Getting Started & Finding a Flat

Planning a move to Germany or just arrived? Work permits, bank accounts, apartments, health insurance and more? We've got it covered to get you set up right! Full video workshop length: ca. 1 hour and 20 minutes.

1. Introductions & Overview of Content

2. Before you leave: Temporary Accommodation

3. Registering your address

4. Booking an appointment for a residency permit

5. Getting health insurance

6. Pension, unemployment and other insurances

7. Opening a bank account

8. Getting phone and internet

9. Renting: Neighborhoods, prices & key terms

10. Searching for flats: How to use Immobilienscout

11. Paperwork: Application documents & the lease

12. Finding a flat: A few extra tips

Downloadable Resources:

(PDF) Finding a Flat Handout (includes rental price map of Berlin, flat-hunting vocab, email template requesting viewings, cover letter for applying for a flat, a checklist of needed forms, and links for helpful resources)

(PDF) Registration Form (Anmeldeformular) Blank

(JPG) Registration Form (Anmeldeformular) Filled Out (example)

(PDF) Landlord Permission (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) Blank

(JPG) Landlord Permission (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) Filled Out (example)

Childcare in Berlin

Finding a Kita spot is currently one of the biggest challenges parents in Berlin face – expats and Germans alike! Let Expath co-founder Tia walk you through the process in our online seminar "Finding a Kita and Childcare Options in Berlin".

1. Introductions

2. Understanding childcare options (kids 1-6)

3. Applying for a Kita voucher

4. Temporary childcare solutions

5. What else do you need to know about Kitas?

Related Links:

Berlin.de official page for Kita voucher guidelines and application - https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324873/
Kita search sites - www.kita.de, www.kitanetz.de, http://daks-berlin.de/, http://www.kita-suche.berlin/
Extra Arms Nanny Agency - http://extra-arms.com/

Downloadable Resources:

German email templates for contacting Kitas (if you're using Chrome, right-click link and download)
Database of bilingual or international Kitas and schools (Google Sheets link)
A filled-out example of the application for a Kita voucher (note: yours may require different answers!)

Freelancing in Germany

Planning to work as a freelancer, self-employed or in a trade in Germany (and not sure about the difference)? Find out everything you need about taxes, invoices, budgets, insurances, the laws governing your website and marketing, and more! Full workshop length: 1 hour and 19 minutes.

1. Overview of workshop topics

2. (Self-)employment, freelance, or Gewerbe

3. Business types - sole proprietorship vs. company

4. Getting a tax number and creating invoices

5. Income tax - who pays what, when?

6. VAT - who pays what, when?

7. Health insurance - the public and private systems

8. The social insurance system & Künstlersozialkasse

9. Other insurances - liability, renter's, and more

10. Creating a budget & calculating your rates

11. Protecting against 'Scheinselbständigkeit'

12. Making a contract, dealing with non-payers

13. Special points about company name & website

14. Special points about email marketing

15. Conclusion, questions & feedback

Downloadable Resource:

(PDF) Freelancing Checklist and Resources

Getting your Freelance Work Permit (Berlin only)

Planning to work as a freelancer in Berlin but don't have a work permit? This workshop is for all non-EU citizens who need clear and detailed information about the requirements and processes involved with getting a work permit. Full workshop length: 1 hour and 2 minutes.

1. Intro

2. Booking Your Appointment Online

3. Checklist of Documents

4. Form: Antrag (Application)

5. Financing Plan

6. Revenue Forecast

7. Letters of Intent

8. Your CV and Qualifications

9. Health Insurance and Pension

10. Your Appointment and Conclusions

Downloadable Resource:

(PDF) CV template – an English-language, German-format CV

Getting Your Freelance Artist Visa (Berlin only)

Planning to work as a freelance artist in Berlin and need a visa? Find out everything you need about the requirements and processes involved! Full workshop length: 1 hour and 11 minutes.

1. Intro

2. Booking Your Appointment Online

3. Checklist of Documents

4. Form: Antrag (Application)

5. Financing Plan

6. Revenue Forecast

7. Letters of Intent

8. Your CV, Degrees and Portfolio

9. Health Insurance

10. At Your Appointment and Conclusions

Downloadable Resource:

(PDF) CV template – an English-language, German-format CV

Finding a Job in Germany

Struggling or don't know where to look? Don't speak German yet? Here are the best strategies, resources and tools you need to start working in Germany as an expat! Full workshop length: 3 hours and 14 minutes.

1. Introduction to the Finding a Job in Germany workshop

2. What job exist in Germany people who don't speak German?

3. What kinds of jobs are available in which German cities?

4. How are entrepreneurs, employees, and freelancers different?

5. How to get a tax number in Germany and start invoicing

6. How do freelancers go about filing their taxes in Germany?

7. What types of work permits are there for non-EU citizens?

8. Is the Work & Travel / Youth Mobility visa a good option in Germany?

9. What are other types of work permits (e.g. job search, internship, guest researcher)?

10. What do international applicants do wrong in their job applications in Germany?

11. What belongs and doesn't belong in a German-style CV/resume ?

12. What do applicants have to write in a German cover letter?

13. What else is necessary in a job application in Germany?

14. How are job interviews different in Germany compared to elsewhere?

15. How to network effectively and find excellent resources for the job hunt in Germany

16. Conclusions

IMPORTANT UPDATE: as of May 2016, important changes may affect which health insurance is accepted for freelance/self-employed work permits. Read more here.

Downloadable Resources:

(PDF) Jobs & networking resources – a comprehensive list of online resources for finding a job and networking, broken down by industry/sector and other categories

(PDF) CV template – an English-language, German-format CV

(PDF) Cover letter template – an English-language cover letter to adapt to your needs

How German Grammar Works

Struggling with cases, gender, and word order in German? We've got everything you need to know, in clear English. Full workshop length: 2 hours and 56 minutes.

1. Actions with "what"

2. Actions without "what"

3. Can these overlap?

4. What are subjects and objects?

5. How do subjects and objects differ in English?

6. How do subjects and objects look in German?

7. Who loves whom and how genders help

8. Intro to nominative and accusative cases

9. Prepositions and how they tie into all this

10. Summary of everything so far

11. What does the dative case look like?

12. Almost all prepositions and what they trigger

13. How movement and location tie into the cases

14. The difference between movement and location

15. How do you say 'to put' in German?

16. What's allowed in a German sentence?

17. How do adjectives behave in this system?

18. Excellent examples for adjective declension

19. Other articles and how they behave in German

20. A more natural way to get endings right

21. How do reflexive verbs work in German?

22. How verbs with prepositions work fit into this

23. (Briefly) How does the genitive case work?

24. The cases summarized in three simple rules

25. How sentence structure differs from English

26. Questions, commands, statements in German

27. Where everything goes in a German sentence

28. Der, die, and das: Tricks to guess genders better

29. Conclusions

Downloadable Resources:

(PDF) Prepositions and Cases – A handy diagram of German prepositions (with translations) and which case they effect.

(PDF) Prepositions of Movement and Location – An illustration of what kind of movement is expressed with which prepositions and their cases

(PDF) Articles and Adjective Declination – Example sentences to learn in order to get a feeling for the connections, as well as a useful declination table

(PDF) Articles and Adjective Declination – A comprehensive list of articles and which way the following adjectives will end

(PDF) Case Rules – A brief review of what causes which cases

(PDF) Sentence Structure – An illustration of where verbs are located in the different clauses in German

Special offers for our partners at BIMM!

Small groups - Great teachers - Low prices!

There's more: Expath's online seminars for expats!

Getting Started & Finding a Flat

Childcare in Berlin

Freelancing in Germany

Downloadable Resource:

Getting your Freelance Work Permit (Berlin only)

Getting Your Freelance Artist Visa (Berlin only)

Finding a Job in Germany

How German Grammar Works

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