Hello Experts,

I am stuck in a very confusing stage and badly need a expert guidance/advice from experience expats who have already gone through a situation like mine.

I have received a permanent job offer from a Germany based employer to work in Germany. The offer mentions "The employment relationship is concluded for an undetermined period of time". The salary is Euro 37.752 and I am being offered a role of Network Engineer. I have graduated in bachelor of engineer in computer science from one of the best universities in India and have 4 years of work experience.

I am single and really love travelling, hence I happily accepted the offer. My employer applied to the ZAV for the pre-approval and simultaneoulsy I also booked a date for visa interview with the local German Consulate for 25th March.

Last week, the employer received the feedback from ZAV which was an approval. But there is one thing in the letter which is really really giving me a lot of tension. It mentions that the agreement is for the period from 1.4.2015 to 31.03.2018 issued or for the specified period from the date of entry. What does this mean, will I have to re-apply/re-prove my competenacy after 30.03.2018 or will I have to return back to India, I am really very confused with this statement and completely tensed. My decision really depends on this clause as I don't want to return back in just 3 years.

Also from what I have understood, if I get a visa from local consulate it will be called as a long term visa and I will have to apply for permanent residence once I reach Germany. Now, this permanent residence means the EU-Blue card. What will be the validity of this EU-Blue card and when will I be able to apply for German passport/citizenship.

I really request for help before Monday, as I need to get back to my employer on Monday.

I know I asking for hughe amount of information, but I would really be very thankful and owe a lot to those who will help, as I am badly seeking for correct information




Below are the contains from the ZAV letter:
fur die Beschaftigung des auslandischen Arbeitnehmers in Ihrem Unternehmen als Senior Network Engineer erteile ich die Zustimmung der Bundesagentur fur Arbeit nach § 39 Aufenthaltsgesetz.
Nach den mir von Ihnen vorgelegten Informationen handelt es sich urn eine Beschaftigung nach § 2 Abs. 3 Be-
schV (Hochschulabschluss im Ausland) BeschV.  Die Zustimmung wird fur den Zeitraum vom 01.04.2015 bis
31.03.2018 erteilt bzw. fur die angegebene Dauer ab dem Tag der Einreise. Sie gilt Mr die bundesweite Aus-
Obung der Beschaftigung in Ihrem Unternehmen.
Ich weise in dem Zusammenhang darauf hin, dass diese Zusage nur gultig ist, wenn die Einstellung zu den Be-
dingungen erfolgt, die Grundlage meiner Prufung waren.
Ihr neuer Mitarbeiter kann jetzt direkt bei der zustandigen Stelle den far die Einreise und Aufenthalt im Bundesge-
biet erforderlichen Aufenthaltstitel beantragen.
Die Zustimmung wird wirksam, wenn sie der Behorde, die fOr die Erteilung des Aufenthaltstitels zustandig ist, im Original vorliegt. Daher bitte ich Sie, dieses Schreiben im Original an Ihren Arbeitnehmer zu senden.
Zustandige Stelle fur die Beantragung
•    des Visums ist die deutsche Auslandsvertretung im Heimatland,
•    einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis ist die ortliche zustandige Auslanderbehorde im Bundesgebiet.
Hierdurch erubrigt sich eine erneute Zustimmungsanfrage an die BA und das Verfahren wird beschleunigt.
Bitte beachten Sie, dass die Aufnahme der Beschaftigung erst zulassig ist, wenn der hierfur erforderliche Aufent-
haltstitel ausgestellt ist.




And the contents from my work contract are as below:

§1 Start date of the employment relationship The employment relationship starts April 1st 2015.

§ 2 Probationary period The employment relationship is concluded for an undetermined period of time. The first sixth months, which is the probationary period, are declared as legal requirement under German law. During the probationary period the employment relationship may be terminated by each party with a cancellation period of 2 weeks.

As far as I understand the "Zustimmung", meaning the approval of ZAV lasts 3 years. That's the most important thing I read from those statements. I believe after those 3 years you apply again and get another approval, which I believe won't even be necessary for several reasons. The term of your contract depends on your employer, they are not telling your employer that you can only be employed for 3 years, they are just issuing the permit for 3 years. And once you work here on a Blue Card for 21 months, with B1 German, you can apply for permanent residence, and as you have a permanent contract I see no reason why they wouldn't give you a PR then. 

So all I see is good news for you, no need to worry. If you are in doubt you can call ZAV and ask about details (you shouldn't trust everything on forums internet etc.), they are usually more helpful then the consulates. Your employer may also know these details.

So, good luck and welcome to Germany.


P.S. If you have additional questions, feel free to ask.