Editor Bob

This thread is about climate change. Any post not directly related to climate change is liable for deletion. Persistent offenders will be banned.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump   twitter.com/realDonaldTrump  

The price of bitcoin is surging and recently crossed €20. Anyone here own any?  

When posting a weblink it's good to write useful stuff into the link text.   For example, the following style is bad:     See what I did there?   Firstly, helpful link texts improve human readability. If a link text just says "this thread" then the reader doesn't necessarily know what they're getting before they click the link. Most web users are impatient and short on time. They don't want to click a link if there's a chance it might not be interesting to them. So help your fellow users by giving them a hint what is behind your link. This will also attract more people to click your link. With unhelpful text most people won't bother clicking, they'll skip right over it instead.   Secondly, helpful link texts improve machine readability. Search engines such as Google are better able to determine the relevance of a target page if there are useful keywords present in the link text. Not that most people would care about this, but still, I mention it because it's true.

Are you available for work as a babysitter? If so, post your details and availability here.   Your advert will be most effective if you include a short paragraph of text about you and what kind of work you are looking for. Remember to include contact details or instruct families to send you a personal message. Note that all posts here are automatically removed after three months. Please do not post a public reply to adverts - instead contact the advertiser directly and in private via the contact details they give.   See also: Babysitter wanted adverts

If you are a family that is seeking a babysitter, post your requirement here. Remember to include contact details (telephone number, email, etc.) or instruct candidate babysitters to send you a personal message via this forum. Note that all posts here are automatically removed after three months.   If you are a babysitter seeking work, please do not post a public reply to adverts. Instead contact the advertiser directly and in private via the contact details they give. Take care to note the date of the postings. The most recent adverts are at the bottom of this page. Plus, remember you should also advertise your services by posting a message to the babysitters available listings.

Post here for general chat about the current weather in Munich.   Only in cases of extreme weather should a new topic be started.   Current weather: Yahoo! weather forecast for Munich   See also the Munich weather discussion archive.

Despite having its own dedicated visas and permits section, the TT chat forum is not the best place for getting accurate and up-to-date info about such things. Instead you are better off going to either an official government website, a private website dedicated to such information, or asking in person at your local immigration office, embassy, or consulate.   Government websites: US Consulates Germany - Visa information - info for US citizens and other nationalities coming to Germany US Mission to Germany - residence / work permit for Germany - similar to above German Embassy London - lots of info regards visas for Germany, all nationalities Private websites: Germany visas and immigration - from "workpermit.com" Immigration offices in Germany: München KVR, Ruppertstraße 19, 80466 Munich, Tel. 089 23396010 Berlin Ausländerbehörde, Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin, Tel.: +49 (0) 30 902690 Frankfurt Ausländerbehörde, Mainzer Landstraße 323, 60326 Frankfurt am Main, Tel.: 069 21244422 Other city info can be found with Google. Embassies and consulates in Germany: American:    US Embassy Berlin, Neustädtische Kirchstr. 4-5, 10117 Berlin, Tel. +49 (0)30 2385174 US Consulate Düsseldorf, Willi - Becker - Allee 10, 40227 Düsseldorf, Tel.: (0211) 7888927 US Consulate Frankfurt, Gießener Str. 30, 60435 Frankfurt am Main, Tel.: (069) 75350 US Consulate Hamburg US Consulate Leipzig US Consulate Munich   [*]British: Munich Consulate-General, Königinstraße 5, Lehel, 80539 Munich, Tel. +49 (0) 89 28880 British Embassy Berlin, Wilhelmstr. 70-71, 10117 Berlin, Tel. +49 (0) 30 204570 British Consulate Düsseldorf, Yorckstrasse 19, 40476 Düsseldorf, Tel. +49 (0)211 94480 Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart - British consulates closed in 2005   search function first. If there is an existing topic that is directly related to your query, post a reply. If no related topic exists, then start a new topic. Despite the wealth of comprehensive information available via the above sources, if you absolutely must post an immigration related question to the TT forum then make sure you use the   When making a post to TT, be sure to make your post as concise as possible. Keep the question short and to the point. Do not write a rambling essay about your complete life history - few people will be bothered to read such missives, let alone answer them.   So, in summary, what you should do next is as follows: (1) Contact the relevant embassy or immigration office (2) Search the websites dedicated to immigration topics (3) Search TT for existing information (4) If, and only if, your question is still unanswered, make a concise post to TT. We will probably delete it anyway because, chances are, 1,2, or 3 above would already answer your question.  

============================== Unemployment benefits in Munich, Germany   There are two types of unemployment benefits in Germany. Unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are paid only for a limited period. The potential length of UI receipt depends positively on the work-history in insured employment in the seven years prior to a benefit claim. It also increases with the age of an unemployed person. Workers who are younger than 42 years can receive UI benefits for no longer than 12 months. When people run out of UI benefit, they may receive unemployment assistance (UA) benefits, provided that they pass a means-test. There is no time-limit for UA benefit receipt and the formal replacement rates of UA are somewhat lower than those of UI benefit.   To be eligible for UI benefits people need to have worked at least 12 months in contributory employment in the previous three years prior to the benefit claim.   The claimant must not have reached the retirement age of 65 years and has to be available for a suitable job or a training course offered by the local labour offices. He/she also has to be available on short notice to the labour office. Of course, the claimant has to register as unemployed at the local labour office.   In the first four months of unemployment the labour offices regarded as a suitable job only those jobs with the same occupational qualification as in the previous job. Thereafter a job with a lower qualification could be regarded as suitable.   Not accepting a suitable job offer once may lead to a temporary loss of the UI entitlement for 12 weeks. A complete loss of the UI receipt is possible if the recipient refuses suitable job offers repeatedly.   In the first three months of unemployment a job was defined as suitable if it paid at least 80% of the previous wage of the UI benefit recipient. This percentage declines to 70% in the forth month unemployment. After the sixth month of UI benefit receipt any job with a wage that exceeds the UI benefit is regarded as suitable. A suitable job is also defined by the time needed to travel to work.   A job with a travel to work time of three or less hours a day is classified as suitable.   The level of the UI benefits is defined relative to the net earnings in the previous job.   The formal replacement rates are 67% for parents and 60% for childless people. There is an upper cap to the benefit level, which depends on the upper threshold for gross earnings up to which contributions to the social insurance system have to be paid.   Time in employment (months) - duration of entitlement (months):   12-15 - 6 16-19 - 8 20-23 - 10 24-27 - 12 28-31 - 14 age >= 45 years 32-35 - 16 age >= 45 36-39 - 18 age >= 45 40-43 - 20 age >= 47 44-47 - 22 age >= 47 48-53 - 24 age >= 52 54-55 - 26 age >= 52 56-59 - 28 age >= 57 60-63 - 30 age >= 57 >=64 - 32 age >= 57   UA benefits:   Unemployed people may receive UA benefits if they either run out of their UI entitlement or are not eligible for UI benefits as their work-history in base period 1 is too short. The formal replacement rates are 57% for parents and 53% for childless people. However, to receive UA benefits people have to pass a means-test that takes into account income of all the members of the unemployed person’s household. Due to the means-test, the UA benefit can be lower than the formal replacement rates suggest. Additionally, since the benefit reform of April 1997, the past wage, from which the UA benefit level results, is reduced by 3 % after each year of UA benefit receipt. Though after an initial UA claim, its receipt is first limited to one year, UA may be prolonged without any time limit. Only if the claimant reaches the retirement age, UA cannot be received any longer.   ============================== The Munich Employment office   Arbeitsamt München Kapuzinerstr. 26 80337 München U3/6 to Goetheplatz   Arbeitsamt Munich: website     General contacts: Tel. 089 5154 0 muenchen@arbeitsamt.de   Information about unemployment benefits: Tel. 089 5154 6981 Muenchen.Rechtsauskunft@arbeitsamt.de   Opening times: Monday 07.30 - 15.30 hrs Thursday 7.30 - 18.00 hrs Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 7.30 - 12.00 hrs     ============================== Registering as unemployed   When going to register as unemployed you have to find the correct person to speak to in the department for "Arbeitsvermittlung und Arbeitsberatung". The correct person is the one who is responsible for the occupation in which you were previously employed.   The different teams use a vistor system whereby you take a ticket from the ticket machine and wait for your number to come up. You then go to the door which is signaled with a red light. You can get general information at the info-counter in the entrance area.   For an overview of the different departments see this PDF document.   Registration for unemployment can happen up to 2 months before the end of an employment contract. To register for unemployment benefits you need to take with you a personal identity document, a copy of your "Lohnsteuerkarte" and a "Abeitsbescheinigung". This last document is a certificate from your previous employers stating how long you were employed with them.   The form for registering as unemployed can be found here.   Might be handy to print that form out and fill it in before you arrive.   A useful German word: "Das Arbeitslosengeld" - "Unemployment benefit".   ============================== Register as unemployed as soon as possible!   A law was introduced on 1.Jul.2003 which governs mandatory registration with the employment office.   If you're fired or your employment is otherwise terminated you must register yourself as unemployed within one week. If you register later than a week you will have your entitlement to benefits automatically shortened. If an employee is able to believably convince the employment office that a personal registration was not possible within the legal time period, then exceptions will be made on an individual basis.   The reason for this new law is that the sooner the search for a new job begins the greater a chance of finding a job and the reduction in the need for unemployment benefit payments.   ============================== Job search facilites at the employment office   At the Munich employment office on the Kapuzinerstrasse there are 167 computers available for job seekers. These are equipped with internet access although that access is restricted to job seeker websites.   There are 54 computers in the "Self information zone" near the main entrance. There are another 28 in the "Internet Center" on the 1st floor. Other computers are available in various departments throughout the building.   For more info (in German) see here.   ============================== Quitting a job versus being fired   Apparently, if you quit your job rather than being fired then you are not entitled to benefits for 3 months. During this time you have to pay the full whack on your health insurance. We don't know yet if the money you get after 3 months is the higher rate Unemployment Insurance (UI) or the lower Unemployment Assistance (UA).   ============================== Foreigners in Munich   All of the above is valid for all citizens of any EU country. There are different rules for non-EU citizens.

See also the TT guide page to German language schools in Munich.