For citizens of the European Union

For talents from within the European Union, thanks to the freedom of movement, you can travel to Germany without a visa or a residence permit and stay here for a period of three months. The documents you will need for entering the country are either a valid passport or an ID card. The only “formal” thing you have to do is to register at the Resident's Registration Office of the municipality in which you are living, as soon as you have moved into a house or apartment. There are no restrictions regarding access to employment and self-employment in Germany for you or your family. As an EU citizen, you automatically receive the right to permanent residence in another EU country after an uninterrupted legal residence of at least 5 years in that country. More information can be found here.

For citizens from outside the EU: special law for IT professionals For IT specialists from outside the European Union, Germany created some special laws to enable career and development opportunities. In particular, there are three possible ways to relocate to Germany as an IT professional:

1. EU Blue Card: If you have an academic degree in IT as well as a specific job offer in Germany, you may receive an EU Blue Card. It is important to know that you must earn a minimum salary in your job for that visa type. Nonetheless, the EU Blue Card is an exceptionally popular residence permit with many advantages. The requirements for this residence permit are:

• a German degree, or a foreign higher education degree that is comparable to a German one

• a concrete job offer from a company in Germany

• job offer with a gross annual income that is at least as high as a specific minimum salary amount that is updated and published every year (e.g. € 43,992.00 in 2022 for the fields of mathematics, IT, natural sciences, engineering, and human medicine).
  

2. Work visa for qualified professionals: A residence permit for qualified employment (according to Section 18a and 18b (1) AufenthG) might be the right option for you, if you acquired your IT skills during an apprenticeship, for example. The same conditions apply, if you have a university degree in IT, yet the job position you have found does not meet the requirements for the EU Blue Card.

• qualifications must be either recognized in Germany or comparable to those from a German higher education institution

• a concrete job offer from a company in Germany

• if over 45: minimum salary amount (updated yearly) or proof of adequate provision for retirement
  

3. Working as an IT specialist/residence permit for other types of work: Even if you have neither any formal qualifications nor a university degree, you can still obtain a visa and work as an IT specialist in Germany. Therefore, certain prerequisites must be met, such as

• a specific job offer in the IT sector

• at least three years of experience in IT over the last seven years

• proof of relevant theoretical knowledge in the form of training courses and exams

• potential job offer with a gross annual salary that is at least as high as a specific minimum salary amount that is updated and published every year.

• Minimum B1 level of German language (not necessary if the spoken language at work is not German)

More information can be found here.

Once both sides have signed the contract, we lose no time.

The final length of the process depends on various factors such as your current place of residence (EU vs. non-EU, as explained in Section What are the legal requirements for a successful relocation to Germany?), availability of the required documents, and clarification of individual questions in advance.

For citizens of the European Union

EU members can move and register their place of residence immediately after signing the contract and preparing the required documents. This takes only a few weeks.

For citizens from outside the EU

If you are from a non-EU country, the process duration also depends on the availability of appointments at the embassy, as well as the recognition of your qualification. On average, it takes about 2-3 months until you arrive in Leipzig and change your residence. In individual cases, it might take longer. After that, for non-EU members, the main thing left to do is the final approval of the Blue Card or other kind of residence permit once they arrive in their new hometown.

For visa and relocation processes, costs are incurred by authorities. There are many different costs to consider, like travel, moving, flat, furniture, visa, and other miscellaneous things. Optimax will cover the relocation costs for you and your family, including travel costs, visa costs, and the costs of getting you and your family a residence permit.

The costs for arranging a visa depend on where you come from, and which visa you are planning to receive. The main costs here are the translator services, a notary if needed, and visa fees.

For the first three months in Leipzig, Optimax will provide you with an apartment, so that you can relax a bit after your arrival, get to know the city and workplace, and organize other stuff like registration and so on. We are partnering with a professional serviced apartment provider, that is located within walking distance of the office. During this period, you can start searching for a proper accommodation, and we’ll be happy to assist you in this matter, e.g., organizing viewing appointments or helping you with the formalities.

Of course, in addition to you, we also take care of your family holistically in the relocation process. No matter whether you are relocating alone, with a partner, with children, or with pets – we have gained a lot of experience and always found an individual solution. Depending on the age of your children and whether you are married or not, there are different steps that we discuss with you transparently and individually.

The documents required for the visa differ on the kind of visa you are applying for and if you bring a family or not. In general, the following documents are the most important ones:

• work contract (issued by Optimax)

• education certificates

• passport and passport photos

• if necessary: marriage certificates, birth certificates from your children (apostilled, when not issued by EU authorities)

- if you bring your children, please don't forget vaccination records, as for example the vaccination against measles is mandatory

The documents needed for the embassy always depend on the individual situation – we will make sure to give you in-depth information about what is required as soon as possible after the signing of the work contract.

The main language spoken at work is English, so there is no need to speak German when you arrive. Although most of the inhabitants of Leipzig can speak at least a little English, we would recommend learning at least some German after you arrived in your new hometown. Optimax also organizes German language courses (at different levels) that you can attend if you want. We cover the costs because we think we can help you to settle down faster in your new home country.

Your pets are part of the family. Of course, we will make sure that they can travel safely with you to Leipzig. This is not a problem in the case of small animals (e.g., cats or dogs).

We value your need for location-independent work. Nevertheless, relocation to Leipzig is necessary for us after a few months at the latest, as we rely on quick, direct, and personal communication due to our business model. This is best done on-site in our beautiful office. You will understand what we mean once you are here. Of course, there is still the possibility to work from home on some days. If you do have concerns, feel free to contact us. Of course, we react to extraordinary circumstances accordingly (e.g., pandemic-related).

We understand that relocating to another country is not an easy step and that you currently have to overcome numerous doubts, unanswered questions, and uncertainty.

Based on our experience with the relocation of different teammates, we have the ideal contacts who will be happy to tell you from their perspective how it feels to master this step together. We can also forward short questions to them beforehand. Just contact our HR team (hr@optimax-energy.de) if you have any questions, and we will forward your request to them. Anyway, you will get to talk to a relocated colleague during our hiring process.