AdHa

  I'm just imagining him showing a completely different set of cards...   "Say it's the carol singers"   "You're a cracking looking bint"   "How'd you like a big dollop of Boris?"   ....

No specialist will touch me without an Überweisung from the GP but I belong to a public Kasse. If you go private they may well take you straight away (and charge a pretty penny too).

  If you're already earning 80K then your expectation is not unrealistic for you, even if it might be for them. My guess - they are a relatively small company so they are less able to offer a higher salary. Bigger companies pay higher salaries.

@MrMiles   It'd probably help if you told us what you were applying for and what docs they want certified copies of. Take a look back at what you posted:   " Any photocopies of original certificates must be officially certified or certified by a notary ...  Only the following persons and bodies may certify photocopies: ... German administrations (such as the residents’ registration office, registry office, or mis-sion abroad) "   Your local government agency can provide certified copies of your marriage/divorce, birth certs, etc. (yes, even when they're non-German) when they are required by the German authorities, which is your case.

  The words you need to look for are "Beglaubigung von Kopien". They will do it for documents required by a government agency, which is what you need (and they also do it for docs issued by a government agency, if you need that service in the future).   https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/121701/   €5 per sheet.   I don't know how picky they are in Berlin. I only ever needed certified copies of original English language documents (no translations into German, etc) in my Kreis in Schleswig-Holstein. For originals in other languages, you may well require translations - doesn't sound like this is the case for you.

Your Rathaus.  

  No,I don't get a choice now (lived outside the UK too long) but honestly, since getting German citizenship, my feeling is that the UK can go f*ck itself. Some may argue it already has.

Re-animation warning...   Just in case anyone is interested in the future, there is this private school close(ish) to Hamburg, in Schleswig-Holstein. https://www.leibniz-privatschule.de/en/unser-konzept/grundschule/unterricht-auf-englisch-funktioniert/   I don't have personal experience - just fyi.

  Welcome to the club. Now you have Bürgerrechte + Bürgerpflichten. :-)  You'll be off to your Rathaus to apply for your Personalausweis next.   Also, don't forget to do your tax return, don't forget to deliver assistance to others if required and look forward to a letter to serve "ehrenamtlich". ;-)

  I'm too afraid to ask.

I think you're going to have a customs issue with importing oil with unknown ingredients. - there will be no label detailing contents, etc to comply with EU import regs.

I know it's not nice to criticize other people's babies but that 'cyber' truck is one ug-leeee mofo.

Jesus. Reading this thread I'm so glad I don't live in Berlin. The efficiency in S-H was much better and the people at the Ausländerbehörde so much friendlier.

If you can read German... looks like these fish are a PITA to own (apparently they need to be chipped and CITES certified). https://www.einrichtungsbeispiele.de/zierfische/diverse-biotope/arowana-slnk.html#S8  

Doctor will usually do it but because his time is paid by your KV they will often ask you if you're ok and maybe do a blood pressure check to justify the 5-10 minutes they spend with you signing forms.