Hi,
This might sound silly. But as someone said the silliest question is the one that’s not asked.
Here is goes. How do I know if I have a GC or a work permit and what’s the difference. Next how do I know if my work permit is bound to my company? People say that if I find my company name on the VISA in my passport then my work permit is bound to my company. So does this mean that if I do not find my company name in my visa, my work permit is not bound to my company, and I can change/work for any company without worrying about a new work permit from the new company?
Found this group pretty knowledgeable on these issues, I would be pretty thankful if someone could spare a reply fort his mesg.
Regards
Kumar

Can u please type in here the visa entries please, comments then given will be more sensible.

Some helpful soul has asked the entries in the visa. I will try and write this down.
here is what it says

Unselbstandige Beschaftigung nur gem. §27 BeschV als IT-Spezialist gestattet.

Der Aufenthaltstitel erlischt mit Beendigung der o.g. Beschaftigung
Selbstandige tatigkeit nicht gestattet.
Keine Weiteren gultigen amtlichen Eintragungen

Is this what one is expecting when asked for details of the visa? Or should I look for something more?
Regards
Sai

"How do I know if I have a GC or a work permit and what’s the difference", you have a GC if your visa was given to you according to the IT-Argv between August 2000 and December 2004, a GC is a special visa for IT people, I mean, was a special visa.

"Next how do I know if my work permit is bound to my company", unless you need no work permit, every work permit given to GC are bound to a company, reason why when you switch jobs, you have to ask for a new work permit.

In case you meant "visa bound", then it's when it is written in your visa that you can only work for company XYZ, some people had had that kinda GC and it was the worst ever given.

"People say that if I find my company name on the VISA in my passport then my work permit is bound to my company", read above.

"So does this mean that if I do not find my company name in my visa, my work permit is not bound to my company, and I can change/work for any company without worrying about a new work permit from the new company", read also above. You can change jobs without taking care of the WP if you got an EG mention in your visa.

D.

Pardon my innocense what is a EG?

I see that you're a member since today :-) but next time, try to use the search option.
The EG (Erwerbstätigkeit gestättet - I hope I mispelled nothing) mention denotes that one can do whatever work he want for whatever company he wants (even himself as freelancer or by building his own biz) whoever he wants for as long as he wants, this last part limited in fact by the length of the visum.

D.

Looking at the above (what is mentioned in my passport) it does not look like my workpermit/GC (I still cannot conclude what I currtly hold) is bound to my employee. But at the same time reading your answer, I get the feeling that I need a new work permit if I have to change my job. Am I right about this?


By the way I forgot to mention. I am in Germany only for the last 9 months and I am just over a hour old with trust7

Regards
Sai

It's not bound to your employer and about the new WP it depends on how long you're in Germany, if you're here for at least 4 years or has worked at least 3 years all in all, then you can ask for an EG or a BE so that you won't need any WP anymore.

You will ask what's an BE, right?
The BE ("Beschäftigung Erlaubt") mention allows you to work for any employer in a particular domain without the new of additional WP. If you got a BE, it will surely be bound to IT.

D.

I didn't read your last paragraph.

So 9 months means that you came in Germany in January I think, so not in December 2004 or before, thus you have a normal WP and not a GC (the GC is dead since December 31st, 2004) and that is quite bad if you change job because as you're only 9 months here, you will need a new WP to change your job and will have to go to Arbeitsmarkt check (they will see if for the position you want to take, there's no German available. If yes, they give it to him and you're screwed; if not, they will see if there's no EU member registered who can do the job. If yes, same as above, they give it to him and you're again screwed; if not, then you get the job).

D.

OOUCH is all I can say for the moment. I actually came into Germany In Nov last year(not really good with the math am i :-( ) but my employer got my work permit done saying that my "old permit has expired". I am not sure if I remember if those were the exact words, and thats when I got this stamped in my passport, my old visa had much larger text and the company name in it.
So from whatever I read in this thread, I guess in short I need a new work permit if I have to change my job and thats not easy to get since I am here for less then a year, am I right?
Hey thanks guys and particularly to "Nobody" for patiently answering all my questions(if you are in Munich buddy, I will buy you a bear:-) ). I would still like to hear from prople from this group, if they have a unofficial tip or workaround if any.
Regards
Sai

In my opinion, the kind of visa you have allows you to change the company as long as you still work in IT. You may have problems if you become unemployed. By the new law, the visas must be very specific about your work rights and if ABH wanted to give you a company-bound visa, this should be written there. Of course, they may make mistakes and forget to add something, but they surely have your file at ABH. The right answer you may get only from them, so go there and ask which are your rights before you need to change your job.

One more thing: you are in Germany since last year, which kind of visa did you have in 2004? Maybe you started as a GC and then your rights to work in IT extend to any company. It does not matter if you worked as GC only 1 month. So please paste in here your previous visa.

"I will buy you a bear..."

gee!! cool buddy....though not sure what NoBody can do with a bear ;-)

Hi Shoppi,

OK here is what my old visa said.

Selbstandige Erwerbstatigkeit oder vergleichbare unselbstanddige Erwerbstatigkeit nicht gestattet.
Unselbstandige Erwerbstatigkeit nur als IT-Spezialist gemaß der IT-AV beider firma XXX GMBH. Muenchen gestattet.
Die Aufenthaltsgenehmigunu erlischt mit Beendigung der
Beschaftigung bei obengenannten Arbeitgeber.
Keine weiteren gultigen amtlichen Eintragungen

I got this on 30th Nov 2004, this was cancelled with a big watermark across it "Ungultig" and I got the new one on
27th July 2005. And the new text reads this way

Der Aufenthaltstitel erlischt mit Beendigung der o.g. Beschaftigung
Selbstandige tatigkeit nicht gestattet.
Keine Weiteren gultigen amtlichen Eintragungen

Now it would be great if you could tell me what I had, and what I have now and if I plan to change my job what could be the problems. If I am asking for too much, sorry.

Akshay and Nobody sorry for spelling that wrong I meant beer. (looks like I have gone high by the smell of October fest )

Thanks & Regards
Sai

It seems to me because of that IT-AV (isn't this IT-ArGV actually?) that you are here as GC. For this, you may fight with ABH for your rights to work in IT for any company, without Arbeitsmarktcheck. Probably this was the reason you got a new visa without the company in it. You may need some fight, but in this forum you'll find the right tools: search after "§46(2)BeschV" and "letter to BMI".

Anyway, to spare your stress, just visit ABH and get their first answer to your question. Maybe they already have no problem for you to change the company.

Hello kumaraqua,

I got this on 30th Nov 2004, this was cancelled with a big watermark across it "Ungultig" and I got the new one on
27th July 2005. And the new text reads this way

Why was the permit in your passport cancelled? Only ABH (Ausländerbehörde - Office for Aliens in Germany) can do that. That means, you have been there in July or something. Why? Have you changed your job after 9th month in Germany? Has your company asked you to change your visa and if yes, why? Can you feed us please?

What was the previous deadline of your cancelled permit?

to Nobody:

So 9 months means that you came in Germany in January I think, so not in December 2004 or before, thus you have a normal WP and not a GC (the GC is dead since December 31st, 2004) cut from post
http://trust7.com/en/forums/visa_questions/a_very_basic_question/re_a_very_basic_question__7

Just information: I have come to Germany in January, but got the IT-ArGV (Greencard) in December 2004. This is technically possible. Important is, whether you got GC before 31.12.2004, as you addressed. Coming to Germany can be later (what I did).

Regards,
Klenze17

To Klenze17.
Yes it was cancelled by ABH in July. That’s because my previous permit (Work permit/GC) was expiring in Nov 2005 and my company wanted to get the new permit well in advance (or that’s what I was told). And I have not yet changed my job but was just contemplating. I wanted to know what would be the trouble in changing.

To Nobody/Shoppi,

I only see “IT-BV” and not “IT-ArGV” so does that mean that it’s not a GC I had? Were normal work permits issued before Dec 2004 to people like me?

To me it still looks like an IT regulation and the only IT regulation I know before 01.2005 was GC. Maybe some other GCs can post here their opinions, related to what is in their previous visas. By the way, some previous GCs got after 01.2005 the same specification in their visa as you did.

You should have since 2004 another paper, the work permit (kind of a green one ;-)), doesn't this clarifiy more under which law you came here?

After a little bit of reading I realised that I have entered Germany on a Green Card. But in July this year my visa was prolonged, and now I have this in my visa "Siete gemaß § 18 Abs. 2 AufenthG." I wonder what this means. So the experts of the group. what do you think will be the pitfals if I try to change a job.
Thanks for the patience. I promise this is the last question

So the experts of the group. what do you think will be the pitfals if I try to change a job.


I really wished you read this forum actively. Your question has been answered millions of time. Do help yourself with search function in this forum.

Thanks for all the support/advise/help. I had been to the ABH today and asked the lady. She said that I was free to work for any company as long as the job is classified as "IT Spezialist". I even asked her that if I changed my Job/employer, do I have to inform ABH about it. And she said NO. Sometimes the world is pretty straight and easy.
Thanks again for all your support. Its a pretty intresting and informative group.
Akshay - I will read the forum more actively now.