Hello Everyone,
    I need your help to take a decision on German immigration.

   I hold B Tech in Computer Engineering degree with 6 years of expeince in Software development.
I am planning to come Germany on Job seeker visa which is issued for 6 months for initial period
in which we must find a relevant job from our field, we can not work anywhere else in that period.
Once we get a job in our field, this visa will get converted into 5 years PR. I know its very risky to enter on such a visa before getting clear idea. I need your help to know how the current situation is ? As a technically sound person with 6 years of exp how much salary will I get ?
How much I can save there (rough idea : - single person with simple living standard)?
What about Tax structure (single/ married)?
How is job structute there (Can I get permanant job or temporary ?) I will do basic certification in german language before moving to germany
but still want to know is it necessary to know intermidiate german to get a job there ?
Will english be enough or not ? How is the job market for mechanical engg field ?

Please reply with your valuable views. Thanks in advance for your help.

Amit Dharpawar
Pune India

Dear Mr. Dharpawar,

The job market here in Germany in my opinion, is much better than what it is in India. For a computer science graduate generally english language proficiency is sufficient. But things move pretty slow in Germany and that's the reason I feel that six months time might just be too short and I think that there is no possilibity for extending it.

Therefore I would suggest you to already start applying for job while being in India. Get a feel about the response you get. You can also ask for an interview on Skype, here people do it all the time even if the candidates are currently in Germany. If you arrive here on job seeker's visa, come with a solid preparation, because each day's living cost is about 30 euros a day, which is like Rs 2400.

Now to answer your questions:

1. Current situation: Europe might be having a difficult time, but German unemployment rate is moving towards a record low. So you have relatively very good chances in my opinion.

2. Salary: You can hope for about 50.000 euro per annum, but let's expect 36.000 euro. You can move to the bracket you deserve pretty soon after getting some experience here.

3. Saving: With a 36.000 euro salary, you will get 1600 ish in hand. You can llive by for 800 euro if you really have a simple lifestyle, so you can save 800 euro per month.

4. Tax: If you are married, then there are more tax returns, which ranges between 300-500 euro per month for an engineer (correct me if I am wrong).

5. Type of contract: Typically you get a permanent contract as a mechanical engineer with six months of probatory period. I have a feeling that in case of being a programmer, you might be offered a contract for a year or two. You have to look for your next project in the mean time, which shouldn't be an issue. You will get a residence permit for the duration of your contract plus 3 months.

6. Language: Like I mentioned, in case of software engineering language doesn't matter. English should be good enough. Learning german will however give you a distict social and career advantage, but it's not an easy language. Life is too short to learn German.

7. My question: Why do you ask about the prospects of a mechanical engineer? I am one and in this field, I feel that you do require proficiency in German.

Hope it helps.

Best regards,

Abhishek