Our experience with immigration authorities is generally very positive. We all know it takes ages to get an appointment with them in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, but we always do our best for our assignees and our dealings with the authorities in other cities such Koblenz, Berlin, Trier, Saarbücken and Bonn run smoothly. Of course there are occasional delays, but we take care of the appointments, forward the required documents in advance and respond immediately if additional documents are requested. The procedure is pretty much identical: send documents for the person and/or family to the immigration office, attend the appointment in person to record the applicants’ biometric data and afterwards pick up the residence permits.
Not so in Siegburg! For a start, there is also a long waiting list (4-6 months) for an appointment, we can take this in our stride, but the whole process can only be described as incomprehensible. For a start, there is also a long waiting list (4-6 months) for an appointment, we can take this in our stride, but the whole process can only be described as incomprehensible. We had an appointment on 24.10.2023 for a family of 4 from Turkey. We had applied for the EU Blue Card for our assignee and residence permits for his wife and two children. When we presented ourselves at the office on the appointed date, we were immediately allocated further appointments for March 2024 to enable the provisional residence permits to be extended if necessary. Following this, our assignee received a letter from the immigration authority informing him of his obligation to participate in a German orientation and language course.
Our first thought was the letter is an oversight, but unfortunately it proved not to be the case. The Immigration Office Siegburg stipulates a course is mandatory for skilled staff who receive an EU Blue Card. Legally it is possible, but I am not aware of any other authority that demands this – in our experience, the spouse is obliged to attend the orientation course, but not the EU Blue Card Holder. Our assignee had already joined language courses and could demonstrate the A 1.2 level certificate, as well as proof of enrollment for the next level A 2.1.
When it was time to collect his Blue Card, it was all sorted out: a test and an appointment with the integration officer had been set! Shortly afterwards we could pick up the residence permit for one child at the Town Hall, not the immigration office but there was no information regarding the permits for his wife and second child. A welcoming culture looks different…
