Planning and costs

During the first few weeks of your arrival in Germany there is a lot to organise. Everything is new, not just the language. The culture, finding your way around, the weather, but also the famous German bureaucracy! Without the language and a good understanding of how things work here it’s impossible to get things done and to begin the process of settling in without a massive amount of stress (not to mention the new job you will be starting).

We wanted to make this overwhelming experience less stressful so you can arrive in Germany (with or without family) and know that someone will be there to accompany you through the initial process. In a short time (‘short’ is always relative!) we hope you’ll feel you have begun to arrive, and, even though there will still be things to organise, you’ll then know where to look for what you need.

Everyone’s different

Not everyone needs the same assistance. Some companies prefer to organise most things themselves, or perhaps, after a week or so you feel confident enough to manage things alone. Our experience shows that moving here alone, with a partner or with children can make a massive difference to the potential level of stress you experience. Our service is based upon getting to know you personally so that we can help you to make a clear plan and be ready to adjust that plan as the process evolves. With this in mind, it is clear that a ‘one size fits all’ price model would not be appropriate. We offer instead an ‘expert hours’ (€ 80,00 per hour, plus VAT) packet as a more flexible alternative.

After meeting you and assessing your needs, we can better evaluate the number of hours that may best help to ease your transition. This is really an estimate and should you not need those hours, we will happily reimburse you. If, on the other hand, we notice that you require more assistance than originally estimated, we will inform you and you’ll have the option to book more hours.

Content for the first 1-2 weeks might include:

• Initial needs assessment (via Skype, if the client is not yet in Germany),
• getting acquainted with the client,
• Welcome File (contains information about the region, maps, shopping, restaurants, etc.), and
• an explanation of how the process will work.

Possible items covered or to be clarified/visits to:

• registration at the Citizen’s Department,
• residence permit application,
• Immigration Department,
• opening a bank account,
• basic German lessons,
• orientation (supermarkets, pharmacy, important government departments/offices, medical centres, public transport and buying tickets, deposit system),
• internet (WiFi, contract),
• house rules/recycling,
• kindergarten information/schools (including initial contact),
• hospital und health insurance,
• driver’s license validity,
• laws,
• cultural know-hows, (punctuality, manners, etiquette),
• questions regarding work (e.g. job description Intranet, holiday and sick leave, etc.)

Possible themes:

Focus on German language (with the entire family, according to needs and levels of all individuals), follow-up on other important issues such as registration, kindergarten, school, etc., and dedicated time for other items that were not covered in the first week or have arisen during that time.

Please note, it is clear that we can only offer a very broad idea of what we could offer and what it might cost to give you an idea of our service. Perhaps you will live in Freiburg itself and perhaps you will be coming to Germany alone and your company will cover some of the above items. All of these details would be established on getting to know you and a more accurate assessment would then be possible.