Hello everyone,
Having a disability should not be a barrier to living abroad. While the intricacies of one's move to Germany may be specific to the individual, certain steps can be undertaken to make the process smoother.
What are the important aspects you would personally keep in mind during the planning phase (social security benefits, ongoing medical treatment, etc.)?
Are you required to go through a medical check-up before your move?
Are there any organisations or groups who lend support to expatriates who have a disability?
What are your thoughts on the infrastructure in Germany (public spaces, transportation and buildings)?
Are there enough opportunities to make the most of your social life in Germany? Are leisure activities made accessible to people with disabilities?
Please do share your experience with us.
Bhavna
Moving to Germany with a disability
There is a lot of effort to make things accessible for handicaps but not nearly enough. Many buses and many trains are made to allow wheel chairs for example. And handicaps can often use public transportation and a helper for free and handicapped parking places are common. Also at public pools there are often special dressing rooms or even lifts for getting people in and out of the water. The problem is that it is not universal. Many buildings have steps and no ramps and train stations might have no elevators or they are often broken. Having cared for someone in a wheelchair I know it can be extremely difficult. Just a single part of a journey can block one getting to their destination when elevators don't work or are non-existent.
Modern architecture tends to encompass barrier free planning but there will never be a time when the problem will be 100% solved. A lot of it comes down to cost/benefit analysis. Most of the public transportation in the Stuttgart region is barrier free at an enormous cost. But like mentioned the train stations often aren't usable. Other communities have taken the approach to just have special taxis services or vouchers which provide much better and personalized service and in the end save money.
Many benefits from insurance or social programs will be dependent on one's degree of handicap. When one is say rated at 70% then it can be a continual conflict about what is paid or provided and what not. I can imagine that if one already has a certification of being handicapped say from another EU country then they might not need any additional checkup in Germany. But one should establishes a relationship with a general practitioner upon arrival anyway. German health care policies pay for all doctor visits and necessary tests so getting any needed exams or certification of being handicapped should be pretty straight forward and free. But again, the judgment of grade of disability might be contentious. It could well be that a doctor in another country rates someone as 100% disabled while elsewhere it is deemed less.
Tom's excellent post above tell most of the important facts.
I'd like to add that, unless you come to work (with a job lined up), you might not be eligible to the many available financial aids for disabled people. And private health insurers are allowed to (and probably will) deny you entry or apply surcharges for your condition - so only come iof you can join the public health insurance scheme!
Bhavna wrote:Hello everyone,
Having a disability should not be a barrier to living abroad. While the intricacies of ones move to Germany may be specific to the individual, certain steps can be undertaken to make the process smoother.
What are the important aspects you would personally keep in mind during the planning phase (social security benefits, ongoing medical treatment, etc.)?
Are you required to go through a medical check-up before your move?
Are there any organisations or groups who lend support to expatriates who have a disability?
What are your thoughts on the infrastructure in Germany (public spaces, transportation and buildings)?
Are there enough opportunities to make the most of your social life in Germany? Are leisure activities made accessible to people with disabilities?
Please do share your experience with us.
Bhavna
Good afternoon Bhavna, thank you and welcome at Expat community and for sure in Freestate Bavaria.
There are plenty of disability benefits as if you know how to request for that and let me revert direct to your questions below:
In first instance the medical treatment from German doctors seems to be almost fabulous . If you are European citizenship holder then you can use your European Health Insurance Card for emergency reasons everywhere you visit a specialized doctor on your needed medical treatment for HELP!!! on emergency reasons for professional health care only!!!
With respect to your question on medical-check up you do need to ask on best manner your HR department advisor in accordance to approve that before you break their barrier on your move for living abroad. If you change the employer due to its various market behavior and personal change reasons then you dont need to ask anybody because they wont have to observe the right to take care about your personal new future ahead of you and beloved ones abroad. Each and every legal criteria does refer for sure on medical assertion combined as underlined with European civil law in great European Union .
All prior prejudice suffered benefits as happen to each and every individual shall remain in their prior country but always bear in mind that any personal decision to make the move abroad must being accepted from that prior work organizations on the captioned legal criterias only. Therefore they do not need to carry on you about your personal intention to move abroad and somewhere else and to explore completely different or completely alike new golden expat market fields abroad there .
If you get medical support on your companies policy then you have won already cause you can choose each and every single or group practice specified medical doctors in nearly all towns and sometimes also in villages surrounded from the metropolitan Cities in Bavaria.
In Germany the main organization and group to support expatriates on disability allowance with their own Governmental institution as being named as so called 'Zentrum Bayern für Familie und Soziales" in Freestate Bavaria. Just give them a phone call and they are very helpful for individuals there !
Therefore please see their website on specific disability criteria as follows on :
https://www.zbfs.bayern.de/barrierefrei … rache.php# . Unfortunately thus website is sole available in German language so do not have any harm to ask German speaker for support.
For example as if you have a disability grade above 30 severe disability points and that does mean a lot then you are equally to all other employees from the employment market and no employer can make you redundant etc. based on your lack on incapacity for disability combined for sure with duty of work as addicted on basic constitution law within of that European Union.
That above captioned subject , was one main action point on the employee protection content from unfair dismissal there and for sure it must be an German , UK or United States domiciled employer who does support such intention from their Headquarter on a personal individual employee on its usage from medical authorities behavior there.
The infrastructure in Germany is alike in all other industrialized countries in the world. Aside from the very comfortable created public spaces the areas are definitively slightly safe, secure and very clean comparing to many other cities in the world . There are a lot of leisure activities being used in Museums, Art Galeries and indoor and outdoor pool areas for gaining disability benefits on fee entry there.
In specific conjunction to your a social life questions please just ask the Expatriots society there in accordance to clairify that pending question immediately; For sure there are a lot of language course classes on full-time or dual work basis or you should just ask at your University switchboard there.
Trust that helps, and good luck for you and all other Expatriots and enjoy great time there !!!
Best wishes,
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