Immigration & Residency

Germany waits for former settlers, and the immigration of Jews from the post-Soviet space is encouraged. Today, more than 12 million people in the country were born outside the country – Germany is the second most immigrant country after the United States.

To immigrate to Germany from Pakistan, you need to prepare for bureaucratic red tape: a candidate will need to collect a dozen, or even more, documents, the processing, and translation of which may take even longer than the processing of the visa itself. 

On the other hand, moving to Germany from Pakistan is relatively inexpensive due to the country’s geographic proximity and reasonable visa fees. Also, candidates who have collected all the documents correctly receive permission to move to Germany without any problems. The most important thing is to carefully study all the requirements for the desired type of immigration, and prepare for it in advance without unnecessary excitement and haste.

At what level do you need to know German?

It depends on your reasons for obtaining a residence permit. For some to know the language is mandatory. For others – the decision is made at the discretion of the competent authorities. For example, language proficiency is not obligatory for wealthy applicants.

For business immigration, knowledge of the language is desirable. It is another indirect proof for officials that the applicant will be able to do business in Germany. But there are cases when entrepreneurs do not speak German at all. If everything is justified correctly, you can issue a residence permit without a language.

But if you expect to receive a permanent residence permit in the future, and then citizenship, the language is worth learning. When applying for permanent residence, you will need to provide a B1 level certificate or talk to an official in German, thereby proving that you can freely express yourself orally. After 5 years of stay in Germany, even without knowledge of the German language, it is possible to extend the residence permit for another 5 years, and people over 65 years old – indefinitely.

Process of immigration from Pakistan to Germany

The main stages of immigration from Pakistan to Germany are:

1. Choosing a way of immigration;
2. Obtaining a D visa for the chosen method of immigration;
3. Entry to Germany for a residence permit;
4. Obtaining citizenship after 3 years of living in Germany.

To obtain a D visa, you must collect the required documents and personally present them to the German Consulate. The processing of an application for a visa will take from a week to several months – depending on the method of immigration, after which it will be possible to pick up a passport with a stamped visa.

Package of prevailing documents for visa D

• Two visa applications completed in the German language;
• Application form for specifying contact details;
• Security Criteria Compliance Checklist;
• 3 photographs 35×45, not older than 6 months, on a white background. Paste two of them into statements;
• International passport with two blank pages and a validity period of at least six months;
• 2 copies of passport pages with personal data and stamps;
• General civil passport + 2 copies of pages with personal data and stamps;
• Residence permit in Russia and two copies (if there is no Russian citizenship);
• Medical insurance for at least 2 weeks of stay in Germany.

Reasons to immigrate to Germany from Pakistan

There are a lot of reasons to immigrate to Germany from Pakistan, there are some of them:

• Visa-free regime. Not surprisingly, Germany’s passport is one of the most desirable: its citizens do not need a visa for 189 countries, which include all EU countries, the USA, and Australia.
• High salaries. Germany has one of the highest wage levels in the EU – the average monthly wage is about USD 4.628.
• Multicultural society. Many immigrants are living in Germany, and this can facilitate adaptation – a foreigner will feel less alone in a multicultural society.
• Excellent medicine. So much so that Germany is one of the world’s centers for medical tourism.
• Geographic proximity to other states. Living in Germany anticipates living in the center of Europe. From Germany, it is a stone’s throw to the rest of the European states, the Mediterranean – and not far from the homeland.
• Little corruption. Germany is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. And although the Germans have not yet been able to eradicate corruption to the end, compared to other states, Germany has achieved fantastic results.

Why you shouldn’t immigrate to Germany from Pakistan

• Dual citizenship is not allowed in Germany. Therefore, when obtaining German citizenship, you will have to say goodbye to the passport of your home country.
• High taxes. Germany has a progressive tax scale, and the tax, depending on income, is up to 45%. With an average salary of about 4,628 USD, the tax amount is already approaching the maximum possible. There is a possibility that a good and sought-after specialist will be able to earn that kind of money at home without giving away almost half of his salary.
• Bureaucracy. The process of immigration to Germany is associated with collecting a large number of documents for an entry visa.
• Long term residence for citizenship. Before obtaining citizenship, in most cases, you need to live in the country for eight whole years.