Will Germany Let Me Stay? 🇩🇪 Problems with my Residence Permit, Driver's License + Health Insurance
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- čas přidán 19. 07. 2024
- Will Germany let me stay here and live? We've been dealing with issues with my residence permit since we arrived, and we are just now ready to tell you about it! It's been a big headache, to be honest, so today, we fill you in on what's been going on. We also share what's going on with my driver's license and whether or not I've been able to get health insurance here! ACK! Three big things to make life living in another country safe and possible.
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How We Are Learning German and Making Friends Before We Even Move to Germany - • 🇩🇪 How We are Learning...
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//CHAPTERS - Jump to Your Favorite Part//
0:00 - Intro, Snow Scenes
02:10 - How My Residence Permit Issues Started + the Integration Course
07:37 - Issues with my German Driver's License
09:57 - Issues with Getting Health Insurance for Sara
13:08 - How I Tried to Get an Exception to the Integration Course
19:40 - How I'm Learning German with Lingoda
25:21 - Hear me speak german and help me track my progress this year!
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Don't put yourself under pressure to learn German. The best way is just to speak. Don't even try to be perfect. It will come on its own. Just talk, talk, talk.
The majority of German can't speak proper German either. Look at Bavaria, Saxony or other southern States. 😆
@@klausschumacher7126 Hahaha it's the same in the US - most of us do not speak or write proper English anymore!
@@klausschumacher7126 komm, dass sind alles Dialekte. :) Im Gegenteil Hochdeutsch konnten vor 50 Jahren noch viel weniger Menschen
@@klausschumacher7126 right , but the “languages “ in Hamburg, Berlin etc. are better ?
;-)
Learning German language is one thing... then there are 100 other problems, that needs to be taken care. Just think stress, for me its not worth it. I left germany after a year, and have been happy ever after
I'm a German native speaker and speak a lot of English at work, the one thing I can recommend you is to worry less. that might be hard while you are in the beginning of learning and really want someone to correct you. My English is nowhere near perfect, but why should it be, I learned the language, all I want is to be able to communicate. So I have a German accent and say some things wrong but as long as people easily understand me I don't see an issue. You put in the work and go the extra mile when speaking german, so embrace yourself, you are doing great.
Thank you so much. Great tips!
Yes! Absolutely no one who is half decent cares if you make a grammatical mistake. Even Germans do. And the dialect differences also change cases and genders, so you don’t need to worry, honestly.
@@LaureninGermany Lauren! 😃 Schönen Sonntag!
I don't know if it was mentioned already here: When you get informed about an official decision of a public German administration branch or office, you always have the possibility to dispute it via a letter within 4 weeks. Quite often this dispute - if written concisely and makes general sense - will go through an the decision will be changed or corrected they way you ask for. If not - you again can dispute this denial of your request. And if this will also not go through, you can fight against this decision in court. All of this usually cost you nothing, but you might ask for help at German organisations assisting with this kind of problems (and not only for immigrants, but for German citizens as well), like SoVD, VdK, or local or regional voluntary organisations.
This is so good to know!
this! sometimes the paper work here is insane. but in case of such disputes with german authorities: with this dispute you force them to be on point accurate with their legal arguments. often this is so much work for the authority (or there may be little chance to proof it), that they will just leave it.
Welcome to the EU lies and bureaucracy. The EU lied about Polio, covid and the war in the Ukraine its all a hoax!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I can well understand that these many uncertainties must have put a lot of pressure on us. Her emotions went up and down, as did her blood pressure. Ultimately, however, it has shown that German authorities also have people with a sense of reality and can make decisions flexibly.
The extremely detailed letter to the immigration authorities would probably have led to the same result even with ten percent of the factors described.
However, your personal experience has shown how difficult it is to get a longer residence status as a foreigner in Germany, even if the best conditions for this appear to be in place.
Why it was so difficult to get health insurance (compulsory insurance) is a mystery to me, especially since many newcomers here can only get a "one-year" residence permit.
Why does someone who is not dependent on German social benefits and can therefore fully support themselves have to overcome such hurdles in order to be able to stay here for more than a year? Especially if it lives in its own family and is needed!
I see a significant need for reform here, especially because Germany is becoming more and more dependent on generating new, effective workers ;-)) and attracting people from outside its own borders!
EU foreigners only have to prove a regular income (on which they can live) and a permanent residence in order to be allowed to stay here longer.
Germany has the worst form of an immigration country and some contemporaries here still do not understand that they will lose their prosperity in the foreseeable future. Social ones too!
Hello McFalls! Welcome to Germany! I really hope that you have made the right decision in planning your life.
Hi Sara,
German bureaucracy is always fun... Even as a native German speaker, the typical way those official documents are written isn't always easy to understand, because they use their own terms that aren't always common. There's a reason we have a special word for that: "Behördendeutsch". So, I can't even begin to imagine what this is like for immigrants... I'm glad you managed to get through all of this stuff.
Regarding you pronunciation, you will be getting there. German has a lot of sounds that aren't common in english, so that is a challenge. But it shouldn't discourage you. As the British-German youtuber Rewboss once said (and I really like that quote): "There are only two groups of people that need to get the accent absolutely perfect: actors and spies". You are neither, so don't worry too much about it, as long as you can get the information across. See his take on that topic here: czcams.com/video/YGZvCA3O-uA/video.html
Basically it is translated Latin or a number of one-word-definitions that do not allow any interpretation. They follow the "spirit of the law" and not the customs of our everyday's language or literature which are either practical or beautiful.
Dear Ms. McFall, It's not so much about pronunciation as it is about grammar and vocabulary. The best teacher is practice, practice, practice. In your case, I'm not worried at all. - On the subject of pronunciation: of course you can have an American language coloring in Your German. The Germans themselves have dialect nuances depending on the region they come from, even if they speak „Hochdeutsch“. So - talk, talk, talk - and don't be afraid to make mistakes. They disappear automatically sooner or later.
Agreed 100%!
I am here all my life and when I get a letter from the state office about whatever I really am having a hard time understanding the German in it.
It is "Beamten- or Behördendeutsch" for real.
So, if I am having a hard time understanding it I can imagine what it must be like for someone who is just learning the language.
I'm German too and can only agree that Amtsdeutsch is it's own language. I regularly get messages from friends where they ask me to please translate what is going on in some official letter they got. Most of them are native German speakers too. My mom used to work for the police here so I was "trained" to understand this stuff from a young age but I still understand why people struggle it's just not intuitive at all.
I've said many many times that those documents and laws should be written in a way that everyone who is supposed to fill them out or read them and who those laws are about is actually able to understand them easily without help if they are German speakers.
@@DieAlteistwiederda ...and let me guess. It was futile!
^^
Da mag ich Mal die Schweizer zitieren, wenn sie über Deutsche reden.
"Hach, die Deutschen!" with a smile afterwards.
Also ich finde Sarah's Deutsch für diese kurze Zeit schon recht gut.Sprecht einfach auch öfters mit euren Kids deutsch,dann geht es noch viel schneller.Übrigens;wer mit Spaß lernt,lernt am schnellsten.Ich wünsche euch Gesundheit und eine schöne Woche.
Die sind schon ein Jahr hier, Kevin ist auf jeden Fall begabter! ;)
@@herzschlagerhoht5637 mag sein,doch deutsch ist eine verteufelt schwere Sprache.Und Kevin hatte zuvor schon Erfahrungen mit Fremdsprachen.Wenn du weist wie du lernen mußt,dann fällt es dir auch leichter.Ich bin auch davon überzeugt,das Sarah vor der Kamera extrem nervös war.Da schwebt immer die Angst sich zu blamieren mit.Im Alltag klappt das sich noch um einiges besser.
Det är bra att ha en dag i veckan då man bara talar tyska och att helt och hållet avstå från engelska den dagen. Efter den första halvtimmen blir det plötsligt lättare och lättare och munnen vänjer sig vid det annorlunda uttalet. Ord som du behöver men inte kan kan kan skrivas ner och läras på ett målinriktat sätt. Uttalet är viktigt, öva på Z("ts"), S och umlauter. Feluttalade ord är värre än bristande ordförråd.
It's a good thing to have a "German only" day a week and completely avoid English on that day. After the first half hour, it suddenly becomes easier and easier and the mouth gets used to the different pronunciation. Words that you need but don't know can be written down and learned in a targeted way. Pronunciation is important, practice the Z (like english "ts"), S and the umlauts. Mispronounced words are worse than missing vocabulary.
Es ist eine gute Sache, einen "nur Deutsch"-Tag pro Woche durchzuführen und an diesem Tag vollständig auf englisch zu verzichten. Nach der ersten halben Stunde wird es plötzlich einfacher und leichter und der Mund gewöhnt sich an die andere Aussprache. Worte, die man benötigt aber nicht kennt kann man aufschreiben und geziehlt lernen. Aussprache ist wichtig, übt das Z (ähnlich "ts"), S und die Umlaute. Falsch ausgesprochene Worte sind schlimmer als fehlende Vokabeln.
@@klaushohmann1101 Sorry, ich muss Dir da widersprechen, weil ich diesen generellen Tipp ein wenig bedenklich finde.
Klar sollten Eltern mit ihren Kindern sprechen und wenn dies in einem natürlichen Fluss ist, wird es auch ein häufiges Language-Switching geben, ABER dies zu nutzen um Sarahs Fähigkeiten zu verbessern geht nach Erkenntnissen bzw Beobachtungen bei bilingual aufwachsenden Kindern tendenziell zu deren Lasten! Kinder übernehmen viel leichter als Erwachsene Sprachmuster und -strukturen in ihrem Sprechhabitus. Wenn die Eltern allerdings keine Muttersprachler sind, neigen Kinder dazu deren Fehler in Grammatik, Satzbau, Aussprache zu übernehmen, so dass deswegen sogar der Tipp gegeben wird zuhause (nur) in der eigentlichen Muttersprache zu reden und man ansonsten versucht die Kinder möglichst viel Kontakt zur "neusprachigen" Außenwelt neben der Schule zu ermöglichen.
Dies ist zumindest das was aus dem Primat resultiert Kinder "möglichst fehlerfrei wie ein native-speaker" eine Sprache lernen zu lassen, weil sich eingeschliffene Fehler (die häufig im "Übersetzen" von Sprachmustern/Grammatik der Muttersprache herrühren) nur relativ schlecht wieder ausmerzen lassen.
No offend! 😉
Etwas spät, aber sag den besseren Bekannten ruhig, daß sie dich korrigieren sollen. Von selber machen sie es nicht, weil es unhöflich ist. Aber ich glaube, man kann so einiges lernen, wenn man sich z.B. bei einem Artikel unsicher ist, der Gegenüber das aber weiß. Wir haben einige nicht Muttersprachler in der Firma. Teilweise habe ich sie gefragt, ob ich sie korrigieren soll (Sprache und Text), wenn etwas nicht paßt (natürlich nicht öffentlich vor allen anderen).
Ich schaue euren Kanal schon eine Weile und ich liebe es zu sehen, wie glücklich ihr seid. Auch wenn es nicht immer einfach ist, schafft ihr es zusammen als Familie ❤️ Deutsch ist furchtbar schwierig, aber du machst das großartig!
Thank you so much! We appreciate your support!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife The intro-pictures at the beginning of your videos are fantastic. With the music like the beginning of a Hollywood movie, it looks really professional. 👍
@@janpracht6662 thank you! That’s my favorite part of each video. 😍
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife 15 years ago I worked for a TV production company (FAS Film/Studio Hamburg) as "TV production-assistent", one of my friends is a professional video-cutter. But unfortunately TV production is a very uncertain business to earn money regularly. Mostly camera men, sound men, lightning people etc on the set are freelancer (sometimes they have work, sometimes not), that is to exhausting for me in the long run...
@@janpracht6662 Yes, this applies to all videos. There are always beautifully made impressions that people have experienced themselves.
Dear Sarah, I’m really sorry you had to have this experience!! I hope things are looking up now so you don’t have to worry about this too much anymore. I love hearing you speak German - yes, pronunciation and using the correct cases especially is really tough - but you’ll get there!! No ear bleeding on my part 😉 You put so much effort into learning German and integrating into the German culture - you are definitely one of the most deserving people when it comes to getting a multi year residence visa!!
Thank you so much! 🙏🏻❤️ Yes things are much better now that I don’t have to take the course! I’m enjoying my German classes and excited to speak German well.
They should , they let everyone else come in. They are mostly not great people.
I had similar problem with Buerocracy + everything is so costly now. Is it worth staying?? Sply your country is also well to do
You mean a “permanent” stay, right? ;-))
One thing I've learned over the years is that German bureaucracy is sometimes a little more flexible than first seems, but it is up to the citizen to take the initiative to find the right channels to explain the situation.
Yeah that does seem to be the case, which is very good!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Generally speaking, there are two difficulties with this flexibility: First, common cases are strictly regulated in formal regulations that are not published but treated as law by the bureaucrats. Your letter must have addressed some of the rules in these regulations, or it wouldn't have been so successful. The main difficulty is that most German bureaucrats will not help you navigate these regulations, even though you have no way of even knowing them. You need to be either very lucky or get competent advice (as you did). I suspect that especially in Bavaria, with its somewhat more flexible bureaucracy, it also helps that you are a 'desirable' foreigner (educated, from a major Western country).
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I think people already kind of tried to tell you on the video about Gymnasium, that everything is going to work out and it is hardly ever as bad as it feels in the first moment. Of course it is difficult to have that reassurance when you live in a completely different culture where so much is unfamiliar, but maybe those experiences can help the next time something comes up. Maybe it doesn't work out the way you planned it, but you know, if one door closes, a window opens :)
Glad to hear that you found a solution. Your german is already fine. Everything you has to do is to speak as much german as you can and you will improve your german ability very fast. And in the everyday life, no one expects you to be perfect on that, so don't stress yourself by the german articles or something like that. Just speak. Furthermore: Germans will like to correct you, we love it, so you doing us a favore, when you doesn't speak perfect german.
The German Government, through its embassies and consulates, make clear what the requirements are gor residency. I have done this; listening to the immigration official was very helpful in understanding what is required. The rules are out there. Stay with reliable sources. Friends and acquaintances can help, but arm yourself first with the official rules.
Ihr seid so eine tolle Familie. Ich freue mich immer sehr über eure Videos. Sarah, dein Deutsch ist schon sehr gut, weiter so.👍
Vielen dank! Est ist immer baby Deutsch 🤣 aber, ich lerne!
wow you can really pad yourself on the back, immigrating and staying in another country really does come with so much adversity, challenges to overcome and anxious panic moments. I am German myself but speak from experience because I´ve lived in Canada for 5 years. Hearing your experience makes me relive my own. You can be so proud of making it through 🙂
Thank you so very much! Yes I can imagine these are the same struggles any immigrant faces when moving to a new country.
As a German living in the US I can relate to things like that....just the other way round. Living in a foreign country comes with challenges😊 Hang in there.....
Yeah I'm sure you can relate! These kinds of rules aren't just in Germany.
OMG 😮
Sara I admire your spirt!
Your story sounds sooo exhausting!
And four kids to settle in on top!
Wow, just wow!
Happy there is a clear silver lining and you are just amazing!
Awe thank you so much! 🙏🏻❤️
Na das klingt doch schon super. Immer dran bleiben das wird bald richtig klasse werden. Toll wie ihr das alles schafft !!
Oh, I feel your pain! When I moved to the Munich area from the US back in 1997, I had similar hurdles. Getting a work permit and residence permit (which comes first… both!) was a convoluted mess, even though I had a regular work contract at BMW. The answer was I needed a temporary residence permit, which enabled me to get a work permit, which enabled me to get a residence permit (for one year). In the US it’s the job of the personnel department to guide you and answer these questions, but not so here. Personnel would not even explain to me the difference between public and private health insurance, because they might “influence my decision”. I got a residence permit for one year that had to be renewed every year for 5 years, then at five years it renewed for 2 years, then at 7 years I got an unlimited residence permit. Cause for celebration! Going to the city administrative offices every year was worse than going to the dentist for a root canal!
I also had to go to driving school (around 1,000 Euros in total back then) and take a minimum amount of hours in the car with an instructor and then take the written and driving test. I have to say however, it was all worth it. It made me a better driver and helped me understand the behavior of German drivers on the road. I ended up failing my first driving test because I didn’t understand the concept of “rechts vor links” thoroughly. Believe me, that helped put emphasis on that rule for me. Unlike in the US, where every intersection has a stop sign for one of the two streets in the intersection, here in Germany, many intersections (especially in the city) have no stop sign at all. If you don’t understand “rechts vor links” (like me), then you’re dead duck and very likely to cause an accident. SOOO, I’m glad I failed and learned “rechts for links” out of it. So, I encourage you to really learn “rechts vor links”. If your grace period to drive in Germany has expired, you can always go across the border to Austria and drive legally as a tourist there, which I would recommend, so that you can integrate all the you’ve learned from the driving rules which enough of which are different, into your own driving style, preparing you well for your driving test. Hopefully you’ll pass the first time. As the Germans say, I’ll “drücke die Daumen“ for you! 😊
Love your comment, Jeff! Thanks for sharing your experience. I can see how getting the German driver's test here will help me be a lot safer on the roads - great point about the "rechts vor links" rule!
Dear Sarah. I am german and I often hear how hard it is to learn our language. You are such a lovely and smart person. I think you speak perfect german in a short time 🤗
Sarah's accent talking german with the rolling "R" is cute. It's said to be typical for Baveria. You'll be integrated very soon.
My wife came here without knowing any german. She started 2 courses at Volkshochschule at the same time. Let's name it "beginners 1" and "advanced 2". She was worried only for 4 week. After 6 month she started to talk german in her sleep. She completed 2 difficult job training courses within 10 years and is now studying. Her sisters also came to Germany and they only talk to each other in German.
Oh wow, what a success story with your wife! Yeah I can see how the integration course can really jumpstart an immigrant's life into Germany in a positive way. I actually want to take it, but the schedule is just terrible for me as a working mom. I'm so glad it worked out well for your wife.
My ears are not bleeding and my eyes still like the look of your sweater :-)
Hahahaha thank you! This is one of my favorite sweaters. 😍
A good way to improve your pronunciation is to listen to german in the background. For example while you are doing your chores you could listen to german audio books (Hörbücher) or even better, Hörspiele. You can even find many on CZcams. Many are for kids, but actually that makes it even easier to understand. It's like the way babies learn to talk. The first year they only listen and that enables them to shape those sounds later on.
What really helped me learning English back in the days was, in fact, chatting online (when there were chatrooms) because I had time to read and recheck my answers, and still it was about things that were of interest to me.
Also: watching my favourite movies in English with and then without subtitles. For you guys, the Sendung mit der Maus might do wonders, and, in fact, cartoon books (like Walt Disney's Lustige Taschenbücher), because they are easily to grasp from the pictures, but the German in them is pretty solid.
Chatrooms! Yes those were the early days of the internet. Great idea to watch "Sendung mit der Maus" to learn, too.
I’m so glad to hear that everything has turned out well! You both are so sweet when speaking german, you will be fluent in no time. 😀👌🏼
I really enjoy watching your videos, you’re such an adorable family (including Peanut and Ginger) ☺️. Happy Sunday!
Hi Chriss! Thank you so much for the encouragement! Yes we are so glad it worked out, whew!
Wow, interesting story, by the way sliding down the hill is: "Schlitten fahren" for the wooden slides and "Bob fahren" is for the slides made of plastic. And no worries you do very well!
Ahhhh Danke!! Okay Schlitten fahren oder Bob fahren ❄️☃️
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Exactly 👍🏻😁
Hallo Sarah,
dein Deutsch wird immer besser.
Versuche einfach nicht schüchtern zu sein.
Es tut mir leid, dass ihr so viele Sorgen wegen deiner Aufenthaltserlaubnis hattet.
Regeln schaffen die Grundlage für nachvollziehbare Entscheidungen.
Manchmal muss man aber auch von den Regeln abweichen. Nun scheint ja ein guter Kompromiss gefunden zu sein.
Ich bin fest überzeugt, alles wird gut werden.
Grüße aus dem Ruhrgebiet
Deine Aussprache ist schon richtig gut. Ich kenne Engländer und Amerikaner die noch nach 10 Jahren einen viel stärkeren Akzent haben. Dein "R" ist noch sehr amerikanisch, aber ich glaube das ist auch besonders schwierig anzupassen. Und wegen einer, eine, ein usw. - Du benutzt vielleicht manchmal die falsche Form, aber das macht nichts - man versteht es ja trotzdem. Das kommt mit der Zeit. I hope it's ok I wrote the above in German. Have a nice Sunday!
Aller Anfang ist schwer, aber du machst das schon sehr gut.
Bleib dran, du schaffst das. 👍🏻
I moved to a new country a few weeks ago, and yes, it's tough and so much paperwork. For me it's easier because I'm a European citizen and moved within Europe, but it's still a hassle. I also cried A LOT in the last weeks cause its so hard, but getting to know new people definitely helps.
I think immersion is the best way to learn the language! Of course you need to study the grammar as a base, but to build your vocabulary, Just listen to audio books, podcasts, movies and so on. That's the best way to go! And talking to native speakers of course.
Your German was way better than I expected. When you understand the teacher without realizing she speaks German it's a sign that you've stopped translating everything in your head. Let us know when you start thinking in German ;)
Dear family, you are truly special! So much going on for so long and meanwhile all your videos contents were focused only on positive events and thaughts! Love you guys! I am happy that things are geting easier for you all. You deserve all the best.
That's so kind to say, thank you! Yes we did keep this to ourselves last summer. I was honestly too upset to talk about it and I wanted a solution before sharing about it. Whew! So glad this big hurdle is behind us!
Es ist schön Euch so fröhlich zu sehen, trotz der vielen unangenehmen Umstände! Bei Deiner Aussprache kannst Du Dir ja von Deinen Kindern helfen lassen. Macht weiter so, Ihr seid so liebenswert 🥰
Hello McFall family. I had to smile a little. We had the same problems when we lived in Washington for 5 years. We then spoke only English in the family one day a week (Saturday). The children and the parents! It was funny, after a while everything was looking forward to this funny day. Maybe a suggestion for them? It was easier to face this task as a family.
Sounds like real fun :)
Yes that is a great idea to have one day a week where you only speak German! Our kids may not like it at first, haha. They do hear and speak German 4-6 hours a day during the week, so they don't really need the practice. But Kevin and I could do it with each other. I do need to speak more German in order to do that, though.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife - That's why an Integrationskurs is not a bad idea to surpress people but to make them habitually talk, practice and progress together with others in your goal language. All your private personal efforts are well intended but the way is much more difficult and less effective.
@@Morewecanthink yeah I can see the value of the Integrationkurs for sure. I think it’s important with the high number of immigrants who come to Germany. I would actually like to take it, but it does not work at all with the schedule of a working parent - 5 days a week, 3 hours a day is just crazy for a working parent!
Peanut is an amazing cat. cheering and clapping in the background at the right moment... phantastic 😂
🤣🤣🐱🐱
I press all my thumbs for both of you everybody has struggels in his life and i hope that you overcome those.
OMG Sarah. Love hearing you speak German. You're doing such a great job and of course Kevin too. Btw, love your videos 🥰
Oh thank you! I was worried I was post this and it would sound soooo bad to Germans! ❤️
Liebe Sarah, viel Glück! Du schaffst es bestimmt!
Vielen dank!
Once you start dreaming having conversations in German using German words you actually never really knew, you've crossed a major milestone. It seems that in dreams we can put away with our mental blocks & fears (speaking German, or any other foreign language for that matter) much easier.
Yes so true! Our second-oldest son, Grayson, dreams in German. We can hear him speaking German in his sleep!
Sara, dein Deutsch ist schon sehr gut! Ich finde es toll, dass ihr schon so toll integriert seid! Ihr werdet sicher ganz schnell lernen :)
Wow, what a nice summary about your up and downs during your first year living here in Germany. And you should be very proud of yourself what you achieved so far. I'm also positive abour your language skills - and having kids in their age will help you as well. They might not always know why something is said as it is (like declining verbs) but they know how it is done as it will sound "natural" for them. And if you need any kind of help, don't hesitate to give us a shout - I'm sure many of your German followers and friends, me included will do.
Glad to hear it all worked out in the end. Don’t worry about the nitpickers that might mention different endings/declensions. You are doing great and I don’t see any problem understanding you.
Gorgeous landscape images.
Woowee! That all sounds sooo stressful.I’m so glad you have managed to find a solution. Look how far you have come with your German! Just keep it up! You will see that you think you aren’t marking progress, and then suddenly you will make a huge spring forward. At least that is now it worked for me over the last 20 plus years. Your family is amazing because you are so open and that is best advantage for progress.
You go girl!
I’m sorry you had to go through this!! Be proud of yourself for being resourceful and asking for help. I’m relieved they were flexible in the end (who would have thought that of German bureaucracy ;-) ). Oh and great job on you german learning. Your pronunciation is great!
Thank you so much, Jessica! Yes I'm so glad they were flexible in the end.
Dear Sarah, I am happy to hear that everything worked out for you. It's always a big step to move in another Country with all the bureaucracy there. But you had good friends who helped you. About your German it's fine so keep it up and speak as many as you can in German and you'll see it comes to you. Wish you and your family all the best. 😊
I am very sorry, you had such inconveniences. You speak absolutely lovely and you two are just adorable and - as a German I can say: surely most welcome. May only good experiences follow. Good luck for everything!
A couple of thoughts about your visa odyssey…
First, Ausländerbehörden vary greatly from region to region. Being that you are in rural southern Bavaria, it seems logical to me that their application of visa regulations will be less progressive than say in Berlin or Hamburg. I’m guessing that this wouldn’t have become an issue in Berlin to begin with.
Second, it’s wonderful to hear how you got support from the online expatriate community that helped you resolve this.
Third, I’m stunned that the agency you worked with wasn’t more proactive in resolving this with you. They are the paid professionals and should know not only the letter of the law, but also how it is practically applied and ideally also the regional pitfalls including the local political implications about how things actually work. The job of an immigration agent isn’t to passively bring you bad news, but to actively resolve such issues.
I come from NY State, which also doesn’t have a reciprocal agreement for drivers licenses, so I had to go through a similar process. That was more than 20 years ago.
Love your thoughts and agree with all of it! The immigration company didn’t do their job well.
It's also Bavaria...they are less friendly to immigrants than other states.
There's another channel from a Canadian in Dusseldorf, she made a whole video about how terrible tthe Auslanderbehorden are, and the local office ended up giving her an interview! So it may vary, but immigration is hard everywhere, and actually all over the world too (I've lived in the US, Germany, and now UK)
It's like that mostly everywhere. Even Frankfurt is pretty bad too!
We hired people from non-EU countries. It's always tough. Even though we hire highly qualified people, they made it really difficult.
It was easier in another case were I was in contact with an institution in Essen. They were great!
I think what makes extra trouble in your case, is the fact you are not an employee but self-employed. And than it is a digital business you could do from everywhere. It's to much for their brains to comprehend... German authorities and digital businesses, it is like fire and water... (it is sooo embarrassing! How bad they are! I'm soo ashamed! I work for an IT company and it feels like their are 100 years between me and them)
However, you are married. I thought that would help against some troubles.
Das sehe ich auch so. Wer die Leistung bezahlt, muss sie auch erhalten.
It hurt my soul to imagine how disappointed you cried on the train. You are doing everything you can and it has not been rewarded. I would like to hear in a video that you cried tears of joy. Good luck and success in everything that is to come. 🍀🎰🍀
Thank you so much, Michael. ❤️ We appreciate your support and kindness!
Oh, you 2 are practising soooo hard and German is really not simple, but it's coming! And it's great to hear that your kids are becoming so very well acclimatized, even Ella who was so terrified at her first day at the Kindergarten - and now look at her! I am very proud of you all lol! Ganz herzliche Grüße aus Mittelfranken!
Just finished watching this! I love 💕 all your vlogs (my Sunday morning routine), but this was one of my favorites! Both the subject and the cat (LOL!)! Having cats are never predictable!
I also appreciate your review and experience in Lingoda. With a month trip in June (visiting family as well exploring future relocation options), I’d love to improve my German. Thank you!
Also hope you are feeling better!
I usually commented in English. No need to any more! Tolle Fortschritte, Sarah! Sehr gut gemacht und auch die Aussprache ist ziemlich gut. Habt einfach das Selbstvertrauen zu sprechen. Viel Spaß weiterhin.
Ja, das Video war superehrlich! Alles Gute für Euch Lieben weiterhin. Danke für das Video! 😍💖
Ihr seid total liebe Leute! Jedes eurer Videos zaubert mir ein Lächeln auf mein Gesicht.
Vielen dank!
So happy you dared to try out speaking in German in this video! Sorry about all those hassles you are facing w immigration, drivers licence and insurance, but glad you have a great community helping you out as things get sorted.
When I first arrived in Vienna, I went to take a course for university students because I was trying to get my Master's degree recognized and it involved taking some courses required here -law related. Because we had no children at the time, it was easier time wise, and I spent my afternoons at the playgrounds to listen to the children and mums and then watched children's programs on TV, and on weekends my DH would invite his student friends and over wine, I could lose all inhibitions when trying out what I had learned that week. 🙂 I also picked out children's books at the library and read those to our nephews and nieces to their giddy delight.
Picking out children's books from the library is a great idea! Next week's video will be about how we are learning German for free, so I can add that tip.
Interesting Story, Connie.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife being able to read german was a major help for me as a kid. my family came over from russia and even though we are part of the "Russlanddeutsche" germans who were invited to settle in Russia by Cathrine the great in the 18th century we grew up at a the time when speaking german was basically banned in russia. so when we moved back to germany we all had to learn from scratch. And me being the literal definition of a bookworm I basically raided the local Library and got Comics kid's books and stuf and of course that boosted my abilty to learn. I was actually fluent in german in 3 months tops. ok being Graysons age at the time helped a lot too :D
Wow....this must have been a terrible time not knowing if or if not. I am so glad that everything worked out at the end. I am looking forward to all the videos you will post. Love to be part of your life.
Thank you, Ursula. ❤️
You guys are Awesome....
I used to live in different cities in Bavaria and I love Bayern so much.....
Love......from California
I love your attitude, enthusiasm and willingness to learn a new culture, language, etc . Your German is excellent and you will only get better and better and soon be speaking German effortlessly without realizing it. Love watching your adventures! All the best to you and your family.
You are soooo sweet. Einfach wunderbar wie viel mühe ihr euch gebt. Wir sind immer dankbar wenn versucht wird in unserer landesprache zu sprechen. Macht euch keine sorgen wenns nicht perfekt ist.. einfach drauflos da kann nichts schiefgehen. Als ich in amerika war hat mich nie jemand wegen meinem englisch ausgelacht und daher habe ich auch grossen respekt vor menschen die sich die mühe geben eine andere sprache zu lernen. Bravo und liebe grüsse aus der schweiz
Dear Sarah, no bleeding ears here what so ever. Just a little fond smile on how you struggle with some of the sounds. I've learned English in school from grades 5 till 13 as my first foreign language (adding Latin as my 2nd at grade 7), but during all that time I struggled with grammar and we hardly ever had to actually speak, so I was very insecure about it. I started a few pen friendships with people in Australia and the US, but those slowly tapered out over time with letters taking forever back and forth. But what helped me most to get comfortable in conversational English was reading books in English and later on watching reruns of US late night talkshows. I then met a bunch of wonderful friends through an artists forum and the rest is as they say history. Nowadays I consider myself fluent and am not too worried when the rare chance comes around where I might actually have to speak.
So my tip for faster learning conversational German is: watch German youtube videos, tv-shows and read books (maybe you do have a local library you can join so you don't need to buy books, also they often times have language learning materials available, or childrens books with simpler language) In any case, don't be ashamed to use "simple" or "child-level" materials to help you along. You are doing great!
It's lovely to hear your experience, I hope my move goes as easily.
I loved your german! As a native german speaker I can hardly imagine how difficult it must be because german is not easy! I learned english in school but after that I didn't stop and watched for example movies or documentarys in english and thank god there's the internet where you are always able to listen to english. I think I would have forgotten a lot without this! Even though I understand much better than I speak it myself. I guess it's the same with your german! 😊 So keep it up and don't be afraid to speak German!
I'm glad things turned out good for you. I saw your story on Instagram back then and thought "oh my, this is tough"! All the best for you!
Thank you for this informative video. As a German we never really know these things (obviously we dont have anyting to do with the immigration office). Still it’s important to know these things. I love to be helpful and engaged in social work, therefore its very helpful to know about that. In case i want to help a family to immigrate here, i learn a lot from you guys.
Also I can see a huge language improvement. And I am so excited to see your language journey over the next few months
Following you for a while, I find it very charming, that some of your german sounds bavarian 😊 (habe ich als Norddeutsche natürlich sofort bemerkt). Love your progress, you are doing just fine.
Danke für die Videos - es ist sooooo interessant eure Probleme und Erfahrungen zu hören. Es gibt eine andere Perspektive auf all die Vorschriften die mit einer Zuwanderung verbunden sind. Gut, dass ihr immer noch lachen könnt! You are such a nice couple, keep on going!
Vielen dank!
Sarah, my deepest respect for your courage, resolution and tenacity to overcome all the challenges which are thrown at you and our family. Learning German is definitely not an easy undertaking, especially when it comes to pronunciation and grammar (there are way too many exceptions). In addition, you have built your network of supporters helping you and your family in dealing with the Auslaenderbehoerde in a professional manner.
Learning a foreign language is done best by listening and talking and not being afraid of making mistakes. In addition it takes some courage and confidence to accept constructive and helpful remarks to improve your German. On top of it - living in rural Bavaria - you are exposed to a second type of the German language, which is the Bavarian dialect. Over time, it will seep into your vocabulary. You will have made your way into the German language when you dream in German.
Do not be afraid of making mistakes when you speak German, it can only get better.
Hallo liebe Sahra und Kevin,
Ich bin damals (seit Feb 2021 als ihr nach Deutschland gekommen seid) durch Zufall über euren Channel gestolpert und freue mich jeden Sonntag auf ein neu Video von euch.
Also Kopf nicht hängen lassen, wo eine Tür zugeht, geht woanders eine Tür wieder auf.
Lg Torsten W.
Wow This is fascinating & I learned so much. Thank you for sharing! My husband & I plan to move to Germany in the next few years.
Das wird schon. Heute schreibe ich euch nichts über Hausgeräte usw, sondern ich wünsche euch einfach viel Kraft und Mut.
Once you've got the basics down, I'd recommend you start reading German magazines and watch German movies or TV series with German subtitles.
You are such a sweet family. It is fun to watch.
Don't worry, you will achieve all your goals!
Liebe Sarsh! Dein
Deutsch ist toll. Ich würde mir wünschen das ich das alles so gut auf französische sagen könnte. Weiter so ihr macht das toll.
It is amazing, that you found a solution. Keep talking as much german as you can and you will achieve your B1 goal! Happy for you.
Seit ich auf euren Kanal gestoßen bin, schaue ich mit Begeisterung jedes Video an!
Die Art, wie ihr eure Herausforderungen gemeistert habt, verdient großen Respekt. Auch wird es euch Mut für die Zukunft geben. Dafür wünsche ich euch von Herzen alles Gute! Die Vielzahl an Kommentaren, die zu jedem eurer Videos abgegeben werden, halten mich zwar bisweilen davon ab, selbst einen zu geben. Doch diesen Wunsch möchte ich euch einfach mit auf den Weg geben.
Auch freut es mich jedesmal, wenn ihr in euren Videos deutsch redet. Klar gäbe es noch viel Verbesserungswürdiges; ich denke jedoch, dass es einfach nur wichtig ist, weiter auf Fortschritt bedacht zu sein und sich über Erreichtes zu freuen - so wie ihr es schon tut.
Einen kleinen Tipp möchte ich am Ende trotzdem noch gern anfügen: bei allem Fortschritt, darf man trotzdem nie die Basis vernachlässigen. Und in meinen Augen ist das die korrekte Aussprache. "Die Sprache macht den Menschen - die Herkunft ist es nicht!" (My fair Lady). Wie ihr es vielleicht wißt, wird in diesem Musical großen Wert auf eine gute Aussprache gelegt. Es hilft wirklich, insbesondere die Laute der jeweiligen Vokale (im Deutschen auch die der Umlaute) langsam und gedehnt immer und immer wieder zu üben (natürlich ohne Murmeln im Mund). So lernt man, sie klar hörbar voneinander zu unterscheiden. Aber vielleicht ist das ja in eurer Sprachschule bereits inkludiert.
Wenn ihr mögt und die Möglichkeit dazu habt, könnt ihr euch gern mit dem Musical-Film "My fair Lady" mit Audrey Hepburn (das Musical und den Film gibt es im Übrigen auch in einer hervorragenden deutschen Übersetzung) mal einen schönen Abend machen. Ich jedenfalls mag dieses Musical wirklich sehr.
Liebe Grüße an euch alle
Dein Deutsch klingt schon richtig gut! Übung macht den Meister ;-) Viel Erfolg!
You are a great family. Lots of love. Extremely glad it worked out for you. Geman bureaucracy is notorious, sometimes very tiring and too much, but on the other hand it makes (almost) everything work well. Sarah, your German is very good, I could understand you well.
Thank you so very much. ❤️🙏🏻 Vielen Vielen dank!
Oh wow! Your German is really good already! You are perfectly understandable! I am sure, you will learn more real quick.
Hey Sara,
Go for it! You doing great! Love you both! Greetings from the Black Forest ❣️👍🙋♀️🤩
Da ich auf die Schnelle keine Kommentare gefunden habe, die deine Frage zur pronunciation beantworten 'wir haben einen Hamster' und 'wir haben eine Tochter'. Aber mach dir keinen Kopf, deine deutsche Aussprache kann sich wirklich sehen lassen!
Wie viele andere schon geschrieben haben, mach dir keinen Druck perfekt sprechen zu können, sondern hab Freude am Lernen, dann bleibt es am besten hängen. Und Deutsch zu sprechen und zu verstehen ohne zu merken, dass man selbst Deutsch spricht, ist wirklich ein gutes Zeichen für deine enormen Fortschritte.
Ich schaue deine Videos sehr gerne, mach weiter so!
I'm not American, I'm not German and I don't live in Germany, but I'm also an expat and I can totally relate with your struggles with the residence permit and the health insurance. Thank God you managed a better solution and don't need to go for those integration lessons! I love to watch your videos and can't wait for the next one 💗
¡Hi! I just read your comment. I am having struggles with the health insurance here in Germany too, and I was wondering if you could help me. I'm already in Germany and I will apply for a residence permit, but I don't know which health insurance should I get? I can't join the public insurance, so I need a private one that accomplish the requirements of the residence permit. Maybe you could recommend me one? Thank a lot in advance! :)
How about you add a little "german section" in every upcoming video from now on? It would give yourself a little challenge and you could imagine how amazing it will be to look back in three years and see how well you have developed.
Hi I just found your channel this weekend. I’m loving it. We are a HH of 7 with 3 generations. 6 of the 7 are planning to move to Germany. I’m German born and have family in northern Germany. Your experiences are helping. Especially the school experience. We will be bringing 3 little ones. Keep the videos coming.
So glad you’re enjoying our videos and that they’re helping you with your move! We wish you all the best!
Thanks, will let you know how it goes.
If you are interested.
I love your videos and always look forward to new vids every week. I always wanted to learn a new language and you've sort of helped inspire me to take the plunge. My spouse lived in Italy for almost 2 years and is fluent so I decided to work on italian and hopefully in time be able to start speaking only italian at home. I've been doing Duolingo(free) and Babbel together for about a month. I'm really enjoying it (most days). I had wanted to do Lingoda but they don't offer italian - I'm hoping maybe that will change in the future. My fluent friends say that if the kids are mostly fluent now that you'll really kickstart your skills if you commit to speaking ONLY german at home for a few hours a day or maybe a couple days a week (whatever schedule works for you). Ciao
Dont worry about the conjugation of verbs or declination of nouns. Not to bring you down, but especially when the sentences are a bit simpler it is very easy to get what you mean. But for me it always helps to know that if I just cant think of the right form of the word I can use the infinitive or the nominative.
Sarah I am blown away by how you have picked up so much German in such a short period of time!!! You should be very proud of yourself honestly!!!
5:24 Volkshochschule VHS. You can find one of those in every district / neighbourhood. Best of luck 🤞
Oh, oh, that must have been a very, very hard time. I am sooooo sorry. Thank you for telling us how people have to fight coming to Germany
just letting you know, i'd never heard of you blog, somehow through the randomness of youtube your video was on my list and i clicked on it.. but you two are so great on camera love the channel its so interesting it reminds me of a video version of those " i live in X country" blogs was the early 2000's
Thank you so much!
I can relate to so much of your stress! We arrived in Leipzig, Germany last July and it's been quite the adventure. We're actually still waiting on our Visas (the Ausländerbehörde is apparently really busy right now and told us to just keep waiting). The insurance situation for us was difficult as I'm a freelancer. And getting our kids into school was crazy. We have two in Gymnasium and one in Grundschule, and it took until this week to get our youngest into Kindergarten. But even with all of that, we're loving our life here and everything our family is getting to experience! I'm hoping to add some videos to our channel to share some of our story as well, since there's not too many families like you who are sharing their journies. Hope you have some smooth sailing going forward!
Es hätte mich sehr gewundert, wenn Ihr nicht an irgendeiner Stelle mit der berühmt-berüchtigten deutschen Bürokratie aneinandergeraten wärt. Wenn das so ausgegangen ist und ein gut formulierter Brief die Situation klären konnte, könnt Ihr Euch wirklich glücklich schätzen.
Sara - dein Deutsch war nicht halb so schlimm, wie Du glaubst. Es war alles gut zu verstehen. Macht einfach weiter so.
I love to see your videos.
Very refreshing video ... thanks!
German is a difficult language and your German is already very good. I think you're at a point where all you have to do is practice in everyday life. Learn by doing. Don't stress and pressure yourself for perfect grammar. No need for that. I am the Kiita-Leitung in my Kindergarten and I am always love to see the progress of the children and their families in learning our difficult language. Children always learning so fast and I always recommend that parents use this as an opportunity to practice. The children are really proud if they can help their parents to learn something. You can be really proud of what you have already mastered in this one year here in Germany!
Sara, so glad you were able to work all of that out. How stressful that must have been! But I imagine there are lots of twists and turns when immigrating to another country including the US! Proud of your learning German! I have a few apps that I'm using to learn at least some basics for my trip this summer. I hope a vid on how you got Peanut over to Germany is on your list. Would be most appreciated! Tschuss!
She should have applied for asylum in Germany! Then all of this wouldn't be a problem and she would even get money from the state for nothing! ;)
Ihr passt einfach hierher. Ich denke, es wird schon gutgehen. Viel Glück .
Danke!
First of all - Your german is great! I am sure you will be able to pass all the required tests in no time!
I am so glad going through the whole bureaucracy nonsense ended well for you! Seeking out help from a friend was the best step you could have taken! I helped a few people that imigrated to Germany by writing letters for them and/or going to see people at the different Offices directly. Every single time the issues they had were resolved after a few days/weeks. It is sad that bureaucracy makes it so difficult for people that want to live and integrate themselfs here. I hope you are not to disheartened by all of this! You guys are doing great and i love the positivity in all of your videos!
It's so sweet, when you speak German! Sometimes you ignore Umlaute and sometimes you put some, where none ist meant. I will start saying "genüg" now! And I love Kevin's German having that Swedish accent.
You're so sweet people! Love to watch you! ❤️
I am so glad, that you got some help with your immigration and language issues. It must have been very stressful for you. Dealing with bureaucracy in any country can be hair raising, particularly for foreigners. Some bureaucrats can be inflexible, and don't want to think or act outside the box to truly help. My brother who is German, went through a bureaucracy ordeal in Spain recently. He told me, if you think German bureaucracy is bad, think again. He was ready to pull out his hair. As far as language is concerned, just practice speaking it with your kids and Kevin, even if it's just for a few minutes at a time. It will come to you, the more you practice. You've got this! :)
I admire how you and your family took the chance to work snd live in another country. You are all doing great with your German! Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much!
Glad it worked out eventually. This sounds so typical and the "solution" was also textbook, i am absolutely not surprised. That whole ordeal was a good lesson in how to approach these things in Germany.
Yes it was a good lesson! Now I know that what the government tells me to do isn't always final - this will help us so much going forward!
Ooooooohhh! 🥰 Ihr macht das alles sooo wunderbar und ich freue mich MEGA für euch, dass wieder etwas geklappt hat. Wie es euch in den furchtbaren drei Monaten erging, kann ich mir kaum vorstellen. Gut, dass ihr das überstanden habt. Auch die anderen Probleme werdet ihr meistern.
Liebe Sarah, dein Deutsch ist absolut angemessen und gut verständlich. :) Danke, dass du das mit uns geteilt hast. Nun bin ich schon sehr gespannt auf Kevins Deutsch sowie natürlich auf eure Fortschritte. :)
PS: Früher habe ich auf Englisch kommentiert, aber das habe ich diesmal bewusst nicht gemacht. Ihr wollt ja Deutsch lernen. ;)
ALLES GUTE WEITERHIN UND BIS BALD!!! ☺
I have a lot of respect for anyone learning a language, especially as an adult! One quick tip: Learn to distinguish ä/a ö/o ü/u, these make big difference in the ears of the natives:)
As someone whose mother tongue is English and also learned German as an adult, being able to distinguish between those sounds took my brain years. It didn't matter that people repeated the correct pronunciation ultra slowly - my brain just couldn't register/hear those extremely fine auditory nuances. It took literally years of fine tuning until I was finally able to hear and reproduce those sounds correctly.
Sara, so happy you don't have to take the integration course, you found a solution! What an experience! Love watching your videos!
Sara, you're doing great! Perhaps try to find a tv program you enjoy and watch tv regularly. But choose carefully, you don't want to pick up a dialect by chance, but 'proper Hochdeutsch'. Even a children show like "Die Sendung mit der Maus" could be helpful. When I moved to the UK I watched the reruns of 'Friends' and it did help quite a bit. Your pronunciation reminds me sometimes almost of a Scandinavian language because of the rolling 'r' - but then again, it's more likely to be a Bavarian 'r'. Soon we're in February and I'm already very much looking forward to 'The one with the anniversary' :) Take care, you've achieved so so much in a short period of time and have every reason to be very proud. x
Viel Erfolg beim Lernen der deutschen Sprache. Ihr hattet Recht, es ist EINE Tochter :) Es gibt nichts so spannendes/ aufregendes wie das Erlernen einer neuen Sprache, vor allem wenn man merkt, dass man reden kann ohne sich die Sätze im Kopf übersetzen zu müssen!