The Londoner

Access to the German labour market Training in Germany Seeking employment in Germany Local employment office EURES Studying and working in Germany Blohm und Voss © Liesa Johannssen/photothek.net Access to the German labour market Foreign nationals other than European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals may reside in Germany for the purpose of taking up gainful employment if they have the required residence permit. To work in Germany they must in principle have a residence permit that explicitly authorizes them to do so. Australian, Israeli, Japanese, Canadian, South Korean, New Zealand and US citizens may obtain such a residence permit from the relevant foreigners authority also after their arrival in Germany. It is important to note, however, that they may not commence their intended employment until they have the permit. All other foreign nationals must apply for a work visa from their local German mission before coming to Ge

Depending on where you come from and how long you plan to stay here, you may need an entry visa for Germany. For detailed information about visa requirements, contact the German embassy or German consulate in your home country. You can find the address on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office.    Visa checklist Residence permit 1. Countries whose citizens require no entry visa 2. Countries whose citizens require a visa for stays longer than three months 3. Visa requirements for citizens from non-member countries Additional links   Visa checklist Submit your application early enough because visa processing can take several months and you won’t be able to enter the country without a valid visa. Apply for the correct visa! Tourist and language course visas cannot be converted into a "student visa”. With the wrong visa, you will be forced to leave the country at some point. Schedule your trip to Germany so that you have sufficient time to enrol and take care

At least three people have died after a police helicopter crashed into a busy pub in Glasgow , the BBC has been told. A source close to the investigation said the final number of fatalities would almost certainly be higher. The crash happened at The Clutha in Stockwell Street at 22:25 on Friday. People are still thought to be trapped. There were three people on board the helicopter - two officers and a civilian pilot. Thirty-two people have been taken to local hospitals. A senior fire officer said they had made contact with some people trapped inside the pub but the building was unsafe and they were taking a "methodical" approach to the rescue. The emergency services could be seen on the pub's roof trying to rescue people from inside. Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is due to speak at a press conference shortly. There are expected to be updates from the police, fire and ambulance services. It has been reported that about 120 people were in

By Sikander Hayat  Finally Iran has agreed to conditions set by the West to freeze the uranium enrichment at a level which is below the weapons grade. There will be full international inspection of Iran’s nuclear plants and if Iran goes back on any of the pledges that it has made to the international community, all sanctions will come into action again. This is wise move by Iran but this is not the final agreement and just an initial understanding. Iran also need to stop harassing its neighbours by supporting Shia groups in these countries. It also has to stop trying to export the shia revolution to other countries. Only once these conditions are met, Iran can become a full member of the international community. International community also needs to help Iran to move towards full democracy and loosen the hold of Mullahs on Iranian nation. A democratic Iran will be a less of a danger for the neighbourhood than the current regime in Tehran. If the West had not conspired agains

By Sikander Hayat Tories are turning into their normal self and there cannot be a better example of this than the statement by Dominic Grieve that Pakistanis living in UK are the only corrupt community in this country. Pakistanis are part of the British mainstream and are no more corrupt than any other part of the wider british society . There are anti corruption laws in this country and if there is any individual who is involved in any such activity must be punished. I have few question that I need to ask of Mr Grieve to understand the “special” roles that British Pakistanis play in the corruption story in United Kingdom : How many bankers who robbed this country and brought it to near financial collapse were of Pakistani origin? How many members of parliament who fiddled their expenses were of Pakistani origin? How many policeman who were taking money from newspapers to sell stories were of Pakistani origin? How many j ournalists who hacked people’s per

By Sikander Hayat Britain has always defined itself as the “other” in Europe . Throughout its history, it has feared and guarded against an invasion from the mainland Europe . It has fought for influence with its neighbours in the other parts of the world.  It is too much to ask that just after 60 years of peace that the country changes its mindset completely. Constant Europe bashing by the British press does not help either. Every single day, newspapers are full of stories on how “idiots” in Brussels have come up with some ridiculous rule. You will have to work really hard to find any positive news about Britain’s association with Europe . I personally believe that both sides of the argument are overstating their case. There are good arguments on both sides and if the country decided to go one way or the other, it will do well. Following are the reasons why Britain can easily hold its own outside of the EU: With current growth rates, Britain is going to become the largest

Scotland Independence  If the independence debate was over , we’d all be talking about the political intervention going on, writes Brian Monteith AS THE end of 2012 approaches, I am drawn to look back on the generally lamentable quality of political discourse in Scotland and ask what would we discuss if the issue of independence did not dominate the landscape so much? Sadly, it is difficult to answer this question with any excitement or anticipation because it is becoming clearer by the day that were Scotland to be independent , little would change within the existing consensus of our political elite or its corpulent supplicants that form so much of what is called our civic society. It is occasionally suggested that out of the SNP, and following the collapse of the unionist Scottish Conservatives suddenly left without a purpose, a new right-of-centre party will rise up and that Scotland will instead move towards a more econom

The crab-like performance of the last two years is not easy to explain – a third year of the same would be . The sales have started early this year, which means the economy is struggling . Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA On the Saturday before Christmas the shop windows told their own story. Up to 50% off at Hobbs. Discounts of 60% at LK Bennett. Similar reductions at French Connection and the Gap . The sales started early this year and that means the economy is struggling. Fearful of being left with large amounts of unsold stock, retailers are slashing prices to attract hard-up consumers. It was the same a year ago. Hopes of recovery have been dashed in 2012, a year in which the UK has gone nowhere fast. Interest rates, gross domestic product and house prices are where they were in January. The economy is not collapsing but it is not growing either. For the past two years it has gone sideways, and the expectation at the Bank of England and the Treasury is that