Newsletter for international scholars and doctoral candidates - March 2013 - English 2013

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Veranstaltungen des Welcome Centre | Aktuell | Einzelveranstaltungen | Weitere Tipps und Hinweise | Wichtiges

Veranstaltungen des Welcome Centre

 

Day Trip: Discover Erlangen on Saturday, 9th March from 09:45am

A famous German saying notes that once you are going to foreign countries, you will get to know the good things one possesses at home. To be honest, the Welcome Centre has never taken you to a far away country, but anyway we have to admit that we neglected the city of Erlangen a little bit regarding our leisure program. After all, it is the city where most of us live, work and study. We think, there are a lot of interesting facts and stories our international guests can learn about Erlangen and that’s why we want to offer you the chance to get to know the city a little better. We will start the day with a tour through the Botanical Garden of FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. The Garden is an Erlangen Institution since 1828 and brings does not only give us am impression of the local Flora, but exhibits plants from all over the world. Afterwards, we will be taken on guided history city tour of Erlangen. Those of you want to extent your knowledge about the local cuisine and beer culture are invited to join us afterwards for a beer or soft drink and late lunch at the Bräuschänke (tavern) of the Kitzmann brewery. Please let us know when registering, if you want to come to the Bräuschänke with us, so that we can reserve a table in advance.
Date: 9th March, 09:45am                                                                                        
Meeting point: In Front of the Welcome Centre                                                  
Registration Period: 25.02.-06.03.2013 im Welcome Centre during office hours (Monday-Friday 08:30-12:00)
Registration fee: 2 Euro, children are free
For more information please click here.


Enrolment for PhD students

PhD students who are expected to get a PhD degree from FAU and who want to enroll as a student for the first time for the summer semester 2013 (April – September 2013) have to register online first, to transfer the student union fees, and then to enroll personally.  
For more information please click here.

 

Hints and Recommendations

The Welcome Centre is going to move

As most of you will know, our office rooms are not very conveniently located. To spare you the stairs to our office, the Welcome Centre is soon going to move. Our new office will be in Helmstraße 1. Helmstraße is just about 75 meters from our current location.
We cannot give you an exact date yet, when you  find us at our new address. We are supposed to be in our new location at the end of March/begin of April. We will keep you updated.

The Welcome Centre on Facebook

As some of you already know, you can find us on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Welcome-Centre-FAU-Erlangen-N%C3%BCrnberg/292276644165446?fref=ts
We try to post all our events and offers there. If you want to stay up to date, please press the Like button.

German courses during the semester (April 2013)

The German classes during the semester will start again in the middle of April in Nuremberg and at the end of April in Erlangen. Please note that you need to take a placement test if you have not attended any German course at FAU yet – the only exception is if you want a beginner’s class (A1.1).
Important change: in order to attend the German courses, you will have to sign in personally in Erlangen on 15th and 16th April (with or without placement test). For people living in Nuremberg and taking the courses in Nuremberg, you should sign in via OKTIS.
More information in German: http://www.sz.fau.de/abteilungen/daf/kursangebot/sbsemesterkurs.html
More information in English:http://www.sz.uni-erlangen.de/abteilungen/daf/english/basiclevel
New regulation for spouses: from April on, spouses will need a confirmation from the Welcome Centre in order to take the German classes for free. Please note that you will need our confirmation to be able to sign in for the courses! If you are concerned as a spouse, please send us an email with your complete first and last name, your date of birth, your address in Germany as well as the name of your spouse affiliated at the FAU (as a PhD, staff or researcher) until 4th April. Confirmations can be picked up from 08th April to 12th April directly at the Welcome Centre. Please also bring a copy of your marriage certificate (and a translation in German or English if necessary). We will be unfortunately not allowed to deliver confirmations if one of the required information is missing.

Tax return/tax declaration

The Welcome Centre has increasingly been asked about tax return/tax declaration, as this is usually a topic at the start of the new year. As in all legal issues, the Welcome Centre cannot give direct legal advice. However, we will be happy to give you background information and explain the process: 
In the German tax system, employees hand in a tax declaration for the past year. This “Lohnsteuerjahresausgleich” or “Einkommensteuererklärung” must be made before May 31st for the previous year (e.g. for 2012, you do your tax declaration before May 31st 2013).  The forms can be obtained at the local tax office („Finanzamt“). All forms are in German only.
Most people do their tax return with the help of some tax softwar; “Quicksteuer” (15 Euros) and “Taxman” (30 Euros) are the most popular ones. Ask around at your institute if one of your colleagues uses software and is willing to share it with you; very often this works well. For the standard cases (regular income as an employee, no additional income from other sources, no tax deduction), you have to fill in a 4-sided form (“Mantelbogen”) plus one form for your income (“Anlage N”). You have to hand this in together with your “Jahresmeldung”  (statement about what your total income in the previous year ) and you will either get money back or have to pay additional money to the state.
If you need help with your tax declaration, you can always ask your colleagues first. Also, there are plenty of tax lawyers in Erlangen, especially if you have questions on double tax or if you have several sources of income, contacting a tax lawyer might be a good idea.  However, they charge a fee.
There is an association called “Lohnsteuerhilfe”, where you can get help at a low fee. Please check their website:  http://www.lohi.de/index.php?id=134&nr=198  .They have at least one expert who speaks English.
Please note that you also need to make a tax declaration if you get a salary from a non-EU country during your stay in Germany (scholarships are not concerned). This procedure is called double-tax.

Blue card (new regulation for residence permits)

The German government passed a new law in August 2012 concerning international qualified engineers. Since Germany will probably lack of qualified engineers in the next decades, they want to appeal international qualified people. They implemented a so called "blue card". This blue card enables some engineers in some specific fields to get an unlimited residence permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) after 3 years (if they don't speak German) and after 2 years (if they speak German).
With a residence permit as a researcher (§20), or as a worker (§18) you should wait 5 years to be able to get that kind of unlimited residence permit (and with a residence permit for students §16, the necessary time is normally 10 years).

To be eligible for a blue card, you should have a non-EU citizenship. Your master’s degree should be recognized and accepted by the immigration office. Besides, you should have a (full-time) work contract at the FAU Erlangen. Scholars are for example not eligible. And of course, your qualification should concern one of the specific engineering fields needed in Germany (mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and technology).
If you do not plan to stay in Germany in the long run, then just forget about the blue card. A §20 as a researcher is perfectly fine, as is a §16 for PhD students

For non-EU people having a German masters’ degree or a German PhD, getting an unlimited residence permit may be possible after 2 years if you have a good command of German (at least B1), and if you have had a §18, §20 (only with a FAU work contract) or a blue card for at least 2 years, and if you are still planning to have a full-time work contract at the FAU.

An unlimited residence permit is interesting for non-EU persons who plan to stay in Germany on the long run or for good. An advantage is that you do not need to go to the immigration office every year to renew your residence permit. And after some years, you can also apply for the German citizenship. However, an important point is that owners of a Niederlassungserlaubnis cannot work in another Schengen or European countries just like that anymore (in contrary to owner of a §20 or of a blue card): you will need then a visa for work and/or research. For short tourist visits in a Schengen country, you may not need a visa. 
Another option may be a permanent permit valid in the EU (and Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein), called Daueraufenthalt EG. In this case, you should fulfill the same conditions than for the Niederlassungserlaubnis but you should have had a (full-time) work contract at the FAU for the last 5 years.
For more information, please contact directly the immigration office responsible for you.

Non-EU driving licenses

Citizens who obtained a driving licenses outside the EU or outside Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein, are allowed to drive in Germany for up to 6 months. After this period, you are not allowed to drive with your non-EU driving licenses. If you want to drive after this period, then you will have to change your international driving license into a German driving license. When you go back home (for example for vacations) or when you definitely leave Germany, you will get your original driving license back.  Driving licences obtained in the USA, Canada, Australia and some other countries (such as Japan and Taiwan) may be recognized and accepted, so that their owners do not need to take a theoretical and a practical driving course again.
Besides, in this case and if you stay less than 12 months in Germany, an extension of the first 6 months can be made, which enables you to use your international driving licence for maximum 12 months (€50 per driving licence). This extension can be applied for at the Führerscheinstelle in Nuremberg or at the city hall in Erlangen.
Please check here if you are concerned by this exemption: http://www.verkehrsportal.de/fev/anl_11.php
For driving licences that are not recognized in Germany, you may have to take classes again.
If you want to change your driving licence, please contact the Führerscheinstelle in Nuremberg http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/ordnungsamt/ausland_11staaten.html or go directly to the city hall in Erlangen (registration office on the ground floor).

Notice-Board

We have set up a notice-board at the Welcome Centre and invite you all to use it! The sections are “wanted” and “for sale/on offer”, you can put up ads for anything you need or wish to sale. Also, if you are an accompanying spouse and look for contacts, please put up an ad. We hope that you will visit the Welcome Centre frequently and make us of our notice-board.

Welcome Centre Library

For some time the Welcome Centre has been assembling a small library for our international guests. The number of titles is still quite limited, but we are sure that everyone will find a book that suits his taste. Just ideal for long winter evenings in January and February. Pay us a visit at our office at Schlossplatz 1, top-floor.

 

Events

Kulturzentrum E-Werk

For cultural events in Erlangen, it is always worth to have a look to the website of Kulturzentrum E-Werk. No matter whether you prefer to go out dancing or would just like to attend a lecture, the program of the E-Werk offers you a broad variety of choices. During the next weeks, they offer a broad range of activities. Here are some recommendations for the next weeks:

Parties:

The E-Werk offers different Theme-Parties which focus on various styles of music. While one evening might be dedicated to Rock, 24 hours later the friends of electronic music will populate the dancefloor. Check the event calendar here, before going out.

Lectures&Cinema


VHS Club International Erlangen

The international club is a communication and meeting centre for internationals and Germans. If you learn German or a foreign language, you can find native speakers and also learn about their respective countries and cultures.

Where: Friedrichstr. 19-21, Erlangen
Please click here for additional information in English.

 

Additional Events

 

 

Important Notice

If you do not want to receive this newsletter in future, please send an email to welcome@fau.de . We will remove you from the recipient list.

Best regards,
Your Welcome Centre Team.

Contact: welcome@fau.de

 

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