Mistaken for an illegal immigrant

It's Friday, 9 am Munich time and the phone rings. It's the police... They have been informed by the city of Munich that I was residing here illegally and we have to be at the police station in 2 hours.

Here's what happened, my girlfriend and I were visiting friends and family in Canada for a few weeks and then returned to a bunch of mail, including a letter from the city of Munich stating that I was residing in the country as an illegal immigrant. I was surprised by the fact that I was even able to get "IN" the country. If this was an actual fact, I imagine the border/passport control would've stopped me.

In due course, I mail them a copy of my passport and visa, issued by the Federal Republic of Germany, expecting this issue to be resolved. Not more than a week later I get a copy of that same letter in the mail, thinking this might be an automated system it's possible they didn't sort through the pile and found my innocence plea.

And that's how we get to the Friday 9 am phone call, merely 2 days after that letter was sent for the second time, they had already sent the same letter to the police station. The officer in charge of my file was very calm and sympathetic to my cause. He offered his contact information after verifying my legitimacy and told me to refer any further inquiry on my status to him. He proceeded to explain to us how the city of Munich has a central database and they should have access to my visa information but, you know, sometimes... what can you do?

What should've happened was when I signed up for my residency permit for the city of Munich, they should've asked me how long I planned on staying or if I had a certain type of work or travel visa and then put that information in the system. Or take a minute and look in their system before sending off this chain mail of accusations.

After more than 6 months in the country, what happened for them to suddenly notice that I had become an illegal immigrant? A tourist visa is 90 days, so after 3 months I would've expected a notice but it's been more than 180 days and they expect you to resolve this in a matter of days! After several ins and outs from Germany to top it off and I have never been questioned about my visa or multiple entries or residency issues whatsoever.

I thought that going through the trouble of getting the visa before-hand was already enough that you wouldn't have to prove again and again that you're a legit immigrant. There also has to be a better way than sending scary letters telling people that their status is illegal, a little tact would've been much appreciated. So from this point of view whether it's Canadian bureaucracy or German bureaucracy, systems will have flaws.

To most of you, Germany is known for their work ethics and efficiency. I have yet to see this.

This and Neuschwanstein.

For Canadians looking for visa info for Germany this site is very useful: http://www.canada.diplo.de/visa 

This won’t fit in the status update box...

My 6 month internship is coming to an end in July and the next part of my first year in Munich is about to get a spin. For those who follow me on BeerFeed you’re aware of my mini trips to Bamberg and most recently Köln. We have a long weekend in Amsterdam just before we head home to Canada for a few weeks. The good thing about working in Germany is definitely the amount of holidays you get.

Morale is up and I don’t really feel homesick, I miss the casual hangouts with good friends and I used to miss hoppy beers but I recently found some niche stores that have more hops than I can dream of. I’m slowly getting used to the daily life and it’s not so different than the life in Canada. I got to meet some really nice people from around the world (mostly Europe), my geography is getting slightly better and so is my Deutsch.

I’m signing up for some intensive Deutsch courses over the months of September and October. After several comments about how difficult it is to work full-time and then go to class for 3 hours in the evening to learn a new language, I decided it was in my best interest to take morning classes and focus on learning Deutsch without any other distractions for two months.

So far, I was offered to be on a television show, I've made some friends from the four corners of the planet, I've traveled to 2 countries I've never been before and I learned a whole lot about beer. Until my next status update I welcome your questions and comments.

Ambassador Mat 

To work or not to work, that is a good question!

For all the curious souls who wonder when the next civic holiday is I present to you an interesting map of the civic holiday for Germany. Most holidays are related to religious events and some are specific to regions of the country, an extensive list can be found here.

If we do a little math... my accountant friends will likely request an edit of this article. Either way if we count an average of 12 civic holidays and take into consideration the fact that most stores, shops and offices are closed on Sundays, that most people have some sort of two day weekend during a week and that the average working German is given 30 days of vacation every year...

An average working German only works 219 days per year.

My last week in Canada

Empty my office - CHECK

Work and travel visa - CHECK
One way ticket to Munich - CHECK

One last ride on the Rideau Canal - CHECK

5 days left to wonder how my life is going to change over the weekend. I'm leaving my very comfortable job on Friday to fly to my new home for a year, Munich. I've had about a month to plan where to store my bed and other things I won't bring. I'm sure I made some friends happy leaving them responsible for my music collection and instruments.

I'm bringing my "Goldie" with me. I would have to pay 100$ for an extra checked bag but I got a nice on-board size suitcase as a gift for my birthday! In which the rest of my life will be crammed for a few hours. :-\

I'm landing in Munich on Saturday and have Sunday to rest but Monday is already the new routine kicking in and I'm starting my new job at Ciao!

About Reddit

For those of you who already know about reddit and its up vote system you might find this post a little bland. If you're new to reddit you probably spent a few nights catching up on missed memes and redundant inside jokes that are exclusive to specific subreddits. Well I guess I'm the type of person who made it through the junk and managed to filter my way through the "funny", the "AnimalAdvice" and the "Gentlemanboners" to eventually get myself a job abroad.

I like to teach myself and learn thing on my own. By trying, exploring and occasionally failing, I managed to be very efficient in finding the answer to almost anything. Now, what happens when I can't find the answer... well I tell myself I'm certainly not the only one asking myself that question, usually a little google search or a well placed post on reddit will get the necessary players involved to get the information I need.

When I planned on moving to Munich I wasn't lining up a job, I was going there to immerse myself in Deutsch courses and do some volunteer work to setup a network until I can speak enough German to be considered for employment. 

I had already registered for Deutsch courses at the Deutsch Akademie and changed my location on linkedin to Munich so I would get emails about job opportunities.

But surfing at the right place and the right time brought me straight to that reddit post. One week later I had an interview. I was told I would hear from the human resources department after the holidays. To my surprise I was sent a job offer by email, I quickly accepted and offered to visit my new workplace and meet my new team in person.

It's a great feeling to be offered a job in a country that isn't yours. I haven't set a foot out the door yet and I've managed to setup a modest employment for at least the first six months abroad. To all redditors, I know some of you have been lurking and avoided making a profile but reddit can also lead you to a great network of like-minded people and maybe a future job.

Bereit zu lernen! (Ready to learn!)

I signed up for an intensive German language course. Intensive means I'll be getting 3 hours per day from Monday to Thursday for 4 weeks.

The Deutsch Akademie was recommended by friends, plus it's a short tram ride from where I'll be staying. You can choose the time blocks such as 9 AM - 12 PM or evening classes which usually fill up pretty quick. They recommend signing up 4-5 weeks ahead of time to make sure you get a spot.

The damage is 265 Euros which is around $375 CAN. Which I have to pay, you guessed it, in cash! Germans believe that if you're paying with a credit card, it means that you're poor. I just want to load my travel visa with points so I can fly for cheap.

Travel tip

If you are a frequent traveler and spend a lot of money on flights and abroad get a travel credit card. They usually have an annual fee (70$ - 120$) but I got a 1300$ flight for 187$.
I could register online and they sent me a test to evaluate how much I already know about the language... not much is my honest answer.

The test

The Deutsch Akademie sends you a test to evaluate your current German skills in order to put you in a group which matches your level of knowledge. I've been putting off the test as I was contacted for a job interview last week and I'm getting a second interview with Human Resources... I was told it's usually a good sign. More to come very soon, I'm leaving at the end of the week for my first German Weihnachten.[Remove eggnog and replace with strong beer].

Getting the call

Nothing's great about living with 6 hour time difference. Except waking up to an email requesting a phone interview for a job you applied for! I was browsing reddit.com/r/munich when a post caught my eye. Internship for native English speaker sounded like a position I'd be able to fill. With a load of office experience already on my resumé I decided to apply right away and see what happens. I was already excited to pick up my passport with my new work and travel visa approved, this was the cherry on the sundae.

I've applied for a few jobs already. My first one with GoPro, they have a Munich office and I thought I was a likely candidate for the Office Manager position, I still think the name of the position is a front for an administrative task oriented job, in any case a foot in the door is better than a foot in the mouth. I suspect my lack of German language knowledge played against me on that one. Speaking of which, cue Don't Lose Touch and carry on.

Another job in a totally different vein had a very appealing aspect, free German language classes. The position was in a private school for students from 2-6 yo... I know what you're thinking that's a babysitting job, yes 4 people to babysit 15 kids in English in exchange for money and free German courses. That didn't work out, about one thousand people viewed the job posting and I'm certain someone had better "children education skills" than me.

I'm still learning a lot of new tricks for applying for jobs in Deutschland. I need to book a photo session because apparently pics on resumés are a must! The question now is with or without the beard? 

APPROVED!

Back in November I applied for a work and travel visa through the Youth Mobility Program. I was told the process would take two weeks. At the end of the third week I started wondering and called the German Consulate in Toronto and the nice lady on the phone told me that my visa was approved! I ran to my colleague's cubicle and we jumped and screamed like little girls...embarrassing? I'm told you only live once, haters gonna hate, oh whateves y'all! I should get my passport next week in time for my trip!

Now I can sit back and relax right? Wrong. I still have to take that test which will determine my level of German language so I can register at the Deutsch Akademie for my German language lessons. I wonder if after a few beers my German will be good enough to ace that test? I might me missing the point...

Now that my work and travel visa is approved, dear employers of Germany, I'm all yours!

The pain of waiting

The German consulate has my passport and I'm patiently waiting for my visa to be approved. In approximately two months I'll be on a flight to Munich and that is when my 1 year sabbatical leave starts. I still have to line up my German language classes. The plan is to get some intensive classes 3-4 days per week to start and see how quickly I can pick up the language. So far, I've been able to make my way slowly through the Duolingo.com exercises and I also loaded my iPhone with some German lessons. Duolingo is a lot of fun but it lacks the conversation aspect.

The second step will be to start applying for jobs and/or volunteer work. I used toytowngermany.com to offer my services to non-profit organizations. Clearly I'm hoping to get a paid job or some type of internship but in terms of networking I have a lot to offer and am willing to work for nothing if it eventually gives me enough experience to enter the German workforce while I get better at speaking and understanding the language.

It's no secret to anyone, I'm a huge beer lover and I have been looking at opportunities to work for, basically, any German beer company that will have me. For now it's all about tweaking the resumé and sending it out to the masses in the hope of catching the interest of a good company that's on the lookout for an ambitious foreigner.