Santitas

Why get married then? Just move in together? especially since it’s so complicated 

I’m not sure if that’s still possible today. There’s such a problem in finding a spot at Kita, it’s insane. And if you’re in a city like Berlin where it’s now free, you need a spot before you get pregnant.

How long ago was this?

Got my card in the mail today. Six weeks after my appt. at the ABH.

We are in the process of changing Kitas, and the Kitagutschein is tied to ONE Kita. Your kid has to be abgemeldet by the current Kita before you can sign a contract with another Kita is what we were told. The new Kita has to have a Bestätigung of cancellation at the old Kita before they can even draft a new contract.

When booking, try your best to change planes in Germany or in the US. Try not to involve third countries. If one of those countries becomes a high risk area, that’ll make your life a nightmare.   I hate LHR with a passion and avoid it like the plague. Paris and Amsterdam aren’t far behind. We had a good/smooth transfer experience in Dublin back in pre-COVID days though. We got to clear customs there so that we didn’t have to wait in line upon our arrival in the US. 

My mom always requests wheelchair service when she flies to and from Germany because of her bad knee, and it’s worked out perfectly every single time. They also sometimes upgrade her to business class just because. 😉

  They will not let you board the flight to the US without seeing that certificate. So it’s the Americans requiring that the Germans check your marital status before boarding your flight in Germany.   Your not having the same last name shouldn’t be an issue. It clearly states that you’re married on the certificate.    When we arrived in the US, border control did NOT ask to see the certificate as they’re depending on ze Germans to check all that information beforehand. Good that you have a direct flight. We had to change in Frankfurt and had to show them the certificate again before we could board our connecting flight. It really slowed things down 🙄🙄

We got back today from Chicago via Frankfurt and it was smooth sailing. We are a German-American family of three with two fully vaccinated adults and a 17-month old. They asked for proof of our vaccine status in the US and in Germany. In the US, we showed our Impfpass and in Germany, we just showed our app. Our daughter has dual citizenship, and they weren’t interested in her vaccine status or a Covid test.   The only hiccup was a guy who sneezed next to us at the gate into the air with his mask under his nose 🤬🤬🤬🤬 Oh, and the Karen who insisted on smoking her e-cigarette, talking on the phone while the plane was taxiing (sp?) and getting up to use the bathroom afterwards 🙄🙄 I was really surprised they didn’t turn the plane around and kick her off, but the entire flight crew was German, and I think they just wanted to get home and not have to deal with American authorities. 

They asked to see it before boarding in Germany. They wouldn’t have let him board the first leg of the trip in Germany without it. On a side note, if you have children that also entitles him to enter the US as the parent of a US citizen who’s a minor. So you could bring the child’s birth certificate as well.   i don’t think having a Danish marriage certificate would be an issue, but you could always call the airlines just to make sure.

Yes, that’s correct! We literally went to the Turkish restaurant across the street from where we live who offers the free Bürgertest with results in 15 minutes. Afterwards, we were given a printed document with our details and also received an email with the certificate. 

For future reference, it’s always been cheaper for us to book yearly travel insurance rather than insurance for individual trips. This may help future cases like the one mentioned above. 

Definitely get paper proof of your test. We landed in Chicago yesterday and switched planes in Munich. We had to show our negative tests at least 4 times 🙄🙄 There was also the possibility of randomly being selected upon landing in the US and having to show it again. I don’t think an SMS would suffice. However, just before we landed in Chicago, they announced that a PDF attached to an email would be okay or a screen shot of a PDF in case one couldn’t get internet connection at the airport.    The attestation form is something different and even though they made a big stink about having the form printed out, which can be downloaded from the airplane’s website, we only showed it once. They asked for our marriage certificate at least two times in order to make sure my husband (German) is allowed to enter into the US.   Do yourself a favor and book only flights that change in the country you’re in (in case you can’t get a direct flight). It was enough of a hassle changing in Germany; I can’t imagine having to go through another country to get to the US.    

That’s definitely true. My sister and husband were here for a visit last week and they’re fully vaccinated and still had to get tested before being let back into the US. They’re also citizens  not simply visa/green card holders.

Had my appointment today, and everything went smoothly. Took a full 10 minutes, and that was that. The guy said the card would be sent per mail and would arrive in 6 to 8 weeks.