Moving from TESA position to TESA position?

[yeet 0]

Hello,

 

Little backstory:

 

So I have been contracting in Germany for a little over a year now in a TESA position. I am married and my wife is working a TESA position as well. She originally came here as a dependent under my SOFA status. We own no property in Germany, no kids, no German bank accounts, etc. 

 

As of last month I have since left the original position for another position that is also TESA. My TESA status for my old job went to "Terminate Applicant" and was approved. Currently my TESA application status for my new position is in "Pending Authorities".

 

The dilemma:

 

My first day of work was Monday and I have not been able to acquire a new CAC, as I had to turn in both my CAC and SOFA cards after terminating my last job and my TESA status is still "Pending Authorities". It has been with the authorities for about 3 and a half weeks now with no movement.

 

My new job still had me come in and start the onboarding for the company this week, fill in my timecard, etc - so I assume I will be getting paid as normal.

 

My question is, am I screwed? Will my TESA be denied if I'm just changing from one company to the next? I don't remember it taking this long for my first TESA application to get approved, so I am getting a bit anxious if I will have to leave the country as the authorities are taking so long to approve (or deny, let's hope not) my application. There has to be a period of time I can be in-country without status correct?

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated, I have been stressing myself sick over this situation this past week.

 

Thanks in advance.

[JG52 1,043]

Take a deep breath and relax.  You are boldly going where thousands have gone before and you have nothing to fear.  Your gaining COR should have submitted you under the Military Exigency clause, which would give you conditional TESA status in a couple of days.

 

You also have the unmentioned benefit of being a dependent of your wife, so you still have SOFA status if you want a dependent ID card.

 

While you can onboard with your new company, you are not allowed to work and earn wages until your TESA application is approved and you receive your new DD Form 1172-2.  Your company is free to pay you to stay at home, but most DOD contracts with TESA positions have a clause that prohibits the Contractor from billing for your hours until you have full status and are able to work.

 

The Germans understand there can be processing delays when changing contracts.  You are in your 90-day tourist status while your application is being processed.  This will not count against you in future TESA applications as long as you document the unemployed time as "awaiting TESA approval."

[yeet 0]

@JG52

 

Thank you so much for your reply, I've seen you quite a bit on this forum and I appreciate your experienced advice.

 

Even though I have been contracting in Germany for over a year this process never seems to get easier to understand, but you have given me all the answers I was looking for.

 

Thank you, have a great day.

[JG52 1,043]

@yeet, I'm glad I could help.