Rent Costs and Marrying in Europe?

Hi everyone!

I recently decided that I'm done with NYC and am going to try to move to Europe. I have purchased my ticket for February and am so excited! Can anyone answer some questions below?

• My two cities are either Berlin or Paris. Berlin seems easier and cheaper. Paris is my dream city, but it seems like a lot of red tape to get through to actually move there. Has anyone done this successfully? I used to work at a hostel and met some American girls living in Paris. I never bothered to ask them how they did it but I wish now that I had!
• And if I were to marry my boyfriend (an Italian), would I have to live in Italy for 6 months after marriage to get my working/residency papers or could it be anywhere in the Schengen zone?

Any/all stories welcome! I'd love to hear what other people have done and how they've successfully made the move to another country. And please let me know if this is in the wrong section!

Try posting in the Western Europe forum.

That said, you'll have to deal with a lot of red tape, no matter if you go to Berlin or Paris.
As a US citizen, a work permit will be very hard to get for any of these countries. A student visa will be easier.

without any long term visa you will only get 90 days- after that you'll be an illegal alien. Unless you have very specific skills it is unlikely that an employer will sponsor you.

It is possible to get a spousal visa- in some EU countries you don;t even have to be married. I have a passport from an EU member state and my US wife has gotten long-term visas in the UK, NL, Italy and France. So that's possible.
However:
- you probably have to be married before you arrive in the country
- your EU husband should be able to prove that he can support you- so your boyfriend most likely needs a job with a decent income in Germany or France before they will give you a visa.

My wife got here visa for France realtively easily- there was red tape but it was more tedious, involving several visits to the police, than insurmountable. However, I have a contract with a French firm and got support from a relocation agency to navigate the red tape.

Have I got this right?

You are a US citizen planning to move to Paris or Berlin but have not arranged to have a visa/residency for either France or Germany?

You must be joking or leaving out the part where you know how you are going to arrange to live there legally. As mentioned already you can stay 90 days legally as a tourist and that's it unless you have arranged a visa before you go.

You must be joking

Travelinstyle, you'd be amazed how naive/clueless many people are about these sort of things. People sometimes assume that since they're American (or from another rich country) they can go wherever they please- immigration rules are only to keep out the poor masses. Not true, obviously.

The other assumption that pops up regularly that if they get married their spouse will automatically get a new passport. Again, probably naiveté but clearly not true.

Hi all,

Just an update!! I have in fact received my residency permit for Berlin, and I did it all in Germany.

Advice for travelinstyle46 and MTL. Stop being so snarky. It's not appreciated or cute. If you ARE an American, you can apply for the residency permit after you are already in the country.

Thanks all!

advice for atousa. Why don't you explain how you succeeded in obtaining this residency permit? that way other may benefit from your experience too. or did you just come to brag? it's not appreciated or cute.

BTW I am amazed cities give out residency permits. Surely only countries are entitled to do so?

Atousa, you are leaving something out.

You wrote, "I have purchased my ticket for February"+ This is December and now you write, +"I have in fact received my residency permit for Berlin and I did it all in Germany"

If you are going in February how did you do anything in Germany? Did you in fact fly to Germany already? Can you explain as MTL asks, how you went about getting residency in Germany as an American citizen? On what basis did you get residency? ie. student, skilled worker?

You leave out more than you put in and I for one would be curious to know just exactly what you did and how you did it. There is no question that the average American citizen cannot simply say, 'I'd like to live in Germany' and get a residency permit on that basis alone. Neither MTL or myself are unfamiliar with the processes and qualifications necessary to get residency in another country but you have said nothing about how you navigated through them. Rather than providing information that might help someone else, all you've done is make an unverifiable statement which is of no use to anyone.

As I wrote earlier, "You must be joking or leaving out the part where you know how you are going to arrange to live there legally." So which is it? Either you are joking or you can explain how you arranged to get residency.

I'm guessing you got a student visa. Of course that is limited. It is not residency in the sense of you can stay and work forever.

Sorry about the late response.

I switched my flight and am currently in Berlin. If you're an American, you CAN apply for your residency permit while you're already in the country. You can apply for it with only a week left on your tourist visa.
I made an appointment with the immigration office and went with my bank statements, my rental contract, a contract from a potential employer as well as references from other potential employers, my CV and copies of my diploma.
They gave me an extension while the paperwork was sorted out, but I finally got my residency permit and permission to work.

So yes, it is possible.

Again, you are not making it clear on what BASIS you applied for and were granted residency. It sounds like you applied based on a job skill. What kind of skill? I don't imagine it was as a burger flipper for MickeyD's. Either you are being deliberately obtuse or you just don't understand that you are not providing information of use to others.

What you have written is, "If you ARE an American, you can apply for the residency permit after you are already in the country."

That implies that ANY American with no skills whatsover can just show up and stay forever. That is certainly not true.