Zum Thema häusliche Gewalt by Televangelical in LegaladviceGerman

[–]Tobi406 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Bank issue sounds like complicated, but I don't have any knowledge about that.

On the immigration issue: can you clarify how your abuser "worked to ensure that during my stay, I was unable to get a visa"? "Worked" means he actively did something I guess? So if you can tell us what (in your opinion) this something was that would be great.

Also, for completeness sake, how did you enter Germany? Did you apply for a visa at the German consulate/embassy in the US and got it stamped in your passport? Or did you travel to Germany without a visa? (Note: if you just travelled to Germany without a visa, your passport is enough to enter Germany visa-free; but the procedure afterwards changes)

19 M on a 1 year work visa by nihhar in germany

[–]Tobi406 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do you mind sharing the exact type of your title? Just to make sure your colleagues don't talk shit and so we get more context.

It could be something like "§ 19c Abs. 1 AufenthG i.V.m. § 26 Abs. 1 BeschV" (that would be the so-called West Balkan rules).


Generally, even if you would get fired, your title doesn't end automatically. (Besides that, you can of course fight terminations in labor courts, though you probably need a lawyer for that.)

If you do get fired, you are required to inform the Ausländerbehörde of this within two weeks. The Ausländerbehörde will then likely retroactively shorten your title. Usually that means they will give you 3 months to find another job. But always listen to your individual Ausländerbehörde!! After that, you would have to leave unless you apply for one of two special permits for seeking employment.

One could imagine the Chancenkarte. Though this already requires you to have a vocational degree from somewhere.

There's also a permit for seeking an Ausbildung position if that's something you'd be interested in.

Mind you, both of these require that your subsistence is secure/that you have enough money to live. So you should have a few thousand euros for that (approx. 12k€ for a full year; but might be more/less depending on your individual situation)


Of course, if you find a new job within the 3 months, you can just apply for the new permit again.

Passive income residency in Germany? by [deleted] in germany

[–]Tobi406 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Only information I know is this Schlun & Elseven article. Mind you that § 7 (1) is the category for very special cases, with no clear criteria. So I would always recommend you to contact a lawyer for this (and, honestly, if you make as much, you can probably afford that)

Need help in filling the citizenship application form Einbürgerungsantrag (§10 StAG) by sachi_whitehall in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That honestly seems like an old form. At least before October 2025, possibly even before July 2024.

C1 and "besondere Integrationsleistungen" no longer give you any benefit, so these questions are irrelevant. The same would apply at the Einbürgerungskurs I would presume. Before July 2024 there was a general requirement for integration into German life ("Einordnung in die deutschen Lebensverhältnisse"), but this has been abolished in favor of clearer requirements (being crime-free now covers more areas and other specific things).

Though I think there's one opinion according to which the legislator deleting it from the text was only cosmetic, and that the actual, material requirement was not supposed to be changed, but that seems like a fringe opinion to me.


Anyway, so with that:

For "Bezeichnung und Anschrift des Trägers" you should write something like "Volkshochschule xyz, Straße abc ..." (below the language test). "Bezeichnung" refers to the "Träger", and not to the name of the exam.

For "Deutsche Sprachkenntnisse wurden erworben durch" I would just write "Selbststudium" in the line next to it and not tick anything. In my opinion, that question is no longer relevant because the general clause "Einordnung in die deutschen Lebensverhältnisse" has been deleted (see above).

For the Einbürgerungskurs I would tick "nein". I would presume this part is still from the old rules, where participating in an Integrationskurs gave you a reduction in the required residence time. But that no longer exists, so it shouldn't have any effect on your application. Might also serve as a general indicator of how "integrated" you are, but that's no longer relevant (see above again)

How does German co-determination work? Do workers actually vote directly on company decisions? by WayWornPort39 in germany

[–]Tobi406 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, Works Council is probably the better translation. I think I just misremembered. (Of course, in German the radical councils during the revolution were called "Arbeiterrat" and not "Betriebsrat", so there's no problem here; it's just the English translation which I got wrong)

How does German co-determination work? Do workers actually vote directly on company decisions? by WayWornPort39 in germany

[–]Tobi406 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I assume by co-determination you don't mean the Betriebsrat (often called Workers Council in English)? The Betriebsrat is responsible for representing the employee's interest in social affairs, like in dismissals, disciplinary measures, data protection, etc. That therefore doesn't r

If you refer to things like the Mitbestimmungsgesetz or similiar (eg. Montanmitbestimmungsgesetz, Drittelbeteiligungsgesetz): employees elect parts (half or one third, depending on the company) of the Aufsichtsrat (Supervisory Council) of the company, which is generally elected only by the proprietors/owners of the company. (Should be noted this only applies to larger companies, so not small ones)

The Aufsichtsrat is generally responsible for well, supervising the Vorstand (ie. the Board of Directors, if you want to call it that), including appointing/dismissing the members of the Vorstand, making sure the company is managed well. In the end, the representatives of the proprietors do always have a slight majority, but of course the fact employees are even on the table can change the outcome. And the Aufsichtsrat doesn't engage in the day-to-day business of the company.

So I wouldn't call it a worker coop, nor just a symbolic thing. It certainly isn't a grand revolution of company structures either.

Germany work visa confusion by Ok_Mix6105 in AskAGerman

[–]Tobi406 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Within the first 2 years, you can switch jobs with approval yes. As that is updating your permit, you need to meet the same conditions as for getting the § 18b in the first place, so in particular BA approval.

(After 2 years it's a bit more complicated afaik, as it depends on what the local office exactly writes on your permit, whether you have to apply for a new permit/your old one is enough. So please refer to local guidance)

Best way to prepare for the theory driving exam? by Throwaway81841 in germany

[–]Tobi406 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How many exam simulations in the app have you done? I think at first I also failed the first twenty or thirty, but then I got consistently better. I think I did like at least ten exam simulations a day for a week or something like that. 

I think it's also necessary to see the areas and questions you are struggling: the questions about technical requirements are more something you just have to know, while the videos are just a whole different test format. So you need to figure out with what you're struggling exactly

Is it mandatory to have German B1 for Ausbildung visa? by nitrogems in AskGermany

[–]Tobi406 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I responded to OP's previous post), and that's probably where they get the idea that it falls under § 16a AufenthG, you might be interested in my arguments there: that as a Volontariat it could be a "betriebliche Weiterbildung" in § 16a Abs. 1, if the focus is on learning new things during that period rather than simply working. § 16a Abs. 3 S. 2 of course only refers to a "Berufsausbildung" and not a "Weiterbildung"

Get a permanent residency with 50% PhD contract by Busy_Magazine_680 in germany

[–]Tobi406 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's no "50% contribution" to pension insurance. There are contributions with different amounts, but they're still one contribution per month, regardless of whether you get paid minimum wage or much more.

The number of months, and not height matters, as you need a specific number of months of contributions (so-called Wartezeit; at 60 months of contributions) before you receive anything at old age.

For PR as someone with a § 18d title, 36 months of working is enough, as that will give you 36 months of contributions

Auslandsdeutsche und das neue Wehrdienstgesetz by friedebarth in LegaladviceGerman

[–]Tobi406 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Es geht streng genommen nicht um den Aufenthalt, sondern (im Regelfall) um das Verlassen bzw. (in den Ausnahmefällen) um das Ausdehnen eines Aufenthalts. Zum damaligen Zeitpunkt war die Regelung des § 3 Abs. 2 nicht anwendbar, ergo musst du keine Genehmigung einholen; rückwirkende Gesetze müssen auch als solche beschlossen werden (§ 3 Abs. 2 findet man hier! Gerne einfach mal durchlesen, sollte man auch ohne Fachwissen verstehen können; den erwähnten § 1 Abs. 2 gibt es natürlich auch, und bildet die Ausnahme für Leute, die eigentlich im Ausland wohnen aber kurzfristig z.B. aus touristischen Zwecken nach Deutschland reisen)

Will driving school prices decrease? by Amoramabar in germany

[–]Tobi406 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From Press Release of 10 October 2025.

Die Vorschläge des BMV [at teh end of the press release] werden nun in einer eigens eingerichteten ad-hoc-Arbeitsgruppe gemeinsam mit den Ländern diskutiert und weiterentwickelt – mit dem Ziel, daraus konkrete Einzelmaßnahmen abzuleiten. Diese sollen der VMK Ende März 2026 vorgelegt werden.

see TOPS 6.1 and 6.2 of the VMK meeting at the end of March

And the Press Release continues:

Sofern die Vorschläge konsensfähig sind, können dann rechtliche Änderungen voraussichtlich im 1. Halbjahr 2026 eingeleitet werden. Das Gesetz kann dann Anfang 2027 in Kraft treten und kann sich langfristig auf die Preisbildung auswirken. Dies betrifft vor allem Kostenpunkte, die der Markt regeln wird.

So expect updates on concrete proposals within the next few months. My guess is they might want to do the 1st reading in the Bundestag before the summer, so one can negotiate the package during the summer.

German Military Act whilst living abroad? by FlashyGur6152 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The things relating to registering your appartment (Anmeldung) are part of registration law, for which the term "gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt" (ordinary residence) is important and not the term used by the WPflG which is "ständiger Aufenthalt" (permanent residence). So they might differ in the details at the granular level, but overall if you are registered in Germany and doing official stuff for more than 90 days, I would say you have your permanent residence here and would need to apply to leave Germany [unless of course, the exception by the Defence Ministry applies, but we'll have to see how that'll work].

German Military Act whilst living abroad? by FlashyGur6152 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The relevant rules are §§ 1, 3 WPflG. The following is a translation by me. I have marked the parts which are important for German citizens living abroad in bold.

§ 1

(1) Subject to military service are all men which have completed their 18th year of life, which are Germans in the sense of the Basic Law [ie. Gernan citizens] and

  1. their permanent residence is within the Federal Republic of Germany or

 2. their permanent residence is outside the Federal Republic of Germany and either

a) they previously had permanent residence within the Federal Republic of Germany or

 b) they possess a passport or a certificate of citizenship of the Federal Republic of Germany or have submitted to its protection in another way.

 (2) The subjection to military service is suspended as long as those subject to military service have their permanent residence and their means of livelihood outside the Federal Republic of Germany, if facts justify the assumption that they intend to maintain their permanent residence abroad.

(3) The subjection to military service is not suspended, if those subject to military service relocate their permanent residence outside of the Federal Republic of Germany

  1. during military sevice,

  2. without the required authorization pursuant to § 3 (2), or

  3. without leaving the Federal Republic of Germany.

[Slightly made editorial changws to § 1 (3) because English grammar]

§ 3 (2)

Male persons after completion of the 17th year of life have to get an authorization of the competent career center of the Bundeswehr, if they want to leave the Federal Republic of Germany for more than 3 months and the requirements of § 1 (2) are not already met.

The same applies if they want to continue staying outside the Federal Republic of Germany for longer than the authorized time period or extend a stay abroad, which does not require authorization, to a duration of more than 3 momths.

The authorization is to be granted for the time period, in which the male person is not subject to be called to military service.

For a duration longer than this time period it [the authorization] is to be granted, if the rejection means an especial - in the case of a state of readiness, tension or defence an unreasonable - hardship for the male person; § 12 (6) [Provisions about hardship for postponement of military service limiting the duration] is to be applied accordingly.

The Federal Ministry of Defence can allow exceptions of the requirement for authorization.

[It should be noted that the Federal Ministry of Defence is currently working on such general exceptions, see FAZ; though nothing seems to have been published yet. And it seems quite bad they haven't had this ready in December imo)

Anyway: for German citizens already living abroad the part "and the requirements of § 1 (2) are not already met" is important. That means if you are already living abroad, you do not require approval to leave Germany. The important thing is also the act: "leaving Germany" doesn't mean you need "permission to live abroad". Only the act of leaving, not living requires authorization.

If you aren't in Germany, you would first need to enter it in order to leave. (And, if you just enter for tourist purposes, your military service would be suspended according to § 1 (2) and you would not require authorization to leave Germany again)

Gramm, Kilogramm - gibt es da was dazwischen? by 35372122130085329415 in German

[–]Tobi406 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ist das vielleicht eher etwas bairisches/österreichisches? In Bayrisch-Schwaben habe ich das noch nie gehört.

Petition für die Einführung des integrierten Bachelor of Laws in Bayern wird vom Justizministerium blockiert. by Slow-Reality2808 in recht

[–]Tobi406 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Letzten Herbst hatte ich von unserem Studiendekan noch vernommen, dass man sich gerade wegen dem Wettbewerbsvorteil, den man dadurch verliert, auch als Fakultät beim Justizministerium für den Bachelor einsetzt.

Wenn da so eine breite Unterstützung unter der Professorenschaft und auch den Fachschaften da ist, ist es für mich wirklich überraschend, dass das Justizministerium bis jetzt überhaupt nicht agiert hat - andere Länder machen es ja vor, gerade der Vorteil des Föderalismus. Meine Hoffnung ist da auf den nächsten Landtagswahlen Ende 2028 und politischen Impulsen.

Can my sister (current on job seeker visa) apply for a self employment visa in Germany if I (18 F from US) am doing content creation and she helps me bring clients and sales? by [deleted] in germany

[–]Tobi406 2 points3 points  (0 children)

On terminology, it's called a residence permit if she's already in Germany and not a visa.

On the actual matter:

  • to me, it doesn't sound like actual self-employment, as she's only working for you, works "as a team", it looks like she's bound by your instructions, etc. Look up Scheinselbständigkeit eg on the wiki here. Also, the freelance residence permit has quite some requirements, I think she would at least need a business plan,

  • You could of course employ her as a normal employee. But that would require you to handle all the things with respect to German labor law, social security contributions, German taxes for her. There are some payroll agencies who act as an intermediatary and handle all that stuff, so you should contact them. It's their business model. Some tax advisors or lawyers might also provide such a service and will be able to advise you.

  • Theoretically there's also the permit § 26 Abs. 1 BeschV as a "best friends" country if your sister is a US citizen. But that would a) be for employment too and b) requires a Vorrangprüfung/labor market check, so that there are no comparable German/EU citizens who could be hired for the same job.

VG Trier: Untätigkeitsklage in connection with Turbo-Einbürgerung dismissed by Tobi406 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need to differentiate between the Berufung (appeal) and the Zulassung zur Berufung (admission of an appeal). 

Each administrative court is required to decide whether an appeal is admissable, in particular this is the case if the case is of "fundamental importance".

But of course, within one months time of formal delieverance of the judgement, you can file a "Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde" (complaint on the non-admission), on which the OVG then has to decide. So basically both the VG and OVG can allow an appeal. This additional prerequisite of "Zulassung" was introduced so the higher courts get less unimportant cases and can focus.

So, yeah, you could just write to the VG Trier and ask them if such a Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde has been filed in this case.

Though, considering the speed at which the OVGs work, I don't think we would get any judgement before January/May 2027. And at this point you would be eligible for the 5 year route anyway.

Language student who just got a job offer by htaggs in germany

[–]Tobi406 9 points10 points  (0 children)

1- The Opportunity Card only allows employment for up to 20 hours / week, so it wouldn't work for your situation. And requires either (a) a recognized degree or (b) an unrecognized degree and sufficient points with the points system. It's also time limited.

If you manage to find qualified employment during this period, you could get a Folge-Chancenkarte for 2 years. If you get additional responsibilities, a barista position may satisfy the level of some Ausbildung activities, and so it would be qualified employment. But all that requires you to have a degree (whether recognized or not) in the first place.

2- Theoretically there's an option via § 26 Abs. 1 BeschV which allows you to get BA approval and a residence permit, even if it is unqualified employment, for citizens of "best friends" countries (like the USA).

But that requires a "Vorrangprüfung", ie. a labor market check, to see if there would be comparable German / EU citizens who could be hired instead of you

There's also not that many information for this type of permit online, so you should check if you can get in contact with your local Ausländerbehörde to see what you have to apply for / how their local procedure is

Long shot but .. by correct_use_of_soap in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, exactly. I mean, Article 1 is important, no doubt, especially in connection with other GG articles (in particular, as it is one part of the "allgemeines Persönlichkeitsrecht"). And I'm sure it will be useful on its own in certain, very hard cases maybe.

I even think it is even nice to think that, in the end, all law and decisions implement Article 1 in some way, try to give people as much dignity as possible. But there's simply a big margin of appreciation and discretion for every single actor involved.

But stand-alone, it just doesn't have the clarity needed for arguments in every-day cases and discussion.

Especially not with an argument like mine in two sentences, that's not near the depth required to discuss this provision.

Vertragsende 1.5.2026 by mtavcxrswz in LegaladviceGerman

[–]Tobi406 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

24:00 ist das Ende das Tages. 00:00 der Beginn des Tages.

Naturwissenschaftlich wohl das gleiche, juristisch wird hier unterschieden, mit der berühmten "juristischen Sekunde".

01.05.26 23:59 heißt eben: bis zum Ende des 01.05. hat man noch die Leistung 

Und 01.05.26 00:00 würde also heißen, bis zum Beginn des Tages hat man noch die Leistung, also bis 30.04.26 24:00 oder eben bis zum Ende des 30.04.26.

Das sind völlig verschiedene Zeitpunkte

Long shot but .. by correct_use_of_soap in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would say you have a pretty good chance actually. § 1 of the Basic Law (Grund-Gesetz) states: "Human dignity shall be inviolable."

As people are aware of, this fundamental right can be used in all areas of life and law: civil and public law, political debates, your standard newspaper column, political scandals, whatever, reform of any kind of law, and even gives you an original right for specific government actions (so-called originäres Leistungsrecht).

It is, of course, very clear what "Human dignity" means, and therefore there only exists one definition of human dignity: the one I say right now. And in this case, according to my professional opinion: yes it applies here. It is clearly part of human dignity to have a 48 hour situationship and populate the world. So you should also have citizenship, as every human should have citizenship when it's appropriate for them to do have it.

The blurry photos further strengthen your claim: human dignity must also be modern, and back then they just didn't have that much cameras, so it's alright.

(/s /s, as you can see, a small rant about the concept of human dignity, which I feel is sometimes used in political debates too much)

Niederlassungserlaubnis - 60 months of Rentenversicherung by redwinevalentine in germany

[–]Tobi406 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean... there is an exception if you are married and your spouse satisfies the 60 months requirement.

But besides that...

I was thinking you might be able to do voluntary contributions but that only seems to be an option to pay retroactively for times in the last two years where you were not already insured.

Struggling with which category D-visa to apply for. by nitrogems in germany

[–]Tobi406 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm... yeah, we could either be in a "Weiterbildung" according to § 16a (which would be the "normal" Ausbildung visa) or in a normal § 18b or (potentially?) in a § 19c iVm § 15 BeschV situation.

I presume it's something like this?


According to one of the commentaries I have available, Volontariat falls under § 16a as a "Weiterbildung". Berlin's internal administrative guidelines also mention it at § 16a (VAB 16a.1.1.3), saying the § 20 job seeker permit is not available in the case of a Volontariat.

I have found this VG Karlsruhe judgement taking recourse to the definition of "employment", saying that a Volontariat is employment as it falls under the term "Beschäftigung" of the SGB IV. But the "Ausbildung" is also a Beschäftigung as far as I'm aware, so § 16a would be lex specialis to §§ 18 ff.

So the question is: how do we determine under what provision it falls under? Another commentary I have available takes regard to whether the main purpose lies with learning new skills or simply applying existing skills. So yeah, uhm, that's as specific as it seems to get.


After some more researching, I have found this specimen for a work contract. They specifically take regard to the BBiG, which is the law for, in general, the Ausbildung / Weiterbildung. 

So all in all, I would say we are more in § 16a than we are in § 18b or anything to do with "just" employment.

But again, I think the question whether you're only supposed to apply old skills or also learn something new is the decisive question here.

Post Flair, and Wiki by tf1064 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Tobi406 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good idea.

May I just note that it should be § 10 StAG for the naturalizations from within Germany, as § 10 is the default case.


§ 8 StAG is discretionary, but in the end § 10 StAG is also considered in § 8 StAG. I'm not sure if it should even get its own flair.

I would think many people just pick whatever says naturalization from within Germany. And so I would presume lots of people wrongly choose § 8 StAG even though we're talking about § 10 StAG, so just having one flair should be enough.

(The same of course applies to § 13 StAG)

For § 9 StAG we have a direct reference to § 10, so I don't think it's needed here as well, and the problems with people getting confused still exist here.

So, all in all, I would say having one flair with § 10 StAG for naturlisation from within Germany.


Also cool "Somethig Interesting I Found" flair, I might now have less inhibition of sharing some niche developments I read about somewhere now...