Category: Blog

Foreign residents are required to ensure they stick to the rules with their papers in good order. Identification should also be carried on their person at all times in Germany.

I was born in a country that at the time of writing was a member of a marvellous political and economic alliance known as the European Union or EU. When I decided to work permanently in Düsseldorf, I was issued with a permit of residency valid for five years.

Many regulations in the EU were murky. The process of negotiations between member states is slow, progress full of compromise and resulting agreements complex. Today freedom of movement even for EU citizens is often a fallacy beyond three months.

Employment enabled me to stay without care. After a stint of five years I received an offer of unlimited residency. I called to make an appointment. To no avail. I could come two hours before they open and be the first one, I was told. Great. Time passed, I forgot the letter.

When I eventually visited the foreign office in Düsseldorf two years later, I handed my letter with offer of unlimited residency to the woman seated behind a screen opposite me. She instigated the administrative process. Then suddenly lost her demeanour upon noticing the date of the correspondence. She demanded as to why I took so long to visit. “I couldn’t get an appointment” was my reply. She became even more flustered, on and on  she complained. “What are you going to do, deport me?” I asked. Highly annoyed, she ripped the letter to shreds.

The Freedom of Access

Uttering a few words about my actions having consequences, she gave me another five years instead of unlimited. I apologised, she calmed. We went our separate ways.

I received her reprimand but no punishment. Unique consequences did, however, follow. She was so irate that she entered the date of validity the wrong way around on my new permit. Unwittingly, I presume.

My next border control was to enter East Germany, the DDR. Officers of increasingly important rank debated whether or not a document should be validated by its date of issue. Or by date of expiry.

Why, because the numerals she had inserted incorrectly were in the year of expiry. The fateful date was thus years earlier than that of issue!

I proceeded to Berlin. But the process brought with it a very, very long delay, a small fine as well as the experience of a lifetime. For that, I remain eternally grateful to the city employee who never knew.

By Vincent Green, Jul 18, 2017

Germans take registration very seriously. The law in Düsseldorf entails registering within one week of a move. If renting, the landlord can be required to confirm occupancy. Leaving for a new location means de-registering.

I have had the good fortune to live in some nice places during a lengthy period of life in Düsseldorf. A few districts of the town appeal to expats in a special way.

Following short early stints in a few areas, my neighbourhood became Oberkassel. One move entailed metaphorically dropping my belongings over the balcony. A later one saw my wife and I relocate just one block away. We kept the same phone number and postal code. We notified our utility company. And our friends.

We gave not one single thought to what Germany considers to be the the primary activity entailed in a change of residency. A letter arrived several weeks after we had settled into our new home. It was in an official city envelope. The news was bad. We had performed an unforgivable act.

We had omitted to inform authorities that we had moved. Yet that same administrative department knew of our change of address. The name of the street and house number were inserted proudly below our names and above the correct postcode and city. We were identified, considered guilty and charged.

A Moving Experience

I rang a phone number printed on the single sheet of legal speak. The friendly gent at the other end of the phone line was highly sympathetic yet unrelenting when it came to the fine. It’s the German way of doing things. Already accustomed to there being as many exceptions as there are rules, I haggled with him. But this time there was no way out.

He then mentioned that since I was now working as a freelancer, I would have to supply two years of accounts. I came under different regulations nowadays. I had only that year begun so could unfortunately not comply. A strange phenomenon kicked in and for this situation he kindly performed a marvellous task of racking his brain for a relevant option.

My wife is from Finland, was an employee and held an unlimited residency permit for the EU, which she had received through being married to me. Now I was to benefit from her by declaring my status as husband. Marvellous. Yet again, an exception was found. Those days I was fined a minor sum, today it can be higher.

By Vincent Green, Jul 18, 2017

After visiting Germany for my company for a second lengthy period of troubleshooting, I was requested to stay to work permanently in Düsseldorf. New contracts were signed and life continued until one day I was asked to give more details about my personal circumstances.

My employers wished to know which church I belonged to. I enquired what business it was of theirs and why they were asking. To pay tax to either the Protestant or Catholic church, I’m told. I’m British. Although our head of state is also the head of the Anglican church, a separation between state and religion is respected. Donations only occur during services on Sundays or by bequest.

Not so in Germany. The vast majority of funds are transferred directly from source and each company is responsible to declare where those monies go. I stated that I am not prepared to pay church tax. I was duly told the atheist box would be ticked.

Some Helpful Instruction

I protested that I was raised Church of England and believed in God in the sense of a universal force. I was willing to debate whether religion meant the same but did not consider myself an atheist, so did not accept that choice. The impasse ensued.

The form was completed with the entry of C of E. Nothing was due, nothing paid. If Germany wished this system upon its citizens, that is fine by me. I was not prepared to be part of it. I’m sure much good comes from well over eleven billion euros annually.

This may seem trivial. However, at the time of writing, church tax amounts to nine percent in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, of which Düsseldorf is the capital. If an expat leaves the country, overpaid income tax is normally reimbursed. Church tax is not.

When entering employment in Düsseldorf or elsewhere in Germany, it may be relevant for each individual to make a conscious decision concerning this often neglected topic.

By Vincent Green, Jul 18, 2013

It was after work one late afternoon. The weather was marvellous. I was cycling to swim in the outdoor pool in Lörick. Since I lived in Oberkassel, my route took me along a scenic pathway that provided a view of the river Rhine. Am Pappelwäldchen offered a bike path along one side of tall, majestic old trees and a path for pedestrians on the other.

The long line of pretty poplars stretched far into the distance. They presented a canopy of rich and dense dark green leaves. I was thankful for the magnificent shade they provided against the bright afternoon sun.

This area of Düsseldorf has long been a wonderful place for recreation. The swimming pool gave me a marvellous respite from my busy days. I was cheerfully riding my bike, passing others from time to time.

I became aware of two cyclists heading towards me. Presumably, I subconsciously expected them to line up one behind the other. Suddenly I became aware this was not the case and an impact was imminent.

The path was the width of only two bikes and I was on one of them. The eyes of one cyclist widened at the impending danger, the other remained completely oblivious.

I could not avoid him due to a massive tree trunk next to me. I grasped my handle bars, braked hard, he thumped into me shoulder to shoulder. I turned my head and looked over to the body on the ground. He had flown from his bike and hit the tarmac like a sack of potatoes. He was motionless.

I descended my bike and leaned it against a tree. Crouching over the man, I could see he was breathing but he appeared to be unconscious. It transpired that the other cyclist was not his friend but a stranger who was being overtaken. A few other people stopped but seemed helpless.