Immigration and Security Clearance

Jinzo New member

Member since 22 July 2022

JinzoNew member22 September 2022 00:29:35

I've had the worst luck with immigration and it keeps getting worse, I would love some insight from anyone who might be able to help.

I was born and raised in Canada, now living here in Berlin, Germany for about 5 months. I came here with my wife to start a family and shortly upon arrival, I received a job offer in the field of technology with a large company. The company assigned lawyers from Ernst and Young to help me get a Visa, they advised me to pursue a family reunion route (to receive permanent residence) since my wife is German.

Here is the problem, I went to my appointment at the immigration office and was told that there is a person in a criminal database who has the exact same name as I do. I was not able to get my Visa, my fingerprints were taken by the immigration office and it has now been 6 weeks of waiting for the fingerprints to clear so I can get my Visa to start working. Further context is that the immigration office told the lawyers that they will no longer respond to their inquiries (we inquired multiple times anyways and no response).

As of now, I do not have the ability to work or contact someone at the immigration office to get visibility into what is happening.

In total, it is now over 3 months since the application started. I waited 9 weeks to get the appointment, and now 6 weeks since the appointment with no timeline and rejection of communication.

My questions to the community are:

- Do you know of any paths to success here?

- Can I make a claim against the immigration office to pay me for lost wages if they cannot prove in court that in fact (a) there is someone with same name (b) this long wait time is justified with reason not unfair treatment?

- Are there any organizations in Germany or Canada I should be reaching out to who can help?

- How can I request a police or security clearance myself by submitting my fingerprints for analysis in Germany?

ALKB Germany Advisor

Member since 04 May 2021

ALKBGermany Advisor22 September 2022 06:33:43

206

@Jinzo

I am afraid, the only thing you can do is wait.

While a number of nationalities (Canadian, US-American, Japanese, ...) are priviledged and can arrive in Germany on visitor entrance clearing received upon arrival, applying for work/residence permits in-country, situations like yours make it not advisable.

The immigration authority is waiting for clearance from one or more other government agencies and this will take as long as it takes, depending on the workload of those agencies and whether other situations take priority. Pestering the immigration authority is not going to make this go quicker, it will just make the civil servants there groan whenever your name comes up.

I don´t think you can claim lost income. It was your choice to arrive in Germany without a visa that allows you to work. Immigration applications are not a service you buy but an application that may or may not be granted - no guarantees, you have to meet the requirements. I´d think your lawyers would be in a much better position to advise you, though.

Maybe one of these organizations could advise you:

https://www.berlin.de/sen/soziales/serv … aldienste/

I am not sure whether it would do any good, but you could certainly contact the relevant authority of every country you have lived in for more than six months and request a criminal record check. You´d have to look up the procedure for each individual country.

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

Member since 08 August 2010

Germany & Singapore Expert

beppiGermany/Singapore Expert22 September 2022 07:27:27

15584

I agree with ALKB above: Althoughit might be painful in your situation, there is nothing you can do but wait - and you have no claims against anyone (because getting the visa is not a right).

The Ausländeramts everywhere are overloaded, and especially so in Berlin, where most of the current refugees arrive. Recently, a friend of ours (in Stuttgart) gave up applying for a Job Seeker Visa (which would be valid for 6 months) after a one year wait.

The only alternative I see (and which ALKB already hinted at) is returning to your country and applying at the German embassy there. This might or might not be faster (possibly less backlog there) - certainly calling them and asking does no harm.

Jinzo New member

Member since 22 July 2022

JinzoNew member22 September 2022 15:46:00

Thank you everyone, this is helpful and it seems as though waiting is the only option. I will contact the German Embassy in Canada to see if there are options if I apply there but that's probably a longshot.

Immigration and visa assistance

Comprehensive support with Germany visa applications and immigration procedures.

topinsight01 Banned

Member since 24 April 2022

topinsight01Banned22 September 2022 16:42:32

347

Thank you everyone, this is helpful and it seems as though waiting is the only option. I will contact the German Embassy in Canada to see if there are options if I apply there but that's probably a longshot.
-@Jinzo

The german embassy in Canada will be only able to help you when you have applied an application in there. Only thing you can do is wait.