Berlin Has Just Always Called My Name

Honestly, I've been wanting to move to Berlin for many years now, so I think it's really cool to actually have the opportunity to finally do it.

Okay, so you're moving to Berlin in just a few months, from Texas. So right now you're in Texas, and...

Yeah, I'm in Austin, Texas.

Do I remember right that you've never actually been to Berlin before?

No, so I...in 2018, I was studying abroad in France, Cannes France to be specific. And during my spring break I actually visited Berlin for about five days. And during that time I just, I had one of the best experiences of my life till this day where I remember vividly the experience and ever since then I've been like, I got to go back, I got to go back.

What happened in those five days?

Okay. I guess what really happened is I took this free alternative walking tour, very specific and...

Classic. Did you know that I was a walking tour guide?Not in Berlin but in in Basel, Switzerland. I did those free walking tours. Yes, for like two years.

Really!

Oh, that's dope. Well, I really appreciate them. So kudos to you for doing that. They're very transformative.

It's crazy in Berlin. It's so difficult to become a guide on one of those free tours because it's all very capitalistic at this stage. Like it's.. basically the free tours are there to advertise the paid tours and you have to actually apply to become a guide and stuff.

Interesting.

It's like a whole thing. But anyway, I digress. So you took a tour and your mind was blown.

Gotcha.

My mind was blown because they didn't show me the typical things that you would go to Berlin to see, you know, you're not seeing all of the "touristy" stuff. She walked around and she showed us the graffiti, the art, the culture, you know, the integration of different types of people, you know, all of those different things. She even showed us Berghain, you know, so like it was really the...it was just very informative of the things that I'm very attracted to. I'm an artist. So, I was just amazed and that... I was just touched and then I had the opportunity to go to Berghain once and just the music and the vibe, and it was a really cool experience, honestly. And I was like, I want to live here. I'm like, I've never felt more at home in the city in the five days that I was there, ever in my life.

I've only ever been to Berghain once in my life as well, by accident almost. Yes. So I'm not a... I'm not usually a club dweller in any sense of the word. But a friend was...this is many years ago, a friend of mine was visiting when I first lived in Berlin. So I first moved to Berlin in 2012 and then moved away for a while and then came back. And this was when I first lived in Berlin and my friend from Kiel was visiting, and we had a common friend, a shared friend who also lived in Berlin and she was going to Berghain that night, and she was like, "hey you guys should just come by and say hi because I just queued up and I'll be in this queue for another two or three hours at least".

And you should just come by and say hi and we're like, okay, fine. And then we went there because we were in the area in Friedrichshain and then we.. like they somehow convinced us that we should queue up, not with them because you can't do that. You have to be at least like...or you shouldn't be more than two people or maximum three. So we queued up way behind them and somehow we all got in, even though we were literally like not showered, like not prepared for this at all, not dressed up, which is kind of what you should do when you go to Berghain, and yeah, we all got in and it was a surreal experience. We should do a whole episode at one point about the Berlin club scene and all that.

I would totally love that. You see, that's the thing everyone says, "yeah, you know, like I queued up for this amount of time" or whatnot. Honestly, I went... I guess it's the day I went, I went on a Sunday, There was no line, there was not one person in line.

That's the trick. Yeah, you have to go Sunday morning, ideally. Yeah.

Yes, and I just walked right in and like...and then when I was in there was so many people there, I was like, I don't understand what anyone else had gone through. It was the easiest experience I ever had.

Nice. Alright, so the free walking tour kind of blew your mind, then you went to Berghain, had, I'm sure, an incredible experience in this parallel universe that is Berghain.

Yes.

Yes.

And then decided I want to move to Berlin at some point.

That is exactly it. I was just like my time here is not up. I think that there's just so much potential for me here.I've always tried to find a community that I can just call my own, and I had that really well in college.So, I've been like okay now that I actually have more knowledge and more experience, I can actually deliberately find a place and Berlin has just always called my name. I have never not wanted to go to Berlin since I visited.

And aren't you afraid with kind of these...this level of expectations that...like Berlin can only let you down now?Because you do realize it's not like...visiting four or five days is a very different experience from living here.

For sure, For sure. But I think though...I mean like one thing I realized is that an experience is all about your perspective of that experience. You know, the only way that I can be let down is if I let down myself. But, I think with anywhere that I go, I have opportunity for excitement. I mean, I can go back home to Houston and even though I've lived there for so long, I can have a new, exciting experience. You know, I think it's more about how I keep my energy up, how I keep my perspective positive that allows me to continue having a good time. Even if there are moments of disappointment, which there most likely will be. I mean ,I'm going still during the time of COVID, so a lot of restrictions and stuff. But, I will say that I went to the U. K. last year, well November 2020, to Manchester during a lockdown and I still had a blast. So I'm like if I can have a blast during a lockdown in the U. K., I'm sure I can still have a blast in the city that I've always dreamed of.

That's a good perspective. I mean, get ready for 7-8 pretty grey months of the year. You know, the winter?

I know. They always say that.

I mean it's so true because honestly, like this winter...I feel like I'm a person who doesn't get easily distracted by the weather or kind of, the weather doesn't really affect my mood so much. But this winter for some reason, maybe it's because I'm getting older, but for some reason I really felt it. I was like, oh my God, it's...there were like two weeks where it was just grey every single day. And yeah, I mean it's just, it's difficult. But then the summer can be amazing, obviously. And the winter, I feel like...yeah, just like you said, like COVID in combination with this...because the winter usually in Berlin is cozy, right? Because you go to cafes, and you go to bars, and you kind of minimize the time spent outside. But it's not like you never leave your house. You just, you know, you meet people inside places and that kind of fell away.

Yeah, no, that definitely makes sense. I guess...I mean it can be challenging and I'm a tropics kid, so you know, I'm all from the sun, so I think it will definitely be an adjustment, but I always go back to, I mean like, no matter where you go in the world, you're gonna have moments like that. Like I lived in California, I lived in L. A. I lived there, I lived in the perfect "city" and I still have moments where I was just like, this is just not it, you know, so, it's things that you know, you get through and you learn how to cope with things and some days are easy, some days are not easy, but you just keep going, you know?

Yeah. So, I mean, we're obviously not doing this to kind of promote Berlin or kind of... this is not an ad for Berlin. But apart from, kind of the street graffiti that you saw and that you liked, and the Berghain experience, what are like...and your general kind of feeling that you're drawn to the city, what are like specific things that you think make Berlin a city that you want to live in?

The diversity. The "interculturalness", which is much different than America's melting pot.You might have people, let's say in L. A, you have people all over America who come to L. A. You know, which is much different though, than...I feel like Berlin, which has people all over Europe who come to Berlin, people who speak different languages, who grew up in different types of environments all in this one city, trying to make it work in whatever aspect that is.And I think it has something beautiful that.. I never have actually lived in London. I visited London, I visited Paris, but I think there's this down to earth type of atmosphere that I appreciate in Berlin that really I think draws me there. And then also just a simple fact that I still have yet to hear one negative thing about Berlin. Not one person who I've talked to who has lived in Berlin has said one negative thing. So I'm like, I should just take your word for it.

Yeah, I mean...I feel like it's funny that you have this strong feeling that you're drawn because I think that is very common. I kind of had the same feeling actually and I also think there are people who experience almost the opposite, who visit Berlin once and are like, oh man. Yeah, I mean I enjoyed the museums and I enjoyed the concert that I went to but otherwise this city is not for me. Like I know people who had this experience and said it just feels too hectic or too dirty almost. It's kind of a strong word, but it is true like if you compare it to other German cities like Hamburg or Munich, Berlin is a little bit dirty. You know, there's...I mean it depends a little bit on where you are, but Wedding, where I live, definitely has a garbage problem and then the graffiti, there is amazing street art but there's also just a ton of like vandalism essentially, you know, that isn't particularly pretty, and I feel like you love it or hate it. Like, you know, I also think this makes Berlin what it is. Like the garbage I could do without, but you know, all the graffiti and stuff, it's just, it's part of Berlin. It feels like...and like there's a lot we did actually at the very beginning....

of the Easy German podcast, we did an episode about Berlin with Emmanuel, who's from here, who does the German learning blog - your daily German and he...

He said something that I still remember even though this was two years ago, we talked a little bit about all the kind of strange people that you meet on a regular basis. You know, like if you go to a...if you take the subway, like you will meet people who, you know, you feel like are very different. You know, I'm trying to be as little judgmental here as I can, because I think it's great that Berlin has that, you know, I think it's great that not everybody is like locked up somewhere and you know, it's very diverse in that sense. It's actually... like it's not as diverse in some dimensions.You know, it's not as diverse as New York obviously, or even Amsterdam in some ways, but it does have a diversity of like, you know, people who are on the edges of the bell curve of society somehow. And Berlin is their place. I don't know if any of that makes sense, but there is some diversity there and I like that, that's part of the city.

It does make sense. I completely get it, and that's exactly what I was supporting and I would agree with that. That's what makes the city, the city, you know, it's not for everybody. But then again, do you want to be in the city that is for everybody? And like I guess... I mean I always go back... I lived in L. A., I did that L. A. thing and that was not for me. It was not for me at all. I did not like it. It was cool. You know? It was...

It's a car city. You need a car, right? That's what turns me off about L.A.

Yeah, it is a car city. I mean it's a "perfect city". It's the city people dream of going to. And I lived that life. I lived that reality and it wasn't for me.It wasn't as diverse or interesting as I feel it could be because everyone there is still trying to get clout, everyone's still trying to you know make it in some way. And I think one of the things based on what you describe for me in Berlin is people don't care how you think of them. People are going to be them. And I like that.

That's definitely true. That's like a huge difference to Munich where, you know, in Munich you have to like dress to impress and in Berlin you can do your grocery shopping in pajamas and no one will look at you, you know, strangely.. Maybe a little bit... Maybe not in Charlottenburg, but definitely where I live. That is very common and I have first hand experience in doing this and it is not a problem and I like that, it's like whatever and mind your own business.Yeah, I personally like that part, you know.

Yes it's just...yeah it's just easier. So.

Nice. Okay so, when are you moving?

I bought my ticket for April 18th. So I technically leave April 18th, I'll get there April 19th.Just because it's like...you know, it takes a minute to fly there. But yeah, in two months and maybe a week or two I can't do the math right now. But yeah, it's coming up.

Wow.

Alright. Tuesday April 19th, Jae arrives in Berlin to the new airport, I assume BER

Yes, that airport.

Let's talk about how to get here. So, this podcast obviously is for people who are already here, but also for people who are moving here and this is a topic that you know more about than me. Because, if you're in the EU or if you're from the EU - I should say if you are a European passport holder, then you're lucky and privileged because you can just come here and live here and work here and it's all fairly easy. Thank us for having the EU, and forming the EU, and not leaving the EU. But what if you're from somewhere else, and I know it's like a giant topic, but maybe we can get an overview. So you're obviously from the U. S. So you do need a Visa, and maybe we can start with your experience and then some other common cases.

Yeah. So, first I would...it depends on what you're essentially trying to do.You can visit Berlin or you can move to Berlin and in my case, I would like to move to Berlin, hence the title of the podcast.So with moving to Berlin, that means that you're going to want to be there for longer than probably three months, which I say three months because without a visa as an American citizen, I'm able to visit the EU, any place in the EU for three months. So if you want to move there for longer...

Right, the Schengen Visa.

Yes. Yes. So you want to be there for longer than those three months, you need a certain type of visa. So, I did a lot of research on different types of visas that I felt that I could essentially get and these visas should apply to people not only in America. I think in general if you aren't really from the EU, you still have to go through these hoops. So, there are a few types that I'm pretty attracted to.You can acquire a work visa.Some countries allow you to apply for a working holiday visa, which allows you to work in the country for up to a year. Unfortunately, Americans do not get that option.There's a freelance visa.

Wait. Slow down, slow down. So the working holiday I know a little bit about so that is usually one year, and you...it's supposed, I think it's mostly... like it's supposed to be a Visa where you can travel and work a little bit. But I think the working thing is like six months, I think you can only really work for six months out of the year. So it's not like you know... it's a little bit limited and I think you can only apply for it outside of Germany. So you can apply...like you can apply for it in the Netherlands, but you can't apply for it in Germany itself, it has to be in a German embassy I think, where you apply for it.

Yes. So for the working holiday Visa specifically, you can work up to one year, and it's for people of very very very...select Argentina, Australia, Brazil,Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and Uruguay. Those are the only people and you have to be from the ages 18-30.

That's so random, like, do you know anything about this? What's the back story of this Visa?

I don't know.

I don't really know the backstory of it. I can do some more information on that in the future. But yeah, it's very interesting.But I mean...I guess it depends on just the relationship that that country does have with Germany, that allows them to have those types of privileges, I would say.

Hmm. They might have a similar Visa for Germans or something like that.

Yes, yes, most likely. But as I listed before, there is the work Visa, which will get a little bit more into; we have the working holiday Visa; the freelance visa, which is personally my favorite because in Berlin, if you're an artist you can apply to a freelance artist Visa, which essentially a freelance artist visa allows you to live in the city and work as a freelance artist. It is actually very simple to apply. You mainly get the freelance artist visa the same day that you apply for it, which is much different from the other visas that could take weeks, months to receive your acceptance, but typically with the freelance artist Visa, you can get that on the same day and before I started working with Manuel at our company- Easy languages, that was the Visa that I was looking to get whenever I went to Berlin.So we can do a little bit more talking about that later on. There is also the student Visa, which this is pretty self explanatory. You go to a school or university in Germany and you can get a Visa to live there and also work as well.So if you're interested in learning and wanting to get education in Germany, this is actually a really great option as well.

But limited to a certain amount of time and no, you can't work, as far as I know.

Yes you can. With this one you can work.

Ah you can during the student visa. You...

Yes, you're able to work as long as you're enrolled in a university. However one of the good things about a student Visa is once you graduate, you can get the blue card Visa, which is a work Visa but a little bit better.

Okay.

It's a little bit easier to get. And all you need is a job offer and a university degree from Germany to get a blue card.

All you need is a job offer and a university degree. Easy peasy.

Oh you know, just...the benefits of a blue card is you can get it faster, it's easier to change your jobs.You can get a permanent residency faster, you can get it in 33 months rather than 60 months.It's easier to move to other EU countries and you can travel longer outside of Germany as well.So that's one of the, I would say the perks of if you come to Germany to be a student, there are opportunities to stay in Germany once your student visa ends.

So then you have the internship Visa, which is for university students and this residence permit lets you do an internship in Germany and it's valid for 6-12 months.So I would say that if you're ending your studies and you're not trying to get a job right now, an internship Visa is a really great way. I'm not too sure if you're able to work additionally to your internship, but hopefully you choose an internship that pays you so you're still able to, you know, make a living.Then there's actually a really nice Visa called the job seeker Visa and this is for people who want to look for work in Germany but don't necessarily have a job just yet.

It gives you six months to find a job and you need...because in order to get a work Visa, you actually need a job, you know. So this job seeker essentially comes, "hey, I want to work in Germany, I have these skills that I see is in need here in Germany, I want to look for a job". And if they find that your skills are something that is useful to Germany, they can approve you for that. And I want to emphasize that because, I mean not everyone can just come and apply for a job seeker Visa. There are a lot of specifics and from what I've known from Germany's bureaucratic system, it can be very picky sometimes.So just be...

Can I just say Jae, you should work for like I don't know, I don't even know who, like who would be the agency advertising the different types of visas- like this is actually a very nice visa. I recommend getting this visa. This would also be a good choice if you're looking into working for free as an intern, you should look into it. It's a very nice presentation so far.

I love it. I'm glad.

And can I just also...I know you're not done with this overview, but is there like a page that we can link to that has all of these different visas listed somewhere? Because it's a lot of information.

Sure do. There's actually a website that I will plug that has been my lifeline when trying to find all of this type of stuff is called allaboutberlin.com. And it's literally like...it is the website version of what I hope our podcast can be. It has literally all of the steps and all the options or whatnot. It has been my life saver in trying to figure out what I need to do to get to Germany and to get to Berlin specifically. Yes. So yes, we can link that in there but just go to allaboutberlin.com and...

I'm just looking at this page now and it's made by a guy called Nicholas. So we should probably...he's a Canadian software engineer, so we should probably invite him on the show then.

Yes.

We really should, yes. And he updates this regularly, like he updated...like the last time this page was updated was on the was on January 26. So this is still like very recent information.So the last two options listed that I found was an Au pair Visa and these are for people who want to be a helper for a host family in Germany.I can see this as like people who kind of come in and help families, teach English or learn about the culture or whatnot.Au pairs can usually do housework and take care of children and in return they typically get a place to live and small allowance.Au pair is a form of cultural exchange and it is a cheap way to live in another country and also learn the local language and it can serve as a part time job.You can work up to six hours a day or 30 hours a week, so you kind of come in with the job.

Besides doing the Au pair, you can work. Like the whole pair thing is work in and of itself, right?

Yes. Yes.

Because you're usually taking care of the children and then on top of that, if you're like not tired as hell after all that, you can then go work in a bar at night.

Yes. Don't quote me on that, but I believe so.

Yeah, sorry my version isn't quite as positive and I like your presentation okay? Au pair and then...

Yeah, ha ha ha ha ha.The last one that is listed is the family reunion Visa. So this is for spouses and family members of German residents. This is how you can bring your family to Germany and with a family reunion Visa, your family can work or study in Germany and I, we have a coworker who might have done this, I'm not sure. But, I think it's a good way of like if you are a German resident and you just got married, or you have a son or a family member who wants to come to Germany, this is a good way for you to help sponsor them as well. So if you are currently in Germany, and you live in Germany and you have a friend ,or not friend, or a family member or, spouse that wants to look into the family reunion visa. That could be a good option as well. Essentially there are a lot of different ways to get to Berlin. My biggest advice and my biggest encouragement is to just try something, and just see if it works and if that doesn't work then try something else, and if that doesn't work then try something else, and if that doesn't work, keep on trying.My biggest thing in life is never give up.I've tried to get to Berlin, this is my third time and if it doesn't work, I'm going to keep on trying. Don't give up and just see what works. I guarantee you something will.

I mean on this website it says and many, many more. So there are obviously more visas than the ones you listed. These are very popular or popular in the sense that they're common visas, right? One that I also know about, that is also very specific is the English teacher visa, it might not be called that, but essentially the way it works is...

If you are an English native speaker, you can come here and get offers from at least three different language schools, which is fairly easy because they usually always are looking for teachers, and they will then say yes, we would like you to work for us and then with those three things plus your health insurance and your residence and blah blah blah everything, you go and apply for the visa and then you get to live here and work as an English teacher.And that's because you're not taking a job from someone who's from Germany supposedly because there's not that many English native speakers. I don't know if that's really...I think that's how it works, right? Like it's...it counts as like a qualified thing, even if you've, if you don't have a university degree or anything just because you're an English native speaker and it's relatively easy to get and you can...

You can come here on a tourist visa, not officially I think, but I think I know that you can in theory, come on a tourist visa and then while you're here figure everything out- get an apartment, do the resident's like at the resident's, you know the thing that says that you have Anmeldung, we will talk about those things in detail. You know, the Anmeldebescheinigung, and then get the job offers, and then get the visa and do it all in three months. It's like tight, but it's possible. And then you can stay here.

Yes, so I'm really glad that you brought that up because the...being an English teacher was actually one of the options that I was looking to get. That was like a plan D or E.And it is a really good thing if you come from a native English speaking country like America or Canada and one of the cool things is you don't necessarily...most teachers... it's not... is what...

I want to say it's not necessarily required to have a bachelor's degree, but it's extremely, extremely, extremely recommended. But that is really good, if you have a bachelor's degree but you don't have a master's degree.And most times you do need a T. E. F. L. or a TEFL certification, this is Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification. However there are many different types of ways of getting this. You can also get a CELTA certification which is a more prestigious version of the certification. But there are a million different types of countries, not countries. um companies who are offering these certifications. Certification is not necessarily required but it can help you get better opportunities.And like Manuel said you can do this in the tight span of three months.

Now I say that won't come with a lot of anxiety and a lot of pressure, it might. But it can happen, but like it's definitely an option if you don't feel that you have a particular skill set or something else that can get you here.Teaching English as a foreign language is a great, great, great, great method as well. However, I will say it will probably do you better to know a little bit of German as well before you get here, before you get there, just so if you're teaching English, you can also respond if they have questions in German, but it's not necessarily required.

Knowing a little bit of German before you come here is a good idea either way, because I mean Berlin... you don't necessarily need to speak German to have a good life in Berlin because Berlin is actually a difficult city to learn German because everybody will be happy to speak English with you except the people at the Auslanderbehörde and essentially all the people you depend on being nice to you when you apply for your visas and stuff it is...we have to make like a separate episode about this but the Auslanderbehörde...So what would this be called in English? The visa agency, I don't know foreign...

The Yeah... The Visa Agency, The German Consulate.

Right. They are like... I mean I feel for them because they do have a pretty high workload I think, and you know there... are a lot of people are coming to Berlin.So of course, but I helped several people at this point getting their visas and going to the Auslanderbehörde is a nightmare. I mean it can be a nightmare and in the best case, it's slightly painful and the people there are...it just always feels like they have like a protective shield around them which I understand to a degree you know, but it means that some of them will refuse to speak any other language. So even if they do know English, they will just speak German to you. So my recommendation: a) would be just try to come with a little bit of German and then either way, just try to bring someone to these appointments like when you're doing your Anmeldung fur die Wohnung, when you register the place you live which you need for everything else. And then also when...like any official appointment whether at the Auslanderbehörde or any other kind of amped, you know, office in Berlin just try to bring a native speaker.

So you're coming with me, Right?

I'm coming with you and yeah because that's the thing bring a native speaker and bring someone who is stubborn and very assured of himself because you would, you would be surprised...

So you.

Yes you would be surprised how much you can...like because the default answer is no. You know, no we don't have any appointments, no this isn't possible, no you can't get this Visa because your health insurance doesn't have this or that or no you whatever, like you know, But if you are stubborn and if you have a German speaking person with you who will not leave, you know, then doors open up and...

Basically do not take no for an answer.

Yeah, I mean don't be an asshole obviously, like let people do their jobs and respect the rules for sure, but, don't...you know, the thing is like some things you have to be really stubborn, not just in dealing with people, but also dealing with websites for example, you just have to, you know, getting appointments for some of these things is so difficult and you just need to like be on it and check every morning and like, you know, just refresh the page and figure out when the appointments go online and, you really... unfortunately, we're not like... when I moved to Switzerland...

The experience was incredible. Like I literally just went to the Citizen Hall, and like pressed the button and got a ticket and then I was called up like 10 minutes later and they were like, "okay, yeah, welcome to Switzerland here's your welcome package" and it was just such a delightful experience and it's not like that in Berlin for many reasons. But yeah, you just need to be on top of it and after it because if you don't, then you're going to miss all the deadlines and like, you don't want to overstay your visa and potentially get in trouble. So, you just need to be on top of it. Which is part of the reason why we're starting this podcast because I just feel like there are things like errors, mistakes that can be avoided if you just know about them in advance, you know?

I am so glad that you said that and I think that's super important to know. I mean with the whole just like being on top of it. I, ideally would not even be able to get an appointment to get a permanent or anything else until May or June even July kind of, but I've already started to make a habit just for myself of going on the appointment website and just checking it every single day.

I know! I heard about this. You know Cari told me, "did you know that Jae is already looking for appointments even though he can't... like it doesn't make sense for him" and I'm like what?

Just so I get into the habit of it. Yeah.

And he's like yeah, he just wants to get in the habit of looking for appointments. And I mean that is amazing. That is exactly the attitude you need because you just want to be in the habit of you know, getting an appointment unfortunately.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. I mean the one thing that... I am a procrastinator, I'm a proud procrastinator, but when it comes to things that matter the most in life, I cannot procrastinate on. And this is one of those things where you can, like I said, you can do all that type of stuff in three months, but do you want the anxiety of it? No. So, my biggest advice is do what you can before you get to Berlin just to make everything there a little bit easier because being in Berlin, already know they're gonna be so many challenges that I can't even imagine they're going to happen. So if I can control the things that I have around me right now, I think I'll be able to be more, I'll be more confident in overcoming any obstacles that happen once I get there.

All right. So in terms of things to prepare, what you need for each Visa is obviously different, but maybe we can talk about like some of the basics or like the common things.

So obviously you need a valid passport. That's, I mean... I feel like that's very obvious, but, you will also need biometric photos of your face at a specific size, which you know, you can just get the day off or whatever. But I guess that's something you could prepare. One huge thing is health insurance. So Germany is a country where it is illegal to not have health insurance. And once you have... like once everything's figured out and you have your Visa, then you can get the gesetzliche Krankenversicherung...

The standard like... it's not state interest, it is private companies doing it, but it's...like the fees are more or less standardized or not so much the fees, but also what you get from the insurance is the same across all the insurances. There's also a private system, but that doesn't really matter. So, basically most people I think get Techniker Krankenkasse, TK, that's what I have. And most of the people I know have, it's like one of the biggest health insurance companies. And so you will be able to sign up for that once you have the Visa. But I don't think you can at least easily sign up for health insurance like that before you have a Visa. You can't join health insurance like that as a visitor or as someone who doesn't have residency in Germany. And so most of the people that I know of who came to Germany got a health insurance... like there are these health insurances that are targeted specifically at foreigners coming to Germany, so they will have exactly the things that the German government expects you to have in order to get a visa. Have you looked into this at all?

So actually I have a question for that. Actually, so I have two things. I made a list of things that people should get before they get to Berlin. And then I have another list of things they should get once they get to Berlin. But about the health insurance thing, so there.. before you can apply for your work Visa you have to have a place to live and you have to have German health insurance. So you're saying that there are some health insurances that won't provide you health insurance until you get there?

Right. I feel like oh my God, this is exactly what happens.It's like a... there's a name for it. Is it a chicken and egg problem, no? There are... you will run into things where it's like you can't get this without this and you can't get the other thing without the other thing? That totally happens.

Yes, it's a chicken and egg problem.

So I'm not quite exactly sure what you need in order to get TK. I don't think you need a job necessarily because you can join and pay yourself.

Ooh.

But, yeah you might need a place to live; but it's kind of hard to get a place to live if you don't have work so.

Work...It's such a chicken and egg... like that's probably the best analogy for it. Like you said, they don't make it easy for you.But okay so I have... I'm looking right now and if you're like... it depends on what Visa you're applying for.So, for example, if you're looking for a job seeker visa or a freelance Visa, you can apply for expat health insurance, which is what you were talking about.And then for a work Visa, or if you have a blue card, if you have a job offer, you can apply for public health insurance before you come to Germany.So, yes that's actually really good to know, so I need to know that.. I need to try to do that.

Okay well that's good to know.

So, it just like... it will vary on the health insurance, it will vary on the permit that you're going for, but it will be good possibly to get expat health insurance, as well as another chicken and egg problem is the whole bank account type of thing because a lot of times you can't get a bank account without your Anmeldung.

Right. So yeah, I think the bank account will be its own episode probably but you're completely right that the Anmelding...

is like one of the... like it's probably the most important thing to get in the beginning because you can't do anything without it. So Anmeldung means going to the Burgeramt. so the the citizens office I guess, and registering where you live. So Germany wants to know where you live and this is possible without a Visa, without having a visa. You can just go and say I live here and what you need to prove that you live there is like a Mietvertrag, so a... your rental agreement and or like a piece of paper that says yes this person is subletting my room. So and there are ways, I think it's gotten a little bit more difficult, but there are ways to basically prove you live in a place without having a formal rental agreement, you know, from like a landlord. And I think...

There's actually a piece of paper that you can print out that you just sign and this isn't...

So what I would recommend is as soon as you get here try to register, try to get your Anmeldung and the way to do it... So if you live in like a hotel or an Airbnb, the way to do it would be to find a friend, find someone who will let you do the Anmeldung at their place. The problem is that many times, this is not allowed in terms of their rental agreement. Like I don't... I would have to look at my contract but, it might be not okay for me to have someone else live here even if it's just on paper and it can't just be on paper because...

You know you should do the Anmeldung where you actually live. Like no matter how you do it, you're probably not doing it 100% by the books because it's impossible to get a place, like a permanent place without a visa. But you can't... yeah, it's a total chicken and egg problem. So basically figure out a way to do the Anmeldung. You don't need that much. You need something to to prove that you live there. So it can be like this piece of paper where someone says yes, this person lives here and then to get the Anmeldung you need a appointment at a Burgeramt in Berlin. There are many many Burgeramte all over Berlin, and yeah if you just google Anmeldung Wohnung Berlin, you'll see an Anmeldung einer Wohnung...

At service.berlin.de and then there's a button: Termin berlinweit suchen.

So you can find an appointment anywhere in Berlin. And it's really funny. See how it says "You have to register within 14 days after moving to a new place". And then you click on that button to find an appointment, and there are no appointments, ever. Like not... it's all like... not even in two months or it's just booked out completely. Like there's not a single appointment in the whole city, ever. And so you can... the thing is... so the trick is, there's two tricks. One trick is to look early in the morning, and often I think they withhold a lot of appointments and then depending on how many people actually went to work that day, like if it's more than their usual sick average or whatever, they put appointments online and then you just have to be super flexible and get an appointment that hopefully is more or less close to where you are and just grab it, and you have your stuff ready and you just go there and you register the same day. The other option, if that doesn't work, is just to go without an appointment and just go before they even open and and then get a number, like get a ticket and then sit there for three hours and then do it. I don't know if that's possible anymore now...like in the pandemic. Before the pandemic, that was definitely also an option.

It's just to like... I said I wouldn't complain so much on this on this show, but it's ridiculous that you have to go through all of this just for them to stamp the paper and say yes okay you're registered. Why can't we do this online? It makes no sense. This should be 100% online. Just here's the piece of paper, I scanned it.It's ridiculous that you have to do this dance, but this is something you have to do, and probably should be like the first thing you do.

Yes. And something that could help, which is what I'm gonna do is before you agree to move to a place or like before you agree on a flat, make sure that they're going to allow you to get an Anmeldung.Some of the postings will say you can get an Anmeldung here, which apparently what I'm reading now is that it's illegal for them to not allow you to register, but it often does happen with sublets and temporary apartments.It's usually because the landlord does not know that you live there.

Right, the reason is it's illegal to rent a place and you can't do the Anmeldung because that doesn't make any sense, you have to do the Anmeldung where you live.But they are subletting their rooms or their apartments illegally, like in the sense that their landlord doesn't allow it, and so they don't want their landlord to know and so that's why they're saying you can't do the Anmeldung. So, it's really tricky and I think a very common way to do it is to find a friend who will be like, okay, just do it and then when you have a permanent place in a few weeks, you know, you change it and...

Register. Yeah.

We'll all be fine, hopefully.

Yes. So there are options like I said there are hoops. I would just recommend that when you're trying to look for an apartment just make sure ideally that you're able to... they will help you out with that. Honestly most of it's just a signature or whatnot that you just need. But yeah I think there are ways...sometimes you can have friends, if you don't have a friend and just ask make sure you're able to do it.Even some of the hostels like when I was looking at... they'll allow you to do it depending on how long you're staying there for.So yes.

That's pretty cool. That's nice. So if you stay for like three weeks or a month, they will be like, hey you can do your own Anmeldung while you're here.

Yeah, I was looking at some of those options. I mean they're not cheap necessarily, so you always got to put something out. But those are possibilities.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's good to know. I mean, I think let's do like more kind of basic...like the basics episodes where we go through that whole process, so I think we covered Anmeldung pretty well.And so we'll talk more about the Auslanderbehörde and kind of getting the bank, and then registering at the Finanzamt, and all of that later on.

Exactly. So to sum up, so I wanted to sum up essentially what I recommend everyone can do as a standard before they get to Berlin, no matter what your Visa is.

I feel like there were a few common requirements.I would recommend that everyone, before you get to Berlin make your two appointments, your one appointment to get your Anmeldung, and then your second appointment to get your residence permit.Do your best to make those appointments before you move to Berlin and they will make your life so much easier.And then for paperwork that you're gonna want to have, you're gonna want to have your birth certificate. Most times you're applying for like a freelance artist visa or a work visa, you're gonna want your diploma that shows..or your diploma/degree that shows that you are a skilled expert.

Which by the way, you need a certified copy and it needs to be translated, and that also needs to be certified, like proven, not just a photocopy.

Yes.

I did not know that. That's good to know. You're also gonna want to have your copy of your passport as Manuel mentioned earlier, and then your biometric photos, and then your job offer letter or your university acceptance letter or the letter that when you're applying for a freelance visa, that people are interested in working with you.Those letters are very important, as they confirm that you are being welcomed or invited to the country.So those things you can get before you get to Berlin and they will make your experience, I think, much easier. Once you do get to Berlin, you're gonna want to get your confirmation from your landlord, you're gonna want to attend your appointment for your Anmeldung, ideally you're going to want to open up your bank account, you want to get health insurance and then you want to attend your Visa appointment.And essentially, you have done a lot of, a lot of, a lot of hard work to get to Berlin.

And try to be as prepared as Jae.

Yes. Which honestly, I would say this... If you prepare... for me personally, I don't feel worried at all. I don't feel nervous. I don't feel like things are going to go wrong. I also just have a very optimistic mindset, but if you just prepare as much as you can. I mean there's very little that can go wrong. You know, once you do your research and you make a checklist, it's pretty self explanatory. It's literally just a collection of paperwork and a collection of appointments that you've got to get, and if you just make sure that you stay on top of the specifics with it, then I guarantee you won't have any problem. Plus, your mindset does help a lot. So if you go into things thinking that things are going to be difficult, guess what? They will be difficult. If you go into things thinking they're going to be easy and you're gonna get it all done in time, it's gonna work out, then things most likely will work out the way that you want them to.