The German Chance Map and Other Little-Known Opportunities to Escape

“My main disagreement with the Bolsheviks is on the agrarian question: they want to bury me in this land, but I don't want them to walk on it.” M. G. Drozdovsky

“On November 16, 1920, the last ship with the remnants of the Russian army left Crimea.”from here)

Of course, we are not yet in the situation of the last ship, but yesterday, they say, even good VPNs went down (I do not recommend using these services, because with their help you can find out how many times the fighter for privacy of correspondence Durov visited the Russian Federation after his departure) and we found ourselves almost in isolation with all sorts of Gurulevs, Puchkov-Goblins and other wonderful people, whose company we are hardly worthy of.

Everyone knows the schemes when you receive an offer from an employer and happily stomp to the consulate for a visa. And everyone, of course, understands that even before, foreign employers were not particularly eager to wait a month or two, and now, when waiting times have increased several times, this option is completely difficult to implement. However, there are countries that issue visas for finding work on their territory without (!) an offer from an employer. The most famous of them are Austria, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Sweden (a simple overview here).

First of all about Germany, because this option seems the most interesting for them. Visa for job search, WorkplacesGermany had existed for a long time. For some reason, no one talked about it and even hid its existence, but nevertheless it existed. Requirements were quite reasonable: a bachelor's or master's degree from a university that is in the database ANABIN5 years of work experience in the specialty, health insurance, approximately 1100 euros for each month of residence in Germany, and knowledge of German at level B1. And that's it: you get a visa, go to Germany and there look for a job in favorable conditions. And you don't have to tell the employer to send you an offer and wait for you for half a year: you can start working immediately.

I wrote about the job search visa and now I will say: forget about it. Because since June 2024, Germany has launched a program called Chancencard. The requirement for five years of work experience has been removed. The language requirements have been simplified as much as possible: knowledge of German at level A1 (this is the lowest level) or English at level B2 (a fairly high level, for some it will be easier to learn minimal German) is required. As before, a university diploma is required, which is in the above-mentioned database. ANABIN (needs to be translated into German and apostilled). If suddenly your university is not there, this is not a reason to despair: it is possible to confirm that your education is valid through some kind of certificate (google this question yourself). In addition, again you need about 1100 euros for each month of stay and health insurance. If you could stay in Germany for up to 6 months with a job search visa, then the chance card gives you the opportunity to look for a job for a YEAR (God forbid, of course!). It will not be so easy with proof of savings, but there is still a neighboring country where you can open an account. Sign up for the consulate here (you will probably puke from the clumsiness of the German site… I myself do not understand how it is possible to be an advanced economy and exist with such a miserable site). Of course, there is a problem: despite the dead silence of the Internet, this visa is wildly popular and you will sign up for a queue, the waiting time for which no one will tell you, but they may hint at 3-5 months.

It will be easier for people who have already moved to Armenia, Kazakhstan and Georgia, and have been living there for more than 3 months in official status. If you run through the websites of German consulates in these countries, you will find that you can sign up for next week.

The chance card gives the opportunity to obtain a permanent (!) residence permit as quickly as possible and the opportunity to bring family members (in many countries you can live without a permanent residence permit for up to 10 years or more).

What about other countries? I only know about Austria, their version is called Arbeitssuche-Visum für besonders Hochqualifizierte. Gives the right to look for work for 6 months. You need dial 70 points out of 100. The requirements are higher than the Germans, but there is no crazy queue to register at the consulate. There is one subtle point that I was never able to figure out: how long does it take to re-register your status within Austria when you receive a job offer. As I already said, consulates do not like to talk about these visas and even discourage them.

I will be grateful to everyone who writes about their experience of obtaining similar visas in other countries.

Afterword

Please, do not write in the comments about high taxes in Europe. If up to now you have not been able to understand the difference between their “taxes” and our personal income tax, then you do not need to go anywhere. Also, please, do not write in the comments about the German “catch 22” with renting housing. I remember reading an article on Habr where a girl wrote how she left with a programmer guy and was such a great girl, opened her own business in Germany from scratch, and then told about how it was impossible to rent housing without a certificate from work, and without registration to get a job. If your level of development is approximately at the level of this girl, you also better not go anywhere.

But if suddenly you still doubt whether it is necessary, then I will give you two arguments. The first is the pension. I hope everyone knows that you still pay a funded pension, but it just does not go to your account, because it is completely spent on current expenses. In Germany, every year you will receive a piece of paper indicating the accumulated amount of your pension.

The second argument will be more for those who are already working in the territories of the former republics of the USSR. If you suddenly thought that maybe it is worth returning, then here is an excerpt from industry magazine Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation

The relevant programs may recommend the inclusion of reinstatement at work or assistance in finding new ones, provision of psychological assistance…

“Social and Labor Research”, No. 3, 2023

Although someone might be interested in the prospect of receiving psychological help. They are already ready to provide it)