and student visa and all my school certificates.l just arrived Germany today with my sister who is also my sponsor, my visa was isue on Friday ,and getting a new passport was a Devine connection,l spoke with about three immigration officers who told me nothing less than a hundred thousand naira for duration of four weeks, but imidiately my sister arrived she call some one in abuja who did it for 50 thousand and I got it in one week. Oh the embassy, God bless germans,the lady in charge of my file, was so kind and concern about my health after she read my email l sent to her . my school also never ceased senting me mail every now and then to know about my well being and that they are praying for me, the proffersor sent a very wonderful mail to the embassy that makes me to wonder why I deserve this favor, my amazing sister who never looked back spending her money on every move we make,l have not spend one naira since I started this journey till now,how can I ever pay back this woman who is more than a mother to me, God bless her with all the good things of life. Amen

Belly213:
May testimonies start rolling for the remaining part of this week....Amen.....

damsamty16:

Amen bro.Am stil patiently waiting for the embassy to contact me..it's my 3rd week though,I mailed yestaday and they told me they are yet to hear from the Aliens office.Damn rhine waal said if I can't be in schl nextweek friday that I should forget about it this year..God forbid!

betty55:
Brothers and sisters please help me thank the Lord for his Devine favour in my life, most of you read about my ugly incidents on the 30th of last month, when I was robbed of my passport and student visa and all my school certificates.l just arrived Germany today with my sister who is also my sponsor, my visa was isue on Friday ,and getting a new passport was a Devine connection,l spoke with about three immigration officers who told me nothing less than a hundred thousand naira for duration of four weeks, but imidiately my sister arrived she call some one in abuja who did it for 50 thousand and I got it in one week. Oh the embassy, God bless germans,the lady in charge of my file, was so kind and concern about my health after she read my email l sent to her . my school also never ceased senting me mail every now and then to know about my well being and that they are praying for me, the proffersor sent a very wonderful mail to the embassy that makes me to wonder why I deserve this favor, my amazing sister who never looked back spending her money on every move we make,l have not spend one naira since I started this journey till now,how can I ever pay back this woman who is more than a mother to me, God bless her with all the good things of life. Amen

xij38580:


Very true. No single race has the monopoly of ideas and innovations. Look through time and history, "World Powers" were very heterogenous in nature. They provided a vista for the congregation of the best minds and talents. Countries are beginning to understand this. For instance, Estonia despite its small size, its drive for globalization is gradually changing its perception and appeal. Heck she even offers e-Residency with quite some interesting privileges.

Germany's decision to remove tuition, embrace the English language and open its doors to the world gets an A+ in my book !!! Make i write my german here "es ist sehr gut".
Hello bro,pls do Germany offer tuition free ?

xij38580:


Very true. No single race has the monopoly of ideas and innovations. Look through time and history, "World Powers" were very heterogenous in nature. They provided a vista for the congregation of the best minds and talents. Countries are beginning to understand this. For instance, Estonia despite its small size, its drive for globalization is gradually changing its perception and appeal. Heck she even offers e-Residency with quite some interesting privileges.

Germany's decision to remove tuition, embrace the English language and open its doors to the world gets an A+ in my book !!! Make i write my german here "es ist sehr gut".

xij38580:


Very true. No single race has the monopoly of ideas and innovations. Look through time and history, "World Powers" were very heterogenous in nature. They provided a vista for the congregation of the best minds and talents. Countries are beginning to understand this. For instance, Estonia despite its small size, its drive for globalization is gradually changing its perception and appeal. Heck she even offers e-Residency with quite some interesting privileges.

Germany's decision to remove tuition, embrace the English language and open its doors to the world gets an A+ in my book !!! Make i write my german here "es ist sehr gut".

Eke40seven:
Danniemore I see you.

Well to the visa hopefuls (not forgetting me too), God go answer our prayers although I understand the pressure wey dey the waiting period cannot be kept constant under Charles' law.
Well, it has pushed a lot of us to attempt so many heroic and bold steps and may be sometimes funny steps too. One of us here, (no names mentioned buy him moniker starts with D) in a bid to reach the Alien office in charge of his district in order to make them process his documents fast, dug more than he expected..he was given the name of a true alien and here is the result of his enquiries in the image below.

He almost ran out of the home really mad because the date given by this our 'alien' was beyond the deadline stipulated by the school.
Moral if my post; Do your very best and leave the rest to God....
Enjoy the chat below.

fighalo:
please guys I need ur advice. goin to germany for an undergraduate course or doin d undergraduate course in naija or ghana and den d masters germany. which is better please

fxsly:
Good morning people.....pls a cgpa of 3.3 can it apply for msc in germany? Its against september admission

Mickyboiz:
hello bro, plss do Germany offer tuition free?

baggylips:
Pls gurus in the house.how do I go about the certified german translation of my certificates/documents cos I wish 2 apply 2 Msc biotechnology in FUAS via uni-assist.Thanks for anticipated assistance.