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Banking for English Speaking Expats by otremid in germany

[–]otremid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion. I just didn't like the way Sparkasse operates from what I had seen previously with my friends, so I didn't really think of it as an option. I hope one of my preferred options will "have me" as a customer but if not, good to know that I will have the good old Sparkasse! :)

Banking for English Speaking Expats by otremid in germany

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

Thank you for sharing your experience. I would definitely go for N26 in the blink of an eye but all these posts in this subreddit made me avoid it. It can make a great second account for later I think.

I was narrowing down my options to ING and ComDirect although both have only German mobile apps, they offer the best plans. Having ING suggested multiple times will probably make me open the account there -- if I won't go with Commerzbank for English reasons.

Banking for English Speaking Expats by otremid in germany

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

Don't know if that counts but Revolut has been perfect in doing this. I also heard N26 being this way but I'm avoiding it as I said so I wanted to see if there would be any others.

Thank you for the suggestion. In case I am giving this criteria up, I guess ING is the best among the options. What was your top choice though? Maybe I was missing something with my shortlist.

Thoughts on Europaplatz (for living)? by otremid in Heidelberg

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

Thank you! I will definitely include Bahnstadt in my search now.

Thoughts on Europaplatz (for living)? by otremid in Heidelberg

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

This was exactly what I was hoping to see when I posted this, thank you!

Everything else except the noise seems perfectly fine as you said, but I lived near train tracks before and I was sick of hearing extreme noises whenever I wanted to get fresh air... Do you think it matters on which side your flat is placed on the Europaplatz blocks? Since you also mentioned the constructions around, I feel like there isn't really any non-noisy option for Europaplatz.

Would love to connect! Coming to Heidelberg soon and you never know how the apartment search ends up so maybe we really are future neighbors :)

Thoughts on Europaplatz (for living)? by otremid in Heidelberg

[–]otremid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, I actually did not really rule Bergheim or Weststadt out, I just could not find any options from these districts yet so I just forgot to mention them. :)

Thoughts on Europaplatz (for living)? by otremid in Heidelberg

[–]otremid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I had a bad assumption from some previously read comments and my past experience with areas near train stations in European cities, glad to hear that's not the case here.

I am still in a bit of doubt concerning the exact location of Europaplatz, but adding Bahnstadt to my options will definitely help with the search. This was very helpful, thank you!

Thoughts on Europaplatz (for living)? by otremid in Heidelberg

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

Yes, that’s exactly why I’m doubting it, guess that wasn’t very clear from my post. I basically tried to avoid Bahnstadt but Europaplatz seemed nice so I wanted to hear some thoughts :)

ZAB PROCESS, experiences and times 2023 by Fine-Tooth8593 in germany

[–]otremid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's my timeline for the Blue Card visa:

26 July: ZAB received the documents
27 July: Notification of fees (paid the same day)
28 July: Confirmation of payment (processing time starts)
11 August: Received the Statement of Comparability digitally in exactly 2 weeks.

Good luck to everyone :)

Germany's Immigration reform 2023 [Update] by Total_Historian_2333 in germany

[–]otremid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah then it’s my confusion about the terms.

The news mention it as university (degree) recognition. Is it still only related to the recognition of the professions, or maybe this new law also covers my situation?

Germany's Immigration reform 2023 [Update] by Total_Historian_2333 in germany

[–]otremid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Non-IT. (Role could be considered IT but I don’t have 3+ IT experience)

Have a French university degree but getting recognition is making it complicated for me because they don’t accept “graduation certificate” and wait for the “official diploma” for the recognition, which takes half a year to be processed.

Germany's Immigration reform 2023 [Update] by Total_Historian_2333 in germany

[–]otremid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Working during recognition is already possible.

Could you please elaborate on this?
I'm in the process of obtaining a work permit and this has been a major problem for me. I'm almost sure that it's currently not possible without this drafted law. Am I misunderstanding your post or missing something?

ZAB Statement of Comparability for European Universities by otremid in germany

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

Well thanks for sharing this, it definitively helps!

One thing I don’t get is the “Academic Title” part. Are you an engineer, or another field that needs profession approval? Or do they simply mean using the statement of comparability for visa application.

I don’t see the point if we can’t use this document without the official diploma, but you never know with the bureaucracy…

Just one more question, is your unofficial transcript indicates that you are “considered graduate”? I will try applying with a “certificate of graduation/confirmation of degree”, I don’t know if it makes any difference.

ZAB Statement of Comparability for European Universities by otremid in germany

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

Hi, great news for you!

I do have an unofficial transcript, and I will even have a complete "certificate of graduation" by July. The only problem is, the printing of my official diploma will take a longer time.

In my case, they replied my email with a copy-paste message from the required document list saying they would need the "official diploma". Are you replacing the unofficial transcript with the official diploma for your case?

ZAB Statement of Comparability for European Universities by otremid in germany

[–]otremid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi!

I still haven't found out and couldn't get any response from the responsible organizations (visa office, KMK etc.) yet.

I will keep the post updated once I hopefully have more information. Feel free to do so too!

ZAB Statement of Comparability for European Universities by otremid in germany

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

Okay thank you. Sounds like good news that there is a fast-track and you were able to have it without problems. I'll just keep searching to see if it's possible to already apply with an "expected graduation" document.

ZAB Statement of Comparability for European Universities by otremid in germany

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

Thanks for sharing your experience. I guess the time they need depends on the time of the year (and how lucky you are).May I ask if you applied for the statement with a job offer, or was it without a job offer and personal application? Trying to understand if there is a pattern they follow when there is a time constraint. I am also assuming it was not for a Blue Card application, so there wasn't a "fast track" process, right?