Hello All,

I am a masters student now and my visa ends by the end of september 2005. One month before, I attended an interview and got a fulltime IT Job. We agreed to start the work from 1st September but the company people have not started preparing contract so far.

After making many phone calls, they started preparing the contract today. They said that they'll send the contract to their lawyer and send the papers to me in 2 days.

As far as I understand, I need ALL the papers to be done before joining the work, right? I asked the company people whether I can join the company without contract process is done. They said that it is not at all a problem, I can join the company and start working; the contract process can be done during the month of september.

* Is it valid ? (I know the company and the people are genuine; its a medium-scale industry)

* I told them today that my student visa ends by the end of september; so i need visa stamping in my passport before the end of september. They asked me if I knew anything about how it should be done! I said that the lawyer might have known it, though i need your help from you about the process.

* Another problem is, i am still a student. I completed my masters thesis but will defence my thesis in the second week of septmber. So, I will be ex-matriculated from the university only after my defence is over. Is it allowed to do fulltime work being a student(only in the month of september) ? Or, Shall I ask the company people to make contract from 15th September ?

Thank you for all your replies.

Hi there,

DO NOT START WORKING!!. Until and unless you get the workpermit in hand you are not allowed to work. If you do so, both you and the company will have problems. Safe bet will be to make contract from september 15 and start the workpermit process(to be done by the company), but my guess would be that if could take a few weeks to get ur workpermit. You can change the contract to another date after you get the workpermit.

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

I called to my office and said the procedure. They said that the contract is ready (contract from 1st september) and I can start working from 1st september. But they are unsure about the work permit, so it would be great if you could tell me the procedure of the work permit.

Or any german links is fine too. It is atleast understandable by the company people. Thank you.

I dont know any links. The company should call the Auslanderbehorde in your city and ask for the procedure. Or else you can go there personally and make the enquiries. without a change of visa, ur not allowed to work(non-europeans). BTB are u a european citizen??

I am an Indian.

Just now I called a GC holder and he said the same thing. With his similar experience like me, he said:

"I can work as a werk-student in the company in the month of september with my student status. ( with which i dont need to pay tax for september )

Then I can start preparing for the contract from 1st october. After getting the contract from my company, i have to go Ausländerbehörde in Mainz(where my company is located and i have stadt-anmeldung) with the contract. The ABH will give me a form which is to be filled by the employer. Then, I have to give that form back to ABH. Meanwhile, either the ABH will call my company and ask why they are recruting me or my company has to call and explain ABH why they employ me.

Then it would take around 4 weeks for me to get the work permit."

Is this right? If yes, some questions:

* Is it safe to I work in the werk-student status for the next 3 months(because the work permit might take more than 4 weeks)? Or just as 1 month is enough?

* Any german links explaining the ABH procedure and werk-student visa so i can send to my company people?

Thank you.

Dont complicate the things your self with the werkstudent status. I would strongly suggest you that you start at the company as a full employee as it is better for you. If the company realy wants you it will not be a problem for them to postpone the contract for 2 or 4 weeks later and they can contact the Authorities in order to speed up the procedure (that usualy helps).

cybigi

The company needs me from the september because they have huge tasks. Do you think there might be problem in converting werkstudent to GC ?

@laliluna

mate..u can get ur work permit even if u are a student..i was in a similar jam and everything went fine

if u have ur contract & all other necessary papers, just goto ABH and submit ur application for a work-permit..it would help if u can also take your masters thesis registration form to prove that u have registered for ur thesis and that all ur other coursework is done..also, ur employer must be fine with the fact that u havnt recd ur masters yet

the ABH will check out ur contract, do the Arbeitsmarktprüfung and give you a visa extension (which includes a work permit)..but this takes time!..id say u approach the ABH rightaway..it took me slightly over a month..but since ur case is more urgent they might process it faster or suggest an alternative

in fact i started writing my thesis only after joinin work!..

cheers
~tw

My one cent advice:

Start working only once you have the work permit. There are many implication if you decide not to wait for the WP. God forbid, If you land up in some mishap you would have major problems with Health insurance, Accident insurance, Legal issues, Fin-amt.

BTW if you start working as a werk-student, you would be providing the same quality of work at a cheaper cost to the company. Now why would you like to step on your own foot!

Hi laliluna and all others,
Let me put my view on this issue.Correct me if I'm wrong anywhere.
Analysis from the above posts says:

1.Your Visa expires on Sep 30th 2005
2.You are a student and you need to submit your thesis by end of Sep 2005.
3.You have the contract
4.Visa application procedures and the duration to get the permit

If I were in your place:
>the very first thing I do is - extend my visa...how?
1.extend the master thesis submission date -> negotiate with Professor(this is quite possible.I heard few cases like this)
2.Every student can work 90days/year or 180 half days/year.So,start as a werkstudent at the company with the existing permit and try to put pressure on the company HR to fasten the process.
As you said there was a huge task in the company right from September, definitely the company people will try to allocate this to someone available.there is a risk of losing your job.
>Normally visa processing takes 4weeks but sometimes it may also takes < 2Weeks.So, everything depends on the human being sitting on that ABH chair.If you drive your case(I mean company HR) directly to the head of the City ABH it may be processed soon.

This is only an information message.You are the one to sort the right one that fits your need.
Well, you can speak to the company HR about all these alternatives and try to take the good one.
Don't rush yourself to the ABH asking them to change your permit.They may ask you to finish the thesis submission first.So,be careful in handling them.How is your German in between?This plays an imp. role even.
So, dont get confused with all our messages.Be patient and try to grab the opportunity.

takecare and wish you good luck.
Pramod.

Hi pramod,

Thank you for the reply. I did almost the same.

Now, I am in office as a werkstudent. We have agreed to make werkstudent contract till the end of my studies (but not after november '05); in the meanwhile preparing for fulltime contract and work permit. (My German is not bad, but not good too :-D)

I have postponed my thesis defence to october. So I have to extend my visa now.

Do I need to extend Visa in Magdeburg (student) or in Mainz (WerkStudent & Main StadtAnmeldung)?

Thank you all for your time.

If you're in Mainz angemeldet, then you should do it in Mainz.

D.

Hi laliluna,
I'm glad to hear that you are in the game.
So, i wish you a good start.
You have to go to the place where you are registered.It is Mainz.

takecare
pramod.