The German government's Law on the Administration of Foreigners stipulates that foreign students studying in Germany can work for 90 days during holidays every year in principle. As Germany is a federal country, state capitals have considerable power to interpret this clause. For example, some states are interested in staying in Germany.
Students can get work permits during the language learning stage, while some states only grant work permits after foreign students enter the formal professional study registration. In many functional departments of the German government, citizens and foreigners who go to work are very enthusiastic and polite. Only die Auslander Behoerde is quite cold and bureaucratic, and it is this department that manages the issuance of work permits and the approval of residence extension for international students. Our China students' evaluation of the work of this department is: things that can be done for you according to regulations are generally not done for you; You will never deal with what you can't handle; There is no human feelings at all, and it is definitely different from home. This shows that Germans are conservative and obey the law.
Although I declared to the German Embassy in China that I would study professionally in Germany when I got the visa, I entered Germany on a language visa for the first time. I first settled in Rhineland, a quiet and beautiful town, located in Pfalcz. At the local Aliens Administration, I submitted all the necessary documents and told the staff that the purpose of my stay was to study in Germany. After paying 80 marks (equivalent to 200 1 about 40 euros today), I got a six-month residence visa. I carefully read the remarks on the residence permit and found that it failed to give me a work permit. A month later, my first college admission notice arrived in my hand. I am ecstatic to go to the Aliens Administration in Frankenthal again, trying to change my visa and add notes through these newly arrived documents. This time I really tasted the legendary work style of the Alien Administration, and I was disappointed again. In Mainz, the state capital less than an hour's drive from Frankenthal, a language visa has a work permit. After that, I went to the station several times with all the necessary documents, hoping to change my visa and add comments, but I was disappointed several times.
Helpless, had to wait in helplessness. In a sense, not having a work permit has prompted me to prepare for the College Entrance Examination (DSH) more attentively. In March 2002, I successfully passed the college exam and studied in Friedrich? Schiller university registration. Later, I moved my residence to Weimar, a famous European cultural city, which belongs to this beautiful city in Thuringia. Here, I finally got a work permit and a tax card.
Soon, the intense study and life in the summer semester passed, followed by a long summer vacation of more than three months. For every international student with a work permit, especially those who have studied in Germany for more than one year, they will understand what the coming summer vacation means. Because Germans like traveling very much, many Germans go to tourist resorts all over the world for their holidays every summer. At this time, there will be a large number of temporary job vacancies in enterprises and factories, which requires a large number of seasonal temporary workers to fill the vacancies, and international students studying in Germany are the right group for this phenomenon. However, with the sudden increase of international students in recent years, these seasonal vacancies have become increasingly tense, so that the wages of student workers have gone from bad to worse, and there has been a minimum wage of 7 euros per hour for student workers (the standard is formulated by the German Ministry of Labor). Experienced international students who have been in Germany for a long time will generally contact enterprises or professional intermediary companies in the summer vacation in March and April every year. If the workplace is not where the school is located, they will also contact their place of residence during their work. As a novice who has been in Germany for less than a year, my mood has not completely returned to reality from the drunken state that can be registered in the university, which seriously underestimated the difficulty of finding a job in the summer vacation. Only when I woke up did I realize the seriousness of the problem. First of all, my university is located in the former East Germany. Due to many historical reasons, although Germany has been unified for more than ten years, the degree of industrialization in the eastern region is still lower than that in the western region, while the unemployment rate is higher than that in the western region. Therefore, it is not easy to find a job with an hourly salary of 7 euros in the local area, let alone expect a higher holiday job. After understanding the current situation, I packed my simple things in a hurry and lived in Mainz in the western region with a classmate Gong from China.
Because I didn't contact my residence and work in advance, I went to Mainz, bought a sleeping bag in the supermarket and registered with several professional intermediary companies to find a job. The answer is that there are too many students looking for jobs and there is no job at present, so I left a message such as phone number.
Since Gong had studied languages in Mainz before, we temporarily built a floor in his friend's residence in Mainz. A few days later, the employment agency I signed up for never responded. I feel that I am missing something, fidgeting every day and suffering from "unemployment". I suddenly remembered several Chinese restaurants I passed by during the day, and immediately looked forward to finding out if there were any jobs suitable for our classmates. However, the grim reality hit me again. Disappointed, I dragged my tired body back to my bunk bed.
I thought that as long as I was willing to endure hardships and sell my strength, I would have a job. At this time, my heart is like knocking over a five-flavor bottle, and I can't sleep at the thought of a comfortable life in China. So under the starry night sky, I sat quietly on the beautiful Rhine River not far from my residence, letting the refreshing river wind comb my disordered thoughts. After a night of calm thinking, I made up my mind: I am safe when I come. Since the summer vacation lasts for three months, let's find a place to live first, and then look for a job slowly. After the introduction of China, I rented a German old lady's kitchen at a monthly rent of 65,438+000 euros. This is a friendly old man called international mother, and six students from all over the world live in her home. When she learned about my situation, she promised me that she could take time to help her tidy the garden and deduct my rent. The salary was 7 euros per hour. At this time, there is only a little "security" (as long as you are not in your own country, this sense of security will always be relatively stable).
After a "street sweeping" job search process and the waiting of the stars and the moon, Run finally called me to sign the contract. Run Company is a German chain employment agency, Department I of Mainz * * *, with a total of five employees, who specially arrange short-term jobs for international students and unemployed people. After receiving a polite, warm and measured reception, I was asked to show my work permit, tax card and holiday certificate. After all the verification, I was told to work in an aviation food processing enterprise at Frankfurt Airport. Due to the particularity of the industry, I have to accept the pre-job training arranged by the state government, and the training fee is paid by Run Company. After signing the contract, I was assigned to work in the afternoon. At noon the next day 12, arrive at the shuttle bus meeting place of Run Company on time. About 40 minutes' drive, I arrived at this aviation food enterprise. That's how my first holiday in Germany started.
Knowing that I will work in a food-related enterprise, I secretly thought: I am a person from a big food country, and I must be more than enough to cope with this job. Unexpectedly, the company surprised me first. My first day's work was to sort the tableware unloaded from the flight on the assembly line, and then put the sorted tableware on the conveyor belt. Our students in China call this work "Tea Picking in Tea Garden". This is a simple mechanical manual work, but its labor intensity is not small. Although the work is simple, you will be in a hurry if you are not skilled. And once you are slow, the foreman will definitely not have a good face. When I first went online, I looked up at the big clock hanging at the door of the workshop from time to time. After checking for more than ten times, I walked less than 10 minutes. At this time, I feel tired. I simply ignored it, bowed my head and hummed a little song, busy with my hands and feet, and didn't want to spend time. This concentration, time stopped like water, and when I looked up again, it was near dinner time, and I was eagerly looking forward to it. After four hours of "tea picking", this wonderful sound can bring a 30-minute break and a free dinner. Next, we will continue to work on the assembly line for nearly four hours, especially in Chaplin's film Modern Times.
I was so excited on my first day at work that I forgot the feeling of falling apart after work. I discussed with the foreman and asked to continue to work all night. Our foreman from Turkey looked at me like an alien when he heard my request. After a while, he asked me, "Do you want me to break the law?" His words immediately confused me. Seeing my puzzled expression, he smiled and explained: "The Labor Protection Law stipulates that enterprises must fully consider the rest time of workers, and I can only give you two hours of overtime opportunities." I suddenly realized that I was grateful. In the next three months, with the continuous proficiency in my work and the continuous improvement of my understanding of the enterprise, I changed my job in other workshops. The work is very hard, but it also makes me really deeply understand the meticulous and strict discipline of German work. Although everyone is dealing with food, no employee steals attractive food prohibited by discipline. It is worth mentioning that if you feel that you still have extra energy, you can also take one or two odd jobs after the company has applied for a holiday job. Many students in China tend to do this. This makes foreigners have to admire the industrious quality of China people. This also corresponds to the restrictions on students' working hours imposed by the German Law on the Administration of Foreigners. In Germany, illegal workers will be severely punished once they are discovered by the labor bureau and the tax bureau. Therefore, most international students will try to find jobs as much as possible within the specified time. Although the law is very strict and the punishment is very strict, the phenomenon of illegal workers can be seen everywhere in Germany, which is hard to prevent. This is enough to show that no matter how perfect the legal system is, there will still be dark corners where the sun can't shine, and the fundamental way to eliminate this dark corner is to improve the quality of every citizen.
Although it has been a long time since I first worked in Germany, I still remember it vividly. This experience is a brand-new experience for me, and it is also a way to fully contact German society.