Dear Friends,
I have been offered a job in Germany with a MNC based out of Germany with a package of around 65-70K Euro Gross per year.
If I accept the offer, company will start the processing of visa for me and my wife.
My question is that with this salary, do I come under high skilled category, and if my wife can skip German A1 certification, else A1 certfication can take a very long time to do the certification as the next certification exam in Delhi is in Nov.

Thanks,
Punar

Punar,

Congrats!! Welcome to Germany.

You might get exemption for language. Your marriage certificate has to be verified by the German embassy. This might take time. Get your marriage registered first.

Stutt23,

Thanks for your quick replay.
My marriage is already registered and I have certificate with me.
my main concern is regarding the German certification for my wife, as this can take significant time.

Do I need to do something in order to avoid A1 certifications?

Thanks,
Punar

I dnt think ur wife needs to submit German language certificate.
As i know, for family relocation it is not required.
Whereas, for family reunion, it is required.
Try to travel to Germany together.
If u come first, it will be difficult for her to get dependent VISA quickly.

Srinivasu M

i am facing the same problem...it depends on whether u have a limited or unlimited work contract...mine was an unlimited contract and the embassy demanded A1 from my wife...so i got it changed to a limited one...still d risk remains dat the embassy mite ask for an A1 certificate...do let me know in case there is some new development on this

Hi,

u r wife should provide A1 course certification unless she had completed masters degree or ur contract period should less than 3 yrs and also ur firm is a multinational(integration with german society is less period)

As far as family visa, try to get the visa combined with ur employment visa so that both of them can relocate together, other wise family reunion it takes long period and will be miserable.
-----------------
A1 course and exam -2 months
marriage certifcate verification-3 months
visa process- 2-3 months

as above it takes totally around 8-9 months for family reunion.


just refer the link:http://www.trust7.com/en/foren/visa_questions/family_reunion_visa_-_is_this_a_means_to_deter_foreigners_from_working_in_germany

well wisher..

Thanks a lot to all for quick response.
But I am confused , just to make it bit more clear , both me and my wife wants to apply for visa together, so it is case of family relocation not famlily reunion .. does anybody else has experience with this case?
I have read that if you come under Highly skilled category , your spouse may not need German course .. does the above salary bracket of 65-70k make you highly skilled ?

there is no exemption for german language in high salary.

only for residence permit rule 19 for PHD or highly qualified researchers ( should be approved by labour dept) ie criteria is above 90 K.


i hope if u not belong to the above category ur residence will be rule 18.. ie not under highly skilled category

Check VFS Germany site, there are some grounds for exemptions.

Whether it is family reunion or relocation, depends on the German Foreign Office, whether your wife needs A1 or not.

It is better to get A1 done in India.

send an email to the german embassy at delhi - info@new-delhi.diplo.de and they will reply. Just for your info, i was told that the exemptions are valid only for limited period contracts. For unlimited contract, it is mandatory for your wife to give A1.

If you have an unlimited contract with the company, i suggest you get it changed to a limited one to avoid d hassles. They wont accept your wife's application if you your application is for an unlimited visa.


I am not clear on one thing thou...where is the option of choosing between relocation and reunion? In my case, my wife is applying for spouse visa simultaneously with my application for work visa.

deleted

@Punar - Hey, do let me know if you found a solution to this problem...having the same issue...right nw, the only solution i cd think of was d limited contract one...

Hi Orangepajamas,

I am not sure if it will be a hassel to convert a limited contract to unlimited contract later on..My wife is already preparing for A1 but by using online courses, hope this will not be an issue..It is strange that even to give an A1 exam we have to wait for couple of months, and goethe institute call no in Delhi or chandigarh are not very helpful..Any suggestion on clearing the certification will be very helpful.

Thanks,
Punar

By the way if your wife has done Master (MSc, MBA, MA) then she will be exempted from German language course

My Wife has done BPT (Bacheolar in Physiotherapist), it is considered as Doctor in India and duration is 5 and half year , not sure if it will be considered as Highly educated..

Achtung Achtung Achtung

I would strongly suggest that you negotiate a fixed salary of atleast 66000 Euros per annum.

This way the company can apply directly for a permanent residence for highly qualified people for you under Paragraph 19 of the Foreigners Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz)

This way neither you nor your wife would need German and also she can work from the very beginning.Negotiate with them based on this and also that this way they wont have the hassle of workpermits and going through the so called 'priority exam of the labour office' (Vorrangsprüfung von Arbeitsagentur)where they need to prove that no German/European is suitable for this job.

Ask the HR guys to look at this:

For the law
http://bundesrecht.juris.de/aufenthg_2004/__19.html

To understand how you come to the figure of 66000, they need to check _
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beitragsbemessungsgrenze

For the language exam exemption for your wife:
http://www.chennai.diplo.de/Vertretung/chennai/en/Formulare__RK/Visa/download__visa__InfosheetGermanKnowledgeFZ,property=Daten.pdf

Read paragraph 1

Insist on 66K fixed. Just for your info, bonus doesnt count into it but vacation and christmas money does

Hi SuperSid,

Thanks a lot,, this is really a great info.
Next week, I will try to negotiate, but it seems very difficult as bonus is around 15% of my salary.

Just one query, even if bonus money is guaranteed, it does not calculate in to salary, also does anybody has an idea how much time it will take to get VISA if we apply using section 19.

Thanks,
Punar

Dear Supersid and friends,

I discussed with the employer regarding having gross salary of 66k. The problem is that I am a consultant, and bonus is major part of my salary.
So the fixed salary of 66K means in total package of around 86K and its very difficult to negotiate.

Does anybody has experience in getting the visa process from India directly under highly qualified scheme?

Also, I have a question if highly qualified visa . Does it also allow consulant to work in other EU countries?

Thanks for your support so far,
Punar

Dear Friends,

If you guys had enough of India-pakistan fight, please help me :-).

Finally, I have got a package from company which is like :

59K Fixed pay
15 K Variable pay
+ company car

Some questions
---------------

1. Is it possible to get highly qualified status with this package?

2. How much time does it take to get visa along with my wife if I apply from Delhi?

3. Do I need to Learn German? My wife is already preparing for A1.

Will appreciate your replies.

Many thanks,
Punar

@punar80

ha ha ha....no worries India and Pakistan will always be neighbors and sometimes neighbors do argue..btw Welcome to Germany!!

The package sounds reasonable........I will not hesitate to accept such an offer. Because the sooner u give them a green signal the sooner your visa will be processed.

You will get a temporary visa for 90 days and once u r in DE than u can apply for permanent visa NE §19.3 for Highly Qualified managers with Gross salary of 66K.

A1 course might be good for your wife....but u don't need it. Still if you have time go for it...it will help you here in DE.

Good Luck!!

Dear Punar,

Please tell your company to give you the car from next year and this year compensate ypou with a salary of 6more than 66000 Euro: .

You still need a germany license to drive after 6 months being in germany.

Now with this you can get visa NE under §19.

No need of any test for wife please apply together.

Try first of course if your company increase the salary without deducting the car.

its not a big deal if you can explain the visa problem. (considering 3000 usd is the fees for H1 B now a dys.