Working in Germany, from first interview to feeling at home.

1 · Visa & the EU Blue Card

For most qualified professionals, the EU Blue Card is the fastest route: a recognized degree (or, in IT, relevant experience), a German job offer in your field, and a salary at or above the yearly threshold. Shortage occupations and recent graduates qualify at a lower threshold.

The two things that trip people up are degree recognition (checked via the Anabin database) and the exact salary figure for the current year. Get both right and the process is fast.

No offer yet? The Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) is a separate, points-based route that lets you come to Germany to search for a job.

2 · Your first weeks: Anmeldung, tax ID & bank

German bureaucracy runs in a strict order. First you register your address (Anmeldung) at the Bürgeramt — almost everything else depends on it. Your tax ID (Steuer-ID) then arrives by post, and with the Anmeldung you can open a bank account.

Miss the order and you lose weeks. This is exactly the kind of thing that keeps a new hire out of the office and in waiting rooms.

3 · Health insurance & benefits

Health insurance is mandatory in Germany — public (gesetzlich) or private (privat). Which is better depends on your salary, family situation and long-term plans, and the choice is hard to reverse.

As a licensed insurance broker (§ 34d), Benjamin makes sure this decision — plus pension and other cover — is made deliberately, not by default.

4 · Housing & family

Finding a flat means a Schufa score, a deposit and a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung — and in tight markets, patience. If you're moving with family, a Kita or school place needs to be lined up early, and your partner will want a way into work and community.

The family settling in is, statistically, what decides whether a move lasts. It's the part most services ignore — and the part we take seriously.

5 · German for work

You can start a job in English at many companies — but meetings, leadership and everyday belonging happen in German. The jump from 'gets by' to 'confident in meetings' is where focused, work-oriented coaching pays off fastest.

That's Benjamin's core craft: business German up to executive level, tailored to your role.

6 · Work culture & staying long-term

Directness, punctuality, clear separation of work and private life, and a fondness for written rules — German work culture has its own logic. Understanding it early prevents a lot of friction.

Longer term come permanent residency, career growth and building a life here. That's the full arc SettleWell is built around — from your first interview to feeling at home.