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How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

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Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not saying Germany is slow, but that is one area where US is far behind. 21 Months - This is the current processing time for a green card after you have sent in all the paperwork to the USCIS for processing. During that time, you get no updates and of-course if you leave the country without AP, your application is considered to be abandoned. https://imgur.com/a/t8rYOjv

It's the same in Australia; when you apply for permanent residency your application goes into a black hole. I wanted to learn more about my status and all I got back from the immigration people was 'the agent processing your application will contact you. We do not give out contact details for your agent. You will have to wait'. It took about 8 months. Once your 'regular' visa expires you go onto a bridging visa which…

Japan immigration (if you have a college degree) seems to be pretty high up there. PR takes a while, and processing is a bit of a black hole, but generally speaking you apply, application extends your visa a bit, and they get back to you within the period. And it’s maybe $100?

People complain but its generally predictable save for applications for a 3 year visa can lead to a 1 year visa or a 3 year visa or a 5 year visa

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#372
post #114

I document German bureaucracy for a living,[0] and everything is like that. Every life event - immigrating, getting a job, getting married, having a child, buying a car - is mired in slow, paper-based bureaucracy. It is a constant, significant impediment to life in the country. Just last week, I was telling people that the best way to get married in Germany is to get married in Denmark. I cannot overstate how terribl…

I completely agree. I have been living here for 8 years, and recently applied for a permanent settlement permit. My application went into a blackhole for more than 4 months, while my existing permit expired, essentially making me a prisoner here (I can stay and work in Germany but if I travel internationally, I won't be allowed entry back). Meanwhile, my applications for a temporary travel permit were unanswered for…

That happens in many countries and usually experience is exactly the same

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm European because of US healthcare, insecurity, inequality, bad food culture, urban planning, and danger from natural and man made disasters, quality and cost of education. Every single one of those things is better in my new European home.

A very good summary. There's also more Nazis in America than in Germany, and more far-right hatred in general.

There aren't Nazis anywhere in any quantity you should worry about, turn off the CNN

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#374
post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree. I have been living here for 8 years, and recently applied for a permanent settlement permit. My application went into a blackhole for more than 4 months, while my existing permit expired, essentially making me a prisoner here (I can stay and work in Germany but if I travel internationally, I won't be allowed entry back). Meanwhile, my applications for a temporary travel permit were unanswered for…

I am a bit flummoxed how you can stay in the country after a permit expires. I’m not for stricter rules but I’ve heard this from several people (I think people in the US as well) and it seems like “permit to enter/leave” is a very weird structure instead of “permit to be here”. I think most immigration offices in the world are pretty much black boxes, mainly because that’s their coping mechanism to deal with the infl…

> I am a bit flummoxed how you can stay in the country after a permit expires.

In many countries this is viewed as "it's not your fault, it's the state's fault that the state hasn't processed your application yet, so we will not punish you for the state's tardiness"

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#375
post #364
post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best I'd say is a sense of collectiveness that is somewhat higher than other countries. I wouldn't say that this comes anywhere close to many other countries in Germany. Societal coherence in e.g. Russia or Norway is much higher than in Germany. I think it's rather the other way around: The countries you're comparing to might be exceptionally bad at it, and Germany is average.

Can you elaborate on societal coherence in Russia? This in particular piques my interest; what I hear from Russia is that it's a place where any interpersonal conflict is resolved with (verbal) violence.

interpersonal conflict has nothing to do with societal coherence tho... unless it's a social conflict. and let's say that social conflicts in russia doesn't happen anymore unfortunately. they used to be good at it.

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#376
Come form a company in Finland instead! We're quite a bit better on the margin in this regard.

Okay, alright, there are a lot of EU countries that are quite a bit better in this regard. More generally: Do your research, shop around, and move to opportunity!

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree. I have been living here for 8 years, and recently applied for a permanent settlement permit. My application went into a blackhole for more than 4 months, while my existing permit expired, essentially making me a prisoner here (I can stay and work in Germany but if I travel internationally, I won't be allowed entry back). Meanwhile, my applications for a temporary travel permit were unanswered for…

From a USA perspective, I find that usually when a bureaucratic process is hopelessly broken, it is because a small portion of the population actively hates the people that would benefit from the process and want to harm them. However they cannot legally or popularly discriminate against them so instead they destroy the processes that benefit the hated group. Do you get that impression where you are too?

Nailed it. Then you get Hanlon's Razor obsessed people rushing to defend the government. It works wonders

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#378
post #114

I document German bureaucracy for a living,[0] and everything is like that. Every life event - immigrating, getting a job, getting married, having a child, buying a car - is mired in slow, paper-based bureaucracy. It is a constant, significant impediment to life in the country. Just last week, I was telling people that the best way to get married in Germany is to get married in Denmark. I cannot overstate how terribl…

I completely agree. I have been living here for 8 years, and recently applied for a permanent settlement permit. My application went into a blackhole for more than 4 months, while my existing permit expired, essentially making me a prisoner here (I can stay and work in Germany but if I travel internationally, I won't be allowed entry back). Meanwhile, my applications for a temporary travel permit were unanswered for…

My sympathy for your troubles, but please keep in mind: Everybody is processing Ukranians and Arabs. The system was never meant for such a rapid influx of people.

The people working on immigration are not lazy or unmotivated, they are exhausted.

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#379
post #374
post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a bit flummoxed how you can stay in the country after a permit expires. I’m not for stricter rules but I’ve heard this from several people (I think people in the US as well) and it seems like “permit to enter/leave” is a very weird structure instead of “permit to be here”. I think most immigration offices in the world are pretty much black boxes, mainly because that’s their coping mechanism to deal with the infl…

> I am a bit flummoxed how you can stay in the country after a permit expires. In many countries this is viewed as "it's not your fault, it's the state's fault that the state hasn't processed your application yet, so we will not punish you for the state's tardiness"

Hmmm… that makes more sense. My experience was getting a visa automatically extended for N months on application, and applications not ever being processed slower than that. But I can totally see the US having wild backlog, for example

Re: How to found a company in Germany: 14 "easy" steps and lots of pain

#380
post #51

Minimum initial share capital of €12,500 to found a company where liability is limited to the firm seems like a very regressive impediment to business. For comparison in the UK, there's a £12 registration fee, and a £1 (one pound) minimum initial share capital. It must put limited liability out of reach of so many people.

Since 2008 you can found a "UG" ("Mini GmbH") that doesn't require that much upfront capital. It can be foundet with 1 Euro. The catch is that you need use 25% of your yearly revenue until you reached the 25k of a proper GmbH. https://www.firma.de/en/company-formation/what-is-a-ug-haftu...

The registration at the notary alone already costs several hundred euros, you would be immediately bankrupt with 1€.
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