LIVING IN GERMANY

German Chancellor’s New Year Message: ‘Dedicating all my strength’

The German chancellor struck an encouraging tone in what is likely to be one of her last New Year’s addresses. Merkel addressed the challenges of the climate crisis, digitalization and migration. The climate crisis, the digitalization of the labour market, and European solidarity on migration formed the main themes of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional New Year’s address, broadcast on Tuesday evening. But …

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New laws and regulations in Germany from January 2020

Numerous new laws and regulations take effect in Germany from 1 January 2020. These include a minimum stipend for job trainees, reduced VAT for train tickets and hygiene products for women, increases in welfare benefits, tax relief for families as well as new opportunities for the regularisation of the residency status of tolerated asylum-seekers. ———— Doctor’s appointments round the clock …

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TANG mobilises diaspora for African development

The African Network in Germany (TANG) celebrated the concluding forum of its municipal development policy (kommunale Entwicklungspolitik) activities on Saturday, attracting participants, ranging from German government officials and communal politicians to representatives of African diaspora organisations. Declaring the event open, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of TANG, gave a brief introduction of the organization, a network of more than 600 African …

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Germany-based company builds for diaspora Nigerians at home

Millions of Nigerians live and work in the diaspora and they send billions of euros back home annually. In 2018, remittances of Nigerians living abroad amounted to about €20 billion, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria in March. Most of the funds are sent to friends and relatives for various purposes, with real estate, food, education …

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Migrants strongly underrepresented in public service in Germany – study

Every fifth person of working age has a migration background in Germany. But they only make up six per cent of the employees in the civil service. This was revealed by a recent study. Experts call for intercultural opening of public administration. Citizens with foreign origin are severely under-represented in the civil service (öffentlichen Dienst). This is the conclusion of …

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Germany: Changes in laws and regulations from December 2019

A few new laws and regulations come into force in Germany in December 2019. Some of the important changes affect Hartz IV recipients, fireworks, railway time-table and highway tolls for travellers to Austria. ………… More money for Hartz IV recipients  Starting from next year, the standard rates for Unemployment Benefit II – better known as Hartz IV – will be …

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Black People demand Equal Rights in Germany at historic congress

The historic People of African Descent (PAD) Week Germany ended on Saturday in Berlin with workshops and panel discussions on the situation of Black people in the country. Organised by Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V., a community-based education and empowerment project, PAD Week Germany, held on 28-30 November and attended by more than 250 participants, also marked the third …

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Naturalization: German states to introduce online application process

How long it takes from the time you apply to the presentation of the certificate of naturalisation varies from case to case, but, on average, it takes several months. In some cases, it could even take years. A new online procedure should make naturalization more citizen-friendly, easier and faster. Two states, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, are currently jointly developing an …

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Germany: Changes in laws and regulations from November 2019

At the beginning of each month, a number of new laws and regulations enter into force in Germany. An overview of the most important changes in November 2019: ——————- Online identification for Germans and EU citizens The online identification function (Online-Ausweisfunktion or eID-Funktion) of the national ID card (Ausweis) enables German citizens to identify themselves on the Internet. For example, …

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List of Phone numbers you should know in case of an emergency in Germany

Here is a list of useful emergency telephone numbers (Notrufnummern) in Germany from the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (Bundesamtes für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe, BBK): First aid emergency and fire brigade: 112 Calls to 112 are free of charge and can be made from a landline, pay phone or mobile phone. Dialling the number will direct you …

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Germany: High immigrant unemployment level due to language deficiency – researchers

Migrants with a good command of German language have the same opportunities on the German labour market as natives. This is the result of a study conducted by the Cologne-based Institute of German Business. With the same level of education and good German language proficiency, migrants, according to a new study, equally earn high wages as natives. Accordingly, higher levels …

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