Is there still a German Thread?

[BeatrixBurgund]

We've moved back to Germany after 8 years in Switzerland and Scotland, and with the kids in school, I just know I'm going to have lots of questions about the Bavarian education system.

And I'd love to catch up with all the folk I used to chat with (even if I can't remember their usernames!). I'm on a namechange - it's MmeLindor here!

[doradoo]

Yes, going for dual while we still can.

Have booked my B1 exam with Göthenfor end of November..... Really need to get motivated to do some writing practice - the rest should be ok I think, but I don't usually need to do much in the way of written German so need to cram and focus. Have the Einburgerung test on 25.10, but have been playing on a app for that and seems ok.

Druck den Daumen and all that 😉

[BoffinMum]

Linzer, I am currently in the process of applying for dual nationality German/UK as my mother is German but it's like the seventh circle of hell, all the paperwork. It's different if it's your father that's the German parent - then you just bowl up and ask for a passport. But mothers are lower status in citizenship eyes, for anyone born before 1975. This is very sexist and I think breaks EU law but there we are.

Anyway, I am going to start a thread in minute about renting a small flat as cheaply as possible in Germany to help this process along by proving my loyal ties to the mother country, if anyone feels like giving advice on this matter.

With regard to Bavarian schooling, all I know is that in some of the schools they change into slippers when they get there, which is quaint, and they recently shortened the secondary phase by a school year so kids now leave at 18. That's it, I'm afraid.

[LinzerTorte]

Boffin It was a similar situation with British citizenship for even longer (1983 IIRC) - before then, only fathers of children born outside the UK could pass on British citizenship, not mothers. I know someone here who had two DC before then, one born in Austria and one in the UK, and only the one born in the UK was able to be a British citizen (the mother was born in the UK so nothing to do with citizenship by descent). AFAIK children in that situation can apply for British citizenship if they would now be eligible under today's rules, but am not sure how much paperwork is involved. Renting a flat to prove your ties to Germany makes the Austrian citizenship process sound quite manageable in comparison! Although one of the things about it that annoys me intensely is that I'd need to provide certified translations of all my English documents - and the translations have to be done by a certified court interpreter.

We have slippers in schools here as well - all primary schools, I think, and quite a lot of secondary schools as well. I remember another mother at the Gymnasium open day being quite shocked that children were expected to wear their outdoor shoes in class (the reason apparently being that the school is so full that there's no room to leave them outside the classroom). And with not enough classrooms, two out of the eight years have to be Wanderklassen and move from classroom to classroom for their different lessons.

[BoffinMum]

I think it's a bit mad to have some children in the family one nationality and not the other, especially when all the countries are in Europe. There should be special rules for that. It psychologically very difficult for people otherwise.

The absolute irony when I go into the German Embassy is that I look about the most stereotypically German of all the people in there and I get used as an informal translator while I am waiting when people have problems. And they all have passports yet I am struggling to get one!

[Hefezopf]

doradoo We just did our B1 with the Göthe. I was worried about the written part as well, but it was okay in the end. We had to write an email to a friend, express our opinion in an Internet comments section and write a formal email declining an invitation. Good luck!!

We have the EinB test coming up soon too. Then the admin fun begins!

[doradoo]

It's strange as I'm the only one of my expat friends here in Essen to have to prove my language skills - and DH too (and he has a German Degree) so I'm slightly pissed off about that - seems odd oder?

Still it will be a good thing and if and when I want to work at least I'll have some proof of my abilities.

Btw - My younger D.C. Still change into slippers for school here in NRW!

[BoffinMum]

I'm supposed to be fluent but I get scared when speaking gebildert German as I did not go to school or university there, so I sound less articulate than I do in English. It's annoying. I keep trying to read the Süddeutsche Zeitung to improve things but its not helped a lot.

[Welshcake77]

I'm in the same situation doradoo with the language test and it's so annoying! I've also got a degree in German but that doesn't count because it's from an English university. And I've worked here for 17 years so am more or less fluent but hey, got to do the language test as well as everything else!
I must get on with it all actually, had the forms here for about a year but been too busy to get it all sorted...on mat leave now so no excuse!

[LinzerTorte]

How annoying that they won't even accept a degree in German. IIRC A level German would be enough here - in fact, I've just googled and it says ausländisches Schulzeugnis mit positiver Abschlussnote in Deutsch auf dem Niveau der neunten oder einer höheren Schulstufe einer österreichischen Schule. Although no doubt that would need to be translated into German by a court interpreter.

But until Austria allows dual citizenship (if ever), it doesn't really affect me too much. They'll probably allow dual citizenship for EU citizens just after Britain has left the EU. Or maybe not... Was talking to a friend today about the madness of Austria voting to continue military service as the Red Cross/health service etc. would fall apart if it wasn't for Zivildiener.

[BoffinMum]

For the naturalisation process I am supposed to go through it's C1 level, which is ridiculously high IMO.

[HerestoyouMrsRobinson]

I'm not in Germany but I love reading your threads. My German is primitive but I use it to sing

[frosch]

I like to sing O Isis und Osiris in the shower, so I like your thinking HerestoyouMrsRobinson. It ought to be a recognised level:

Goethe-Institut person: "And at what level do you speak German?"
Student: "Singing, primitive."
Goethe-Institut person: "Splendid."

[Hefezopf]

Boffin C1 doesn't sound fair at all.

[BeatrixBurgund]

ooh, I started this thread and then buggered off to RL! How rude, sorry.

Lovely to see so many people taking part.

Hello, Clara - you are in my neck of the woods! I'm in Wü.

My kids started school in Switzerland and found it really odd that kids in UK didn't wear slippers when we moved. I must admit, when I think about it from a hygiene POV, with little kids sitting on the floor at circle time, it does make sense.

I've been told I won't have to take the test for the Einbürgerung, as I have Schulabschluss in Germany - I did an Ausbildung when I first moved here. Can't start application process till I've been back 3 years, so it's on ice for now.

I had a job interview last week for a translation/sales job and was asked if I'd say I was C1 or C2 in English. I've never been asked that before!

[ErnesttheBavarian]

2 of my kids were eingeschult in Switzerland and 2 in Germany. My eldest is in Q11. Not looking forward to the next couple of years.

We have had mixed experiences.

We are applying also for dual nationality. I wonder how long it will take.

[BeatrixBurgund]

I was advised to return to the Rathaus 6 months before the end of my 3-year waiting period, Ernest. He'll work with me to get all the documents together, and they can be submitted a month or two in advance, and then it could take 'several months'.

I think it depends on the area and how many applications they have.

[goodiegoodieyumyum]

I went for an interview for an Intergration course today, I will have to wait until next year because they are so inundated, I had guessed that would be the case. It is really hard to find German courses where I live was hoping to find someone to do one to one with but living rurally does have its drawbacks.

[Claralara19]

Hi Beatrix, I'm in the Kissingen "Landkreis" so we're really not far from each other .

Goodie you'll learn German in no time, I came here with only a few words but had no choice but to speak it and am fluent now (was thrown in at the deep end so to speak )

[BoffinMum]

Question. As part of my German citizenship thingy I need to trace all my living German relatives. How on earth do I do this given I am not speaking to my mum at the moment? (Long story).

[Welshcake77]

Gosh Boffin that's a difficult one. When you say trace, what exactly do you need? Like a family tree? Do you need to be able to contact them? Do you have any info to get started with? Town/surname? I'd maybe try the Einwohnermeldeamt as a first stop.
Sorry more questions than answers for you there!

[TheKitchenWitch]

Hi Beatrix / Mme Lindt and everyone else!
I occasionally popped up on the old threads but under different name. I do recognise lots of names here though.
I have been in Germany (near Stuttgart) for 20 years and am just going through the hell that is Grundschule with ds1 - 4 Klasse and if I make it to the end of the year without punching someone it will be a miracle.

[BoffinMum]

Welshcake, yes, I am talking about my grandfather's siblings, their children and grandchildren, whom my parents lost touch with when I was a kid but whom it would be very useful to learn more about now. So I have some names, surnames, and the town a lot of them live in (which is close by Stuttgart as it happens). But I am worried German privacy laws will make this difficult to achieve.

[lamii]

Hi German thread friends,

I currently live in Stockholm, we are lucky we have a small flat here (my partner owns it). We are attracted to Berlin because we find it a bit dull here. We both work in creative areas so culture and art are important to us. Stockholm has great sides: cosy housing, cute cafes, easy to go around.
But Berlin seems more exciting indeed, I have to re-visit it. In Berlin we could get 2-3 times bigger in terms of space! It's also much cheaper, food wise too.

Not sure how it works for kids : Are the pre-schools and nurseries expensive?

Basically we are both self-employed creative and we need to stay up and running...Anyone self-employed? How is the taxing system in Germany?

Thanks for tips in advance! :)

[BeatrixBurgund]

Hi KitchenWitch, my kids are actually quite enjoying German school, even though it's tough catching up. We are still quite positive about it all!

Boffin
I'd start with the Anwohnermeldeamt and ask their advice. Not sure about privacy laws; I've found Germany to be much less of a hassle with that than UK to be honest. And one thing about Germany, they are keen on their paperwork, so I'd hope there will be a paper trail to follow.

Goodie
could you do an online course? And I agree with Clara - you'll learn it before you know it!

I've just done a very German thing and made an appointment for Reifenwechsel. DH has been nagging me for weeks to do it before everyone does it and then I won't get an appointment. I'm pretty sure every German thinks the same way and they get busy from the end of August!

[BeatrixBurgund]

Iammi
Kids in Germany are guaranteed a Kindergarten space from 3 to 6 years, and one of the others will know - I think there is something about younger kids too, but that changed when my kids were already past that stage!

How much you pay depends on where you live, and in some cases, how much you earn. I've just looked up Berlin, and it seems they've just abolished all childcare costs! more here.

Kids start formal schooling at 6 years old. I'd say that life for families is really good in Germany. High standard of living at a reasonable cost.

Berlin is a fantastic city to visit, but I've never lived there. We looked at moving there a few years ago and house prices were still quite reasonable, but I think they've increased a bit since then.