禁漫天堂

You better engage a good immigration lawyer (and maybe business startup consultant).
These are very compligated topics in Germany which, as you have encountered, even native-speaking officials don't really understand. A lawyer can probably push it through in your favour. Good luck!

Yeah, this can be very complicated and I am not a legal expert on it but know a lot from experience. It would help if one could trace WHOM your confirmation came from. Like if your documents are all OK but sitting in someone鈥檚 desk drawer without being entered in the computer system and if so why?

Selbst盲ndig means self-employed. Freiberuflich is a special category thereof that pertains to certain jobs like independent journalists and artists or performers. Usually to run a business of any kind you need a commercial license (Gewerbschein) in addition to getting permission to immigrate. A Freiberufler doesn鈥檛 need such a license. So whether you would qualify as a Freiberufler depends on what you are doing 鈥� it鈥檚 not a matter of simply choosing to be one or not.

But even being a Freiberufler is not a magical solution to getting a residency permit. They will want to see evidence that you have a viable chance of making a living. I am in this category but had it easier because I married a German. A friend of mine is a professional performer and he managed in W眉rzburg to get his Aufenhaltserlaubnis by showing that he was regularly getting hired on cruise ships and would be able to make a decent living. This means a residency permit between 6 to 24 months (last I heard) and one never knows how long they actually will renew it for 鈥� if at all.

If one isn鈥檛 making money or getting their taxes filed on time or have had some kind of legal problems then any extension might be for a shorter rather than longer period, again if at all. In the end there is a lot of discretion on the part of the official deciding your case. Without being married, a foreigner never has a RIGHT to residency even if you fulfill all of the stated requirements. One needs to fulfill their expectations to have a chance.

Given the same facts one official might refuse your residency while another will grant it. Realistically, one has not a lot of chance of being rejected by on official and then trying to get it reviewed by another in the same office as they tend to stick together. But if one moves to another city then you have an opportunity with other workers who might be more open to one鈥檚 situation.

A lawyer? No thanks. Lawyers are crooks and they do little to nothing for the amount they are overpaid.

So my fate rests in the hands of someone's mood... basically that is what you're saying.
I have proven that I am successful in the states and owned two businesses there and have money in the bank, also I gave them a ridiculous amount of information, documents, accounts, diplomas, certifications, etc...

It has been four months now. Still no Aufenthaltserlaubnis.聽 Everybody keeps telling me it should be no problem because I have an advanced degree and I am American.
Bullshit.

I have now been to the KVR 8 times, each time waiting in line for about 3 hours. No results! Nothing!

Question: What is the hold-up? Everyone seems to be getting their work permits just fine. Am I on some kind of red flag list?

Can anyone help?

Is this of any help?

Of course lawyers are crooks - and bureaucrats aren't any better. But if you refuse their help, you might not make it because of this. It's your choice, but you must realise you're the beggar here.

Well, I am also very skeptical about lawyers but sometimes they are necessary. I actually used a lawyer years ago who was based in Munich but don鈥檛 for the life of me remember his name as it鈥檚 been 20 years. But he was competent and fair, so they do exist.聽

But yes, to a degree one can be dependent on someone鈥檚' mood. The point is that there is often a lot of discretion involved when they make a decision. This means one can present themselves as well as possible but there is never a guarantee one will get a permit. But this is also a point for having a lawyer. They take it more serious when one has legal representation and one specialized in the field will know the real ins and outs.

Going back a few decades, an American passport got one cut a lot of slack in Germany. Those times are over. Not that it's bad like say a North Korean passport but it carries no magic either. But what does it bring to ask such questions about what the holdup is? You tell us. How can anybody else know? Either you get a lawyer or find someone with a good connection to the people in the deciding office or else you will simply be dependent on their good will. Rejecting considering a lawyer but expecting that anyone on this site can help is rather delusional. Sorry if the answers you get are not the ones you hoped to get鈥� but you seem to be looking for an easy answer that doesn鈥檛 exist.

SimCityAT wrote:

Is this of any help?

The local Verbraucherzentrale is always a good thing to know about. They are a consumer protection ombudsman. They can often help when there are conflicts with say a shop that doesn鈥檛 want to honor the guarantee on a product or a contract dispute with one鈥檚 cell phone service provider.聽 But I really doubt they are responsible for such legal situations. Yet they might have a list of recommendable local lawyers鈥� or be able to give a hint where you might find such a list.

It is not HELP they give. Believe me, I have experience with a lot of attorneys. 99% of them care about one thing only: Billable hours.

So again, no thanks on the attorney front. They are of ZERO benefit.

Oh, I'm not looking for an easy answer as there never is one. I am simply stating that A LAWYER is NOT the answer here. Lawyers are crooks, as I have said before, at least the majority.

I am looking for a more informed answer. That is all. It's okay if you do not have the information I am seeking. In that case it might be better to just not reply.


Good luck.

This response actually has some valuable information. Very nice!

Thank you!

Are there no free ones in Germany? In Austria and UK there are Free lawyers and give advice to citizens. WE also have Expat centres that are free.

For your personal privacy, no government office is going to give any information out to someone about your case unless it is you directly or a legal representative. And if they are not being open with you about what is going on, then nobody can do more than speculate at best.

I truly understand your attitude towards lawyers but for something鈥檚 they are unavoidable. Up to you but like I mentioned maybe an organization like the Verbraucherzentrale can recommend one. Or you can try personal contacts to recommend someone. It may very well come down to deciding to find a lawyer and give them a chance or give up.

In response to SIMCityAT鈥檚 question about free lawyers; I鈥檝e never heard of such a thing in Germany. Maybe if one is destitute and facing a criminal charge they would be given free representation but not for such a thing.

You might wish to try this link聽

Well, you seem to want only answers you like. Unfortunately the real situation is this:
- German offices must process an application within three months (unless of course reasons beyond their control delay the process)
- If they don't, you can sue them to become active ("Inaktivitaetsklage" - there really is such a thing!)
- Suing is ONLY possible with a lawyer, and lawyers are legally obliged to charge you their listed (high) fees. There is NO free legal advice allowed in Germany - if you're poor you might get the fees covered by the government ("Beratungsschein").

Thus you have exactly three possible paths forward:
1. You are as nice as possible to the bureaucrats and beg to be given what you need (this is unlikely to work, as you already experienced).
2. You engage a lawyer and sue (this is most likely to succeed, but you don't like it).
3. You give up and move on.

Now you have all the information there is. No point discussing this further.
(Ever heard of Don Quixote and his fight with the windmills? Do not follow his example!)

SimCityAT wrote:

You might wish to try this link聽

This is a website where one can pose a question to a lawyer for free, not get legal representation. It is basically a marketing strategy for the lawyers to get clients because if they take on your case it will NOT be for free. It's like having a roofer give a free estimate聽 on how much it will cost to replace your roof. The estimate is free, the roof replacement not. But sure, it is a start to give an overview and hear what they say. A competent response might be to say one has no chance or to give some idea of the probability of winning a case and under what assumptions.

So how is this any different than going to a local lawyer鈥檚 office and presenting your problem and asking what they think and how much it might cost if they take it on? I鈥檝e never paid for such initial advice. But especially if they see little chance for one to win, it is a good thing to know. Being informed is always good.

But since you do have qualifications, then I suspect that you should have a chance. It would be a shame if you gave up without having tried a lawyer. But such is the system in Germany and especially Bavaria. I had some stress from the police in Munich years ago for street performing. They claimed certain regulations that I knew could not be true but refused to give any validation. So I went to the government office in Munich that would regulate such things. They confirmed that the police were wrong. I asked if I couldn鈥檛 have a copy of the relevant laws and they said 鈥渘o鈥�.

And one will not find an open database of German laws or court decisions in the internet. Some information is available, much is not. The public is ruled by laws that they often have no access to see. Or the police or whatever officials often claim a regulation that they might have misinterpreted if not outright made up.

Researching on one鈥檚 own, the best one can hope for is to find a reference to a law or decision in an article. For example, there are organizations like the ADAC, the German Automobile Club and magazines about cars. They often publish articles about driving or parking regulations and what might have been decided in a court case. This alone will not win one a similar case but gives a contacted lawyer a reference point. Another possibility is on certain legal forums where lawyers will discuss certain subjects. Just a matter of luck if one finds a matching topic.

Plus I have seen myself how judges in Germany can be totally incompetent or simply decide contrary to every fact presented. So even having the rules on one鈥檚 side does not necessarily mean one will win in court. Judges tend to side with police and government officials, sometimes to the point of collusion. What this means is (not to give up hope) that one really needs a good lawyer and to make a good impression in a court case because many things can be subjectively decided.

What Tominstuttgart describes above is no different from most other countries, incl. USA.

beppi wrote:

What Tominstuttgart describes above is no different from most other countries, incl. USA.

I think there is a lot of corruption and judges tend to favor the police and prosecutors everywhere. But I think in the USA one has a right to get to see what the laws are - or at least until Trumps tramples on these rights as well.

Also, for criminal cases one gets a free lawyer appointed if they cannot pay. Of course such lawyers are over-worked and often not the best, so of questionable value. But this were even the case in Germany, it would be a catch-22 since they don鈥檛 want to accept anyone as an immigrant if they are destitute鈥�

- All German laws are published and easily available, e.g. at (an official government webpage). However, many procedures are detailed in regulations ("Verordnung"), which are not all available on the Internet. But the authority in charge must have a copy and show it to you on demand.

- There is no free legal advice in Germany. I stand by my words here. The lawyer's trade association has made sure that they have no free competition and all must charge the same prescribed rates for the same service. I dislike this, too, but it won't change any time soon.

- You get a free (i.e. government-paid) lawyer ("Pflichtverteidiger") if you are accused of a criminal offence and cannot afford one. What Tom said about their quality is true in Germany, too. But this is off-topic here, as no crminal act is discussed.

- I doubt that there is a lot of corruption in Germany at the lower ranks we're talking about here - after all there's no money to be made. But of course judges tend to side with the authorities, as everywhere. (That's what I meant by fighting against the windmills.)

beppi wrote:

- All German laws are published and easily available, e.g. at (an official government webpage). However, many procedures are detailed in regulations ("Verordnung"), which are not all available on the Internet. But the authority in charge must have a copy and show it to you on demand.

Interesting, I've never seen this site. Seems to cover German national laws but not city or State ones per se which as I mentioned I've been refused to get to see by government officials in Munich. A complication is always how the laws have been interpreted by the courts as the theory of precedent by judicial decision is not the same in Germany as in the States. Theoretically, one could have a case that is essentially identical to one that was decided by a high court but still have to contend it and possibly get a different result. Also, in Germany, if the State is not happy with a decision they can appeal it. In the States if one is found innocent, of a criminal offence at least, one cannot be tried again for the same offense. In Germany they can!

We are not discussing a criminal case here but it is important that an American is aware that the legal systems can have some major differences. But immigration laws must be national ones so I would think any that apply here would have to be available. But the status of ones application to immigrate or why it is being held up is another matter...

A friend of mine once said, about laws of another country (but the same applies to Germany as well): "It's their ball and their court, so you better play by their rules!"

beppi wrote:

A friend of mine once said, about laws of another country (but the same applies to Germany as well): "It's their ball and their court, so you better play by their rules!"

Good point. I have no interest to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different systems - just to make it clear how it works here in Germany. And not to insult my fellow Americans but one is brought up there to believe America is the best and greatest. Even those who don't fall for such blatant nationalism still tend to compare everything else to how it is done in America since they don't know anything else. It's thus easy for an American to make false assumptions about things that are considered basic rights or ways of doing things.

But I think Beppi and I are both in agreement that if immigration officials don't properly process an application there is probably no other effective strategy short of getting a lawyer.聽 Theoretically, someone here could relate that they had a similar situation. But even a small difference can be relevant in such matters. And say, someone had the exact same situation, how would that really help other than to know there is a possibility of a similar outcome? Telling the officials about another case鈥檚 outcome will not force their hand to react the same way.

Tom, I agree about the blatant nationalism in the U.S. It is beamed into us through mass media our whole lives and unless one has traveled, one tends to believe that America is number 1, when in fact without a proper socialized Education system and Healthcare system, it is sorely lacking, not to mention all the corruption and greed that dwarfs such things in Germany. Having lived in Germany before I am familiar with its systems and that is why it is so perplexing to have this happen. This is not the norm. I will look into that law about processing time. I have lived in many different countries and have never had anything like this happen before...

Again, thanks for the suggestion on the attorney front, but that brings nothing. I have too much experience with attorneys.

Good luck.