A foreigner wanting to visit Germany faces some daunting rules and regulations. One American, Georg Behrendt, details his experiences in the second part of his series.

After the endless attempts to find a live person at either the embassy in Washington D.C., or the consulate in Miami, I am convinced that they really do not exist nor does anyone really work there. So save yourself the trouble of trying to contact an empty office.

At this point I am asking myself, is it really worth it? Do I really want to live in Germany? On and on, I tried to work through my reasoning and widen my understanding of the obstacles I had encountered up to this point.

As you read this you have to keep in mind that Germany is just slightly smaller then the state of Montana and it has over 82 million people living there. The economic growth rates of Germany average about 2 percent per year and only 8 percent or less of Germans work for themselves. There is a severe lack of entrepreneurs and to get the average German to try anything new - good luck.

The reason I mention these things is to put into perspective what you might have to deal with in Germany - these play a lot into the attitude and proficiency of the system.

I continued to make advances and inquiries when I returned to Germany, to better understand the necessary procedures. Believe me; it is easier to toss cow pies in a pasture than to get a cohesive coordinated answer from local government agencies. Does this sound familiar? Like in the United States?

Upon my return to Germany, I went to the county offices and asked the lady who handles the applicants with last names beginning with the letters "A-D" what I needed to do in order to get a residence permit. After looking up the rules in her many books, consulting with several office associates, she said, no, I could only stay in Germany 3 months every 6 months. This was her final statement.

Well, "no" is not in my vocabulary so I asked again what I could do. She stated there was not really anything; that those were the rules and that is that. I gracefully said thanks and left to pursue the impossible and toss a few more patties.

I went at last to the local town hall, which I had been visiting in my past several trips. I asked the man in the Auslandersburo (foreigners’ registration office) if I could register myself in this town. With my very poor German and his little to zero English, we made it through the paper work which took all of 20 minutes. It was a painless and quick procedure, leaving both parties with what they wanted. I asked the man before I left if he could also issue me a work permit. He said that was handled by a different office in the county headquarters. One hurdle down, one to go.

Stay tuned…

Copyright Expatica April 2008