How do I live in germany?

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Steven M

Rena is telling complete BS I hold two citizen ships from Chile and Germany!
You need to live legally in Germany for 8 years to be able to obtain German citizenship during this time you shall not depend on social welfare but support yourself.
Other option is to mary a German citizen than you can obtain citizenship after 3 -4 years.
EDIT
I am double citizen of Germany and Chile since I was born because my parents are one German one Chilenean!
You don't need to chose that is wrong!

Maja Besser-Ossi

Maia is correct as she always is.
Since she is east German out of political correctnes she has to be given the BA that is the law :)))

Reno the dummie

Buttons (Rena) is 100% correct and also 100% legit
she deserves a BA
those who thumb her down are only envious of us Americans and of our well known knowledge!

Wilhelm

well if you wait a few months usa will be as rich as rwanda is right now and you can try to seek for asylum

Alwin E

Basically, the same rules and regulations apply as would for a German citizen to become a citizen of the U.S. You may get a residence permit if you work for a company that has a German office (it doesn't necessarily need to be a German company), and if they disemploy you, you'll have something like 3 or 6 months to find another employment, or else you'll have to leave Germany.

Getting German by marriage is not as easy as it used to be once. The law requires you to be "fixed within the general culture and way of life", and you may have to prove it by a test. (I tried one of these online once, and according to that, I'm only 80% German, and I was born here! How the heck should I know who was German president back in the 1950ies? I answered "Heinz Erhardt", who was a comedian. THAT I did know.)

From my own experience and that of friends I can tell you that it's easier to obtain citizenship if you're some white Caucasian Christian male. Immigrants from Russia usually get citizenship faster than immigrants from Africa or the countries we call "rogue states". Technically, there should be no discrimination or racism, but we're all just humans, and since September 2001, it's not a good idea, for instance, to confess to a Muslim belief.

scoops

You can marry a german citizen or open a business there.

EVE

If I'm not mistaken (German natives, feel free to correct me here), it has become a little easier to become a citizen recently, as they have implemented a sort of naturalization process similar to the US's. At the end of it, you have to take a test of your knowledge of German history, geography, etc. Also, it is now possible to hold dual American and German citizenship, which is what I plan to do once I marry my German fiance and we move to Germany.

I think it also helps to have family members or ancestors who are German, but again, German natives will be able to verify this better than I can.

Jedenfalls wÃ¼nsche ich Ihnen viel GlÃ¼ck und Erfolg in Deutschland!

t_maia2000

To become a citizen of Germany you have to be a legal resident of Germany for 8 years, excluding any time spent studying at a German university.

Getting a residency permit to be a legal resident is relatively easy if you got enough money, what is a problem is getting a work permit. Only specially skilled people have a chance to get a work permit because a potential employer has to proove that there is no EU-citizen or foreigner with a work permit available for the job.

For a young person with not a lot of experience the easiest way to a work permit is generally to graduate from a German university or marry a German citizen.

EDIT: About double citizenship in Germany:

As a rule you must give up your former citizenship when applying for German citizenship.

Exceptions are made when the other citizenship you hold is an EU citizenship or if giving up the other citizenship would be an "extraordinary hardship". Extra-ordinary hardship usually occurs if your country of origin does not allow you to give up your citizenship (such as Iran or Saudi-Arabia). Applicants will be given permission to keep their original citizenships.

The same is true in reverse: Germans who apply for another citizenship abroad automatically loose their German citizenship. Exceptions are made when this would cause "extraordinary hardship". They have to get permission to keep their German citizenship before they take any steps in the direction of getting the other citizenship.

Another exception about double citizenship is when children are born with both German and foreign citizenship. Those children who got their German citizenship from one of their parents can keep it for life (even if it means they have double or triple citizenship). Those who got it by being born in Germany to foreign parents hold double citizenship until they are 18 and then need to choose between German citizenship and their citizenship of origin.

Biedronka

Rena gave the best answer so far. We live in Germany and my husband has a good job in the government. We have to live in Germany for 7 years and then do a German language/culture test before getting a German citizenship. Things are easier if you marry a German or if you are married to someone who has a really stable job.

Rena

Eve is way off. The guy above me is most accurate.

YOu must get residency and live here 8 years. In addition you must relinquish your American citizenship. GERMANY DOES NOT IN ANY FORM ALLOW DUAL CITIZENSHIP! Even if you have a kid they must choose at a certain age!

Now on a side not it is very hard to get residency here. YOu must have a very unique skill and they must prove no one in Germany or the EU can fulfill your job. That said probably your best bet is to try to get hired with an international company and get placed into Germany.

Some people apply with THE US military to do this, but that does not count as residency toward your 8 years to obtain citizenship.

Best bet is to talk to the German embassy or an immigration lawyer.

I wish you the best of luck

I tried and in the end could not get my own residency permit before my husband and I married.

Lots of people like to argue and say I am wrong. Well prove me wrong then. Because I get my info straight from the US and German embassy.

YOu can read more about German law at the embassy site or a breif overview here and it does touch on dual citizenship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_citizenship

Depends on your parents citizenship. IN regards to the US they do not allow dual citizenship per a Nato agreement.

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