Hello all! I am traveling to Germany with food allergies, and made a double-sided card to hand to servers.

I wanted to make sure the German side makes sense/has the best terms. Any feedback is helpful!

Thank you!

Edit: Hello everyone and thank for your responses! I definitely would talk to the waiter normally and just ask the card be passed on, sorry if that didn’t come across!

I like the suggestion of making the card more plain as to not come across rude, and listing the allergens/tweaking a few phrases per suggestions.

Thank you everyone and I hope I can find a few places willing to serve me 😅

The worst one that I know, would be John Oliver, who literally just shouts something and then makes a comment about the language sounding harsh and ugly.

link

second link

Hello everyone!

I'm writing this post in hopes of finding one or two people who are Gen Z and who would be willing to talk to me (if possible, over a call, but if you're not comfortable with that, then through written exchange only) about their view of/opinions on the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia.

I'm writing my Master's thesis about how opinions on this historical event change through different generations of Germans, since I would like to bring more of the German perspective here to the Czech Republic (where the sheer lack of it causes people to have a very skewed idea of the whole event), and since it's rather impossible to find anyone my age in the different associations and groups of the descendants of the expelled Germans, I decided that Reddit may just be the way to get in touch with someone whose ancestors (most likely great-grandparents) got deported after the war.

You do not need to be knowledgeable in history (though I'd naturally be thrilled to get even the view of someone who perhaps studies history or orients themselves well in it). I won't really be asking you about historical dates and facts. Mostly, the conversation is going to be about your opinion on how that event is viewed by you and in today's German society + how the memories of it were or were not passed on in your family.

Thank you so much for reading to this point and possibly leaving a comment. It means a ton to me!

Edit: I'm posting this here because I'm hoping to find someone who would be comfortable leading the exchange in English. My conversational German is rather rusty, and I do not believe it's at a level to carry out a discussion about this complex topic.

I am planning to apply for citizenship in Germany. But I have a problem.

1. I was born in Austria (Linz), so I have a birth certificate from Austria with birth place: Linz. In this birth certificate my name is registered: Asad. (I do not have Austrian citizenship).
2. But I am originally Iraqi. Iraq embassy registered Vienna as my birth place in their my Iraqi birth certificate. In this birth certificate, when translated into English, my name is Assad.
3. Later I immigrated to USA (citizen). In USA I explained the things and all my documents have Linz as birthplace, and the name is Assad. I don't have USA birth certificate!
4. now I want to apply for citizenship in Germany. (After PhD in USA I am working with Blue Card for a long time in Germany) They need a birth certificate. If I give the Austrian birth certificate, birth place would be correct, but name would be not correct (just one S). If I give the translation of the Iraqi birth certificate the name would be correct but birth place would be Vienna!

Assad <> Asad , Vienna <> Linz.

All my working documents in USA and Germany up to now are with Vienna and Assad!

What can I do?

Hello everyone,

I arrive at T3 at 19:00 hrs on 31st Dec.

As a Non-EU how long does it take from the arrival to reach the Frankfurt Airport train station?

I am planning to take ICE to another city. Is 3 hrs buffer more than enough?

Looking for the experiences from anyone who arrived in the evening hours.

Thanks in advance.

Hi all. as the title states, I am moving into a new apartment in Dusseldorf and as we know the previous tenant won't introduce you to the landlord if you don't sign the purchase agreement for the takeover of the kitchen. The tenant would only offer a viewing after signing the kitchen takeover agreement contract. Now I asked him for the receipts, as I have received the apartment from the landlord and have noticed a few things.
1. He told my sister and I after we later viewed the apartment that the kitchen cost him about 6.000. After reviewing the receipts he himself sent to me, it cost him about half of that.

1. He also said that he had used the kitchen for two years (this was written in the ad) but the receipt shows its been nearly four years.

2. The kitchen is really a standard Ikea kitchen and if it was worth 3K then, it definitely isnt worth 3,5K now.

What are my options after already signing the contract?

Hi everyone,

I'm living in Germany and would appreciate some advice.

On October 15, I ordered an iPhone Air 256GB with a 24-month Otelo mobile contract through CHECK24. The seller was Sparhandy.

Today (October 19), a DHL courier delivered the package directly to my apartment door.

The parcel felt unusually light. When I opened it, I found only the SIM card and some paperwork. The iPhone was completely missing.

What makes this particularly concerning:

Sparhandy's shipping confirmation explicitly lists both the iPhone and SIM card under the same DHL tracking number.

The invoice includes the iPhone and its IMEI.

The DHL shipping label states a weight of 0.41 kg.

I have photos of the packaging and everything inside.

The mobile contract is already active.

I've already contacted Sparhandy by email and phone. Their customer service told me to wait for a response, but I haven't received confirmation of an investigation yet.

I've also contacted CHECK24 by email.

My questions:

Has anyone experienced something similar with Sparhandy or DHL? How was it resolved?

Should I submit a DHL Schadensanzeige myself, or should Sparhandy handle it?

What happens if Sparhandy claims the phone was packed and shipped correctly?

What evidence should I preserve to protect myself?

Since the mobile contract is already active, what are my rights if the phone isn't delivered?

I would prefer to receive the iPhone rather than cancel the contract.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone! 😊

My fiancé is German, and we’re planning to get married in South Korea.

One of the documents we need to submit in Seoul is proof that he’s legally free to marry (an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis / certificate of no impediment), with an apostille.

We live in Düsseldorf, standesamt said it will take about two weeks to get this document but he didnt tell us the apostile duration… I’d really appreciate hearing about experiences whom got Ehefähigkeitszeugnis with an ‘apostille’ in Germany

Hello!! As you all probably know, the housing situation is pretty difficult in Germany. My husband and I just decided to get the most expensive immoscout membership so that we can make our appartment search more effective and improve our chances to get rent. However, we have several questions about the benefits that the membership has. I would like to ask for general advice, tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the membership! If any of you has been lucky using this method, it would be very useful to know what worked for you. Thank you very much!

A small background, I tore a small ligament on my wrist a few years ago while working, I didn't think it would be important since I didn't notice it until quite recently where it started to flare up because of my new job. The doctor said the only way I could get this healed up was to quit working physical labour job and to take at least 3 months to heal after surgery.

The problem is, I just recently returned to Germany. I am not qualified for any ALG nor anything of that kind yet, I didn't pay enough into the Sozialversicherung according to Arbeitsamt.

I took a new job not long ago out of desperation, it was labour intensive work, that really hurt my wrist again. If I opt for the surgery, I would have much relief to my hand but my new workplace would let me go for sure, which again, means I won't be able to get any financial support whatsoever (I am still in Probezeit).

The pain is so unbearable on most days, I can't take painkillers without the risk of me being giddy and losing concentration, causing work-place accidents.

I'm looking for any sort of advice on what to do here.

Hello Gemeinde,

Does anyone know how the tax system works if a student does a werkstudent plus HiWi job. What are the common practices and if it is worth taking on a HiWi job or no.

Hi everyone,
I applied for a German police certificate (Führungszeugnis) from Algeria, and I’m wondering if anyone is in the same situation.
Here is my timeline:
August 25, 2026: My application was delivered to the Bundesamt für Justiz in Bonn.
Payment: €13 paid, and I have proof of payment.
Current status: Still waiting for the certificate.
Follow-up: I’ve called several times over the past 10 days and sent more than six emails, but I haven’t received any response.
I need the certificate for my Canadian permanent residence application, and IRCC has given me until December 15, 2026, to submit it.
My questions:
Has anyone whose application was received by the Bundesamt für Justiz in August 2026 received their Führungszeugnis yet?
How long did it take from delivery of the application to receiving the certificate?
Has anyone managed to contact the Bundesamt für Justiz recently or received a response to their emails?
If you applied from outside Germany, how long did you wait?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your recent experiences, especially from people who applied in August.
Thank you!

I don’t know if that the right community.
I know there is a lot of scamming at Kleinanzeigen but can anybody tell me if this is a good deal?
I remember playing NES and all those games like super Mario bros and so on.
There has to be a cracked version on it but is this a dealbreaker?
Thank you!

EDIT: It’s solved, thank you!

Hi everyone

I am currently experiencing significant distress regarding my five-year-old daughter's(born here) residence status. Despite both my spouse and me holding permanent residency and having a stable history in Germany, a delay in renewing my daughter's residence permit—caused by an honest misunderstanding and a delay in receiving her passport—has resulted in her being issued a Duldung 60a. This situation has become particularly complicated because I am currently in the process of applying for citizenship. Having waited two years for my application to progress, the case worker is now requesting her current residence permit, and I am uncertain how to navigate this without jeopardizing my application.

I have been advised by a migration service(migration deinst) to inform the official only that I am waiting for an update from the ausländerbehörde but I remain deeply concerned about the outcome. I would appreciate any advice or insight from anyone who has navigated a similar situation.

Some details for context

Me and my spause have neiderlassung.

I did my Masters here and working at a good job for last 6 years. Never received any help or aid from government. No criminal records.

Here is the text from the letter given by ausländerbehörde for info.

"""Ihr bisheriger Aufenthaltstitel war bis zum juni 2026 gültig. Sie beantragten erstmals nachweislich am august 2026 die Erteilung/Verlängerung Ihres Aufenthaltstitels. Ihre Antragsstellung erfolgte damit 80 Tage zu spät. Mangels fristgerechter Antragstellung sind Sie gemäß § 50 Abs. 1 AufenthG in Verbindung mit § 58 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 AufenthG vollziehbar ausreisepflichtig. Das bedeutet, dass Ihr derzeitiger Aufenthalt in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland unrechtmäßig ist. Vom Erlass einer Ausreiseaufforderung inklusive Abschiebungsandrohung wird vorerst aufgrund lhrer bestehenden familiären Bindungen im Bundesgebiet abgesehen.

Unter Berücksichtigung Ihrer familiären Verwurzelung im Bundesgebiet wird derzeitig das Absehen vom Visumverfahren gemäß § 5 Abs. 2 Satz 2 AufenthG bzw. die Ausstellung einer Duldung gemäß § 60a Abs. 2 Satz 1 AufenthG geprüft. Unabhängig vom Ausgang jener Prüfungen werden Sie hiermit darüber belehrt, dass Sie gesetzlich zur fristgerechten Antragstellung verpflichtet sind. Die Antragstellung muss für die Ausländerbehörde stets nachvollziehbar sein."""

I could not find any such case online and how it ended. Maybe someone who have dealt similar situation in the past can help. Would really appreciate any support.

Best Regards

My friend, who immigrated from her home country to Germany in June of this year is on FRV since that time. She got married almost a year ago. Due to some major issues, she plans to divorce her husband. What will the procedure of divorce and the Visa after divorce?

PS. Advice from a lawyer would be appreciated.

Thinking of coming to Germany for a master's degree next year after I finish my bachelor's. My home country has a 'chicken or the egg' situation regarding immigration: they require both a university admission letter and proof of enrollment before allowing me to travel. However, my understanding is that official university enrollment usually requires you to be physically in Germany , I heard that Fintiba Plus lets you handle the digital health insurance notification (M10) entirely online to kickstart the process. But Expatrio's value package caught my attention because it is cheaper, includes creating bank account alongside blocked account to make the Anmeldung process smoother later, and offers housing search access , My most important question: Do Expatrio or Fintiba actually have a service that allows you to fully enroll in a German university while still in your home country? Or do they just handle the mandatory health insurance notification required by the university? Any advice from people who faced strict exit visa requirements back home would be highly appreciated!

Hello, everyone! A bit of an odd situation I find myself in that I would like to find a solution that is not as expensive as it ended up being last year.

• I am an EU citizen, living in Germany for more then a decade now.
• I have a permanent work contract for seasonal work, I work 7 months (thus my insurance is covered) and I am in Winterpause for the other 5 months.
• I want to take advantage of that gap in employment and thus I travel for 2 months and leave Germany entirely.
• Because of that, I cannot find short time employment, and Arbeitsamt does not pay/cover your insurance if you are away for more then 6 weeks.
• Arbeitsamt understandably only covers the rest somewhat because of my limited working period that precedes the gap (less than 3 months).

So I end up needing to pay 250 euros a month for insurance while unemployed, while not living in Germany and paying additional traveler insurance on top of that... because I am unemployed it is a *lot* of money to just loose for no benefit I am able to get (i.e. my german insurance will not be paying for any health related expenses while I am abroad).

Is there anything I can do to not find myself paying that much again? I have seen advice about de-registering myself at the Rathaus and thus not having a residency in Germany means I will not have to pay the Krankenkasse, and can register myself again when I come back, but how viable is that? Should I be scared that the Krankenkasse won't take me back or is that just a rumour? Any advice is deeply appreciated.

Extra question: Would doing abmeldung have an effect on my work contract? Or is it enough that I am back and registered by the time I am supposed to be working again?

Hi everyone! I recently lost my job and am considering further training to strengthen my skills and continue developing my career in digital design.

I’m based in Cologne and looking for courses taught in English that could be funded through a Bildungsgutschein from the Agentur für Arbeit.

Can anyone recommend reputable schools or courses with a good reputation among employers? I’m open to UX/UI and other relevant areas of digital design.

Thanks for any advice!

Ok so I have a German friend who was supposed to come with me to study together but he didn't get accepted so he decided to go to private school in Germany based on recommendations and his grades were very solid. It's apparently a co-ed boarding/day school but he lives in Germany so he doesn't board.

I'm a french dude who only went to Germany a few times to visit him and as a tourist, I never studied there or even saw a school but now I'm genuinely curious what it's like.

Is it hard? Is IB harder? Are there any specific rules or cultural differences, are German private schools really that hard?

And is settling complicated, as an international student I mean, and I heard that German people are kind of harsh and more direct, but honestly I'm not really a stereotypical person or anything like that so whenever someone makes an assumption it kind of disappoints me.

EDIT: I'm talking about a private boarding/day high school and the International baccalaureate program

I’m South African and my German fiancée lives in Bavaria. We’re planning to get married in Germany in March 2027. Since South Africa doesn’t issue an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis, we need the OLG exemption, and then I’ll apply for the marriage visa at the consulate in Cape Town.

Has anyone been through the same process? I’d love to hear about your experience, especially how long Home Affairs, DIRCO, the OLG and the visa took.

y’all folks talk as if having legal insurance automatically makes you a “vip client” with a direct 24/7 phone number to the best lawyer who is always by your side covering your ass and fighting for you

that’s not the case

not even close

i have this Rolland rechtsschutzversicherung…

first you get into trouble and get super stressed

you have no idea whether your insurance covers your case

you call insurance number, waiting on the line…

they connect you with an “independent lawyer” (wtf is that?) who CAN NOT answer questions about your policy, they just listen to your case and chat what you can or can not do and then when you ask them to help you they only say “you need to find a lawyer” and that they are just consultants.. so basically, they’re live chatGPT you can talk to — all the info they say you can successfully find online

and don’t try to tell me “they know better than what you can research online” — that’s nonsense, at least not today with such an abundance of information everywhere.

during the problems with my landlord i have called three times, landing on different “independent lawyers”, thus explaining the whole story over and over again, and all three of them told me different things about my rights!! one said i may just start paying 10-15% less rent, the other said I can not do this and shall write a letter. when I asked for an actual, tangible help to write one or at least share a template (this was pre-charGPT times) he just told me to find a lawyer. and the way they talk — constantly interrupting, not letting you finish a sentence, trying to finish the conversation within their allotted 15min (I believe this is their target, just like it is for medical insurance’s mandated doctor visits) — I feel like I’m just a nuisance for them which they want to get rid off quickly.

those landlord issues got resolved through other authority — Gesundheitsamt (we had rat infestation in our building due to the accumulated trash problem landlord refused to take care of), but last year the real problems started.

my mom passed away mid last year, due to presumed medical error/malpractice. during that stressful time i had to go through, I believe, 4-5 different Rolland agents who were not able to tell me what I can claim and what I can’t. most of them were rejecting this case as a non-insured event. only when i sent them a formal letter which took them two weeks to reply, they agreed to cover me at schadenkosten angle. the case is still ongoing…

then, a few months later, my employer goes bankrupt, i’m being terminated without respecting my termination notice terms and owed 2 monthly salaries, despite that the company was successfully sold by insolvenzverwalter. the case is still ongoing…

then, a month ago, after 3-4 months of employing a mieterverein lawyer who talked to our landlord and estimates our chances are quite high going against him in court (the dispute is about illegal rental contract expiration), I hire a third-party lawyer Rolland recommended me and they agree on covering my court costs (I’m filing Feststellungsklage). the case just got started…

a week later I receive an e-mail from Rolland:

Guten Tag,
Sie sind bei ROLAND Rechtsschutz versichert und Ihr Vertrag läuft noch bis zum* ***März 13, 2027****.
In den Bedingungen ist geregelt, dass beide Vertragspartner den Vertrag zum Ablauf kündigen können. Von dieser Möglichkeit möchten wir hiermit Gebrauch machen.
Grund dafür ist der Schadenverlauf Ihres Vertrages. Dieser Schritt ist in seltenen Fällen nötig. Denn eine Versicherung ist eine Gemeinschaft, in der viele Versicherte die Kosten für Einzelne gemeinsam tragen. Haben jedoch mehrere Kunden viele Schadenfälle, reichen die Beiträge der Gemeinschaft nicht mehr aus. Wir wollen aber, dass die Beiträge wettbewerbsfähig bleiben.
Mit diesem Schreiben kündigen wir also mit Hinweis auf Ziffer 14.2.2 der Allgemeinen Bedingungen für die Rechtsschutz-Versicherung zum genannten Zeitpunkt.
Wir hoffen auf Ihr Verständnis und wünschen Ihnen alles Gute!

…so I guess starting March 13th I’m on my own, huh ?

do they think I enjoy doing these things ? does it look like I took advantage of them ? after all, how much money have they already spent on me ? am I THAT unprofitable for them or their business model is that fragile, they had to get rid of me ?

I’m just getting so tired of feeling right-less, being constantly dismissed by “the system”, put on hold for hours “waiting for the next available representative” or straight up being lied to about my rights (I haven’t even mentioned my multiple disputes with airlines and car rentals when they refused their responsibilities unless pressured through formal letters citing law paragraphs). and you’d say, “get an insurance, man”, well, I did. see how far I got... yay, i guess…

everything seems like being designed to create you an illusion of having rights. but in the end, when shit hits the fan, it does not matter. the one who has the money/power wins. if you’re just an ordinary fuck with a 30€/mo shit-surance, you can, well, go vent on reddit about your rights and then scroll away your despair on social media consuming more reels…

Filed my 2025 joint return via Wundertax. Finanzamt sent a letter asking for the Steuerbescheinigungen for my declared Kapitalerträge.

We had ~€80 of interest from NRE accounts. I didn’t know where exactly to include it, so I put it in the free text field (Zeile 37). I just used the conversion rate from the date I was filing. Our €2,000 Sparer-Pauschbetrag was already fully used up by our German broker accounts, so this interest is taxable on top.

1. Since there’s no Steuerbescheinigung for an NRE account (HDFC & SBI), what document do I need to provide them?
2. Which conversion rate should I use?

Any leads would be helpful, thanks a lot.

I’m not actually a regular of the sub but, judging by the sub’s about info, I think this kind of content might be acceptable.

My highlight so far is Ravensgurg. I also appreciate the user that thought Borusia was a city.

I am interested in a German actress. Christiane Krüger, and her wikipedia page says she was in Playboy. I dug around and she was in the issue of November 1972, the nr.11, page 71. anyone has scans of that one ? Thank you in advance.