Help sought with returning to Germany from U.S.

hello,

i am a 22 year old female looking to go back to germany to be there more perminantly with my boyfriend. i have visited germany twice between 2006 and 2007, then lived in Kassel with my boyfriend from october 2007 to april 2008. i had to come home to america due to the fact that i couldnt find a job, had no visa, and can hardly speak german. upon being home for almost a month, i realized that i dont want to be here - germany is the best.

my boyfriend (who is german) has applied to a few different colleges, so we hope to be moving from kassel to either cologne, bremen, or hamburg. if he is accepted to any of these then i will begin to hunt more seriously for a job, and of course need to have a visa to stay longer than the 3 months allowed without one. my main problem is that i need to get a visa and i dont really know which kind is right. i want to live more perminantly there with him and try to make a life where ever we end up. school is also important to me, but since im not fluent in german i thought its nearly impossible for me to go for something relating to art in one of these towns. is a residency permit what i would need to apply for, is anyone going to hire someone who has no schooling background aside from completing highschool??

i realize this is a long post with maybe alot of clueless information from me, but what im searching for is just someone who i can chat with, email with, or even talk on the phone with relating to what i would need to do. i want to be able to ask REAL questions and express REAL concerns that i might not be able to ask someone working in the german embassy. this is a really frightening thing for me, but i just wanna find a starting point so i can begin working on the process of getting back there. any help would be greatly appreciated!

Maybe this might help?

Federal Ministry of the Interior - Frequently asked questions on foreigners law

Your work permit and residency permit are bundled together. Getting both requires having a job that is unique in the sense that a German cannot do the job and the firm has looked thoroughly for an EU citizen to have the position first. You must have a contract in-hand when you apply for the work/residency permit. Unless you have an agent doing this for you, you are unlikely to be approved without a hassle if you do not speak German. Sorry to sound mean, but your educational level will be frowned upon by both companies and the government here and you are unlikely to obtain a work/residency permit as it stands at this point. A bachelor's degree is generally the minimum required to issue you these documents. You have to have developed skills that you can only attain through education and experience.

I noticed that someone posted a link to a university here in Germany for you. This is your best bet for obtaining a visa to stay here in Germany. With that, you can also work for, I believe 20 hours a week while obtaining your degree. These are almost always issued to students, and you won't run into language problems. I would definitely recommend advancing your education so that you have windows of opportunity open to you. You sound like you must be an open-minded and well-travelled person, so there is no reason why you should not do this. Not to mention that, compared to the US, education is very cheap here. It also is the best route for relocating to Germany. Once you finish your degree, and have been here for a while, you will have time to develop connections and knowledge regarding career opportunities. At the point, you may elect to change your student visa into a work visa (once you have a contract) Good luck!

One problem with the university route is if you only have a high school diploma, you aren't going to be able to get direct entry into a German university even if your German gets to the level needed for university study- German Abitur, the entrance requirement to German universities for students educated in the German system, is equivalent to the US General Education requirements at the college/university level.

I would suggest looking into finding someone willing to sponsor you (it's possible your boyfriend's parents could do this, but it is a longshot) then come over here and get work as a nanny and improve your German.

I stand corrected. Conquistador is right on this account.

Hello,
I was in the same boat as you. I am an American student and I am dating a German. I was unable to get any type of standard visa due to the requirement for health care. So we ended up applying for a marriage certificate so that I can apply for residency with spouse in Germany. I have collected lost of links and info far to much to post on here. If you are injterested PM me and I can send you in the right direction at least for some info.

S

With a US HS diploma and a 3.0 GPA you can go to a Studienkolleg as university preparation.
With a US HS diploma and a 3.0 GPA plus a 1350 Verbal+Math SAT score or a 28 ACT score, you can go directly to a university.
With a US HS diploma and various AP exam combinations, you can go directly to a university.
With a US HS diploma and an Associate's degree, you can go directly to a university.

In addition to these requirements, unless you are studying for a special international degree program (and there are relatively few at the Bachelor level), you have to pass a German test for admission to university.

What might be advisable is enrolling in a language school program.

Finding a job for someone without a university education and who has limited German skills is not trivial.

this is what i wanted to do. while i was there during my 6 month stint i took one month of german language at a school. of course it got me started but i absolutely cant have a conversation with anyone. my plan now was to go back and do that for a bit. the problem is money really... sure i could pay for the classes, but if i cant get a job WHILE im doing that its gonna be pretty hard to survive. unfortunately i come from a family who cant just put money in my bank account every few weeks and pay for something that I wanna do.