Hi all,
I was really happy to see the forum as it looks like a magic tool that gives us number of answers to a single question.
I am Kishore(India) and new to this forum I came to Germany through an exchange program between India and (FH) FachHochschule, Karlsruhe,Germany which is a 2 years course 1 semester in India and 3 semesters in germany (inc 2 semester praktikum).Right now i am doing a practikum which is a part of my studies that would be completed in march 2005 and it is the same date until which my visa is valid in Germany.I heard that New Immigration Laws are going to be implemented from jan 01' 2005 and my questions are regarding the new laws applicable for the foreign students :

1) Is the new Law that states "a foreign student who completes his studies after Jan 01 '2005 could apply for residence and workpermits for 1 year " is applicable Only for Master's degree holders or is also for Diploma Holders?
2)If yes i am an exchange diploma holder can i extend my visa for 1 more year after completion of my course i.e,mar 2005?
3)In case i am applicable ,to get my visa extended i should hold a job offer in my hand or just could say them that i am in search of job and get it extended?
4)As a student now my visa titel is Aufenthalts Bewilligung which restricts me to work 90 full days or 180 halb days and how abt the new rule what type of visa do i get ?the same restricted work visa or diff one?
5)For this type of visa extensions ,Is it must that i should apply in the city where my FH is located (Karlsruhe) or anywhere else?
Coz my FH is located in Karlsruhe and i am doing prakticum in Freiburg.Recently when i went to get my visa extended i was given only 6 months the reason they said was "u r here in freiberg to do praktkum and the Praktikum contract u have is till March 2005 SO u get visa till then and after that its ur wish u go to India or Karlsruhe not concerned to us" i was surprised how can this happens coz the last working day in company is Mar 31 and the visa validity is the same does it mean that i have to leave to India midnight of mar 31st.So i am fear that do they consider me for the new laws in this rathaus.
finally i would end up my pathetic story by requesting the experts of this group to respond to my questions.

Regards,
Kish

hi Kish,
Here are your answers:

1) Is the new Law that states "a foreign student who completes his studies after Jan 01 '2005 could apply for residence and workpermits for 1 year " is applicable Only for Master's degree holders or is also for Diploma Holders?

 A foreign student who passes from a German Uni/FH can get this opportunity. For your case, I think you may be eligible for this.

2)If yes i am an exchange diploma holder can i extend my visa for 1 more year after completion of my course i.e,mar 2005?

 If you can get your degree certificate from FH Karlsruhe, then there is no problem to get your visa extended for 1 year. If FH Karlsruhe does not provide you the final degree, you may also be eligible for extension. In this case, you can bring a letter from FH stating that you were a student of this FH and successfully finished your degree.

3)In case i am applicable ,to get my visa extended i should hold a job offer in my hand or just could say them that i am in search of job and get it extended?

 No, you must not hold a job offer. You may tell them that you are in search for a job.

4)As a student now my visa titel is Aufenthalts Bewilligung which restricts me to work 90 full days or 180 halb days and how abt the new rule what type of visa do i get ?the same restricted work visa or diff one?

 A student will get Aufenthaltserlaubnis according to the new law. But the right for work is same – 90days or 180 half days. BUT this rule is not strictly followed for many cases – as I know from my experiences. A student can also get permission to work beyond this limitation.

5)For this type of visa extensions ,Is it must that i should apply in the city where my FH is located (Karlsruhe) or anywhere else?

 Generally you should get your visa extended where you are registered (Anmeldet) – i.e. your place of residence.

Remember one thing, Rathaus people always try to kick you back to your country. But the law will save you for staying here.

Don't get tensed for being in Germany. Finish your study here, get your certifictae and go to UK embassy in Düsseldorf to get a Working Holiday visa. This will allow you to work for upto 2 years. You can also study there. And after 1 year you can get your visa extended for a longer period in UK:

There are lots of ways. And it's easier to get those opportunities being in Germany than in India.

Good luck!

MK

Hi Mk,
Thanks for ur patience in responding to my questions.However i am releived from tesion by hearing ur words.Ur suggestion to apply WHV was very good.

1)But if i apply for it i could be able to work only few months in UK as we have to take a work that is incident to holiday.

2)Recently when i called to UK Embassy they suggested me to apply for HSMP-highly skilled migrant program in order to get workpermit in UK as a s/w professional rather than applying for WHV and get few months workpermit as they would ask us how many months we wish to work in UK during our 2 years duration there at the time of interview and stamp the same nr of months workpermit in passport.

3)One more thing is i have plans to move to US in future so it is easier to apply from here than in UK what do u think?

4)If u know in detail abt WHV please do explain them as no site in the internet says though we get 2 yrs visa r we elgible to do work for 2 yrs?r we able to do professional jobs? and some sites mention u should take up a job in UK which is incident to holiday what does it mean?

waiting for ur reply......

Kind Regards,
Kish

1)But if i apply for it i could be able to work only few months in UK as we have to take a work that is incident to holiday.

--> you can work full of 2 years. as many jobs as you want and any kind of work. it is expected that you make some days holidays. but nobody will inspect if you have made some holidays or not. you should only tell the visa officer that you want to go there to search for a job and also to make some holidays. you can show some internet sites that you are searching jobs in the uk.

2)Recently when i called to UK Embassy they suggested me to apply for HSMP-highly skilled migrant program in order to get workpermit in UK as a s/w professional rather than applying for WHV and get few months workpermit as they would ask us how many months we wish to work in UK during our 2 years duration there at the time of interview and stamp the same nr of months workpermit in passport.

--> I guess you might not qualify for HSMP. It's also expensive and takes time ( 3-6 months, as far as i know). One big advantage of WH visa is that after 1 year stay in the uk you can apply for HSMP.
you know what you will never get a positive answer talking over phone because the guy who receives the call is same as the guy in Rathaus in De.

when i went to Duesseldorf for uk visa i asked that i want to go to uk with WH visa. as my wife did not have a german degree, the clerik in the application reception told me that I would not qualify for WH visa. then i asked her that please receive my application and i want to talk to the visa officer. she received but with a negative approach. when i was called by the visa officer, i explained that my wife and i am qualified to find jobs and make holidays. he accepted my application and issued both of us the WH visa.
you know i actually needed to go to visit my relatives in london. but i applied for WH visa as we get 2 years visa with 55 euro whereas you have to pay 4 times of this fee if you want to get a tourist visa of 2 years.
anyway, i know all of my friends who applied for WH got this visa without any problem.

3)One more thing is i have plans to move to US in future so it is easier to apply from here than in UK what do u think?

--> for USA H-1 you have to pay to some agencies in the usa. but for uk you only pay around 60 euro for WH visa. ofcourse if you find a job in the usa, it's better to g othere. but you know one thing usa visa is always a bit uncertain for us south asians.

4)If u know in detail abt WHV please do explain them as no site in the internet says though we get 2 yrs visa r we elgible to do work for 2 yrs?r we able to do professional jobs? and some sites mention u should take up a job in UK which is incident to holiday what does it mean?

--> you are able to do any jobs with WH visa.

Hi MK,
Once again thanks for ur Suggestions. I think ur guidelines would surely help me in future and i would let u know sooner.To be an Optimist it is better to start a work contacting this forum rather than calling Rathaus or Embassies to get Opt results.

Kind Regards,
Kish

HI MK,
I would appreciate if u could provide me mail ID's of ur friends who are WHM now in UK.I need to grab more info abt WHM visa and they could guide me in Money , visa matters and things to do before applying for VISA .

Thanks,
Kish

Hi Friends,

It was a great surprise that I have got ink to your site and with so much valuable information. I wanted to enquire about some things.

I have completed my Master's in Microelectronics form FH and currently enrolled as a Master student at TU. The reason being that without any enrollment I cannot work as a student here in Germany.
At present I am working as a Internship student with the Admission from TU, but since I hold a Master Degree already I will have to start paying Fees(second Study). I wanted to know if there is no possible way to get a Job in Germany or Europe. I have had so many Interviews from companies but all of them ask me if I have Work Permit which I dont have. Are there no consultants who help in Getting work permit in Germany? I want to gain some experience here in Europe and then go back home and work there. If any one could suggest me what I can do it would be of great help.

Regards
Vicky