The easiest visa for Digital Nomads

Are you wishing to stay in Berlin longer? Are you a digital nomad? 

There’s one easy visa that you can obtain to extend your stay by another 6 months. All you need is a residency in Berlin, health insurance, proof of proper funds, and a recognised university degree. The visa, which is called the Jobseeker’s Visa, allows for an extra six months stay, 10 hours a week of work in self-employment or employment, and the ability to look for a job. It is perfect for digital nomads who like Berlin, but haven’t found a way to fully integrate themselves into the country yet. 

In this article, we’ll go over the visa requirements and how to get it.

Visa Requirements:
 

• A university degree - your degree needs to be recognised by Germany’s Central Office for Foreign Education Affairs (Zentralstelle für auslaendisches Bildungswesen). You can visit https://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html to see if your school and degree is in the database. If not, you’ll need to pay a fee to have ZAB qualify your degree.
• You need adequate health insurance.
• You need adequate proof of funds for your stay.
• You need residency in Berlin.

How to Apply?

To apply, you need to fill out the application form which is located here:
 https://www.berlin.de/formularverzeichnis/?formular=/labo/zuwanderung/_assets/lea-agen1-antrag_engl_frz_ital-112021.pdf

You’ll also need to make an appointment at the Ausländerbehörigkeit (the local government office for foreign nationals) and show up for the interview. The job seeker visa will be a new sticker within your passport. 

Securing an Interview

Obtaining the interview is the hardest part to securing the German Jobseeker Visa because interview are in high demand and the available slots are taken very quickly. 

Below are some tips to secure an interview:

• Checking early in the mornings, when they add new interview slots.
• Checking at random times, as sometimes they add new slots in the afternoons.
• Sending them an email with your application, as you can set appointments by email too.

Below are the sources for this article and the legal basis for the German Jobseeker Visa is Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 20. If you wish for more thorough legal advice regarding your eligibility and visa applications, I recommend you speak to an immigration attorney.

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About the Author

Constantine La is a co-founder of Visas for Future, a tourist visa processing company. They help tourists determine whether they need a visa or not. If they do, they help them process the visa. For every visa sold, they plant a tree!

Sources

https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324661/pdf/en/ 
https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324661/en/ 
https://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html