For those with British citizenship, there is full permission to work in any European Economic Area (EEA) country, as well as Switzerland. Germany is no exception and with citizenship of an EU country you do not need a visa. A visa is required for people who move from the UK to Germany but are not officially UK citizens.
Staying in Germany longer than 3 months requires registration with the German authorities. Applying for a residence permit is not necessary for EU citizens.
Is it easy to get a job in Germany?
Germany’s unemployment rate in 2018 was just 3.5%, placing the country very high in terms of providing good employment opportunities.
The most skilled workers have the best opportunities to find work, in a good environment, beneficial for personal development. If you don’t speak German, a competitive employer will provide you with everything you need to integrate into the country as quickly and easily as possible.
UK citizens can benefit greatly from the services of EURES. This is the European Centre for Employment Services, which is actually controlled by the European Commission. EURES is basically a network of job portals that organises job fairs in German as well, and can be very helpful to British immigrants who are looking for work in Germany.
Working in Germany without speaking German
German is the official language of the country. While most prefer to know at least some German before moving to Germany from the UK, many others arrive in the country and start looking for work without even a basic knowledge of German.
If you start working for a multinational company, it is likely that your internal communications will be in English. However, if you want to develop your social relationships with other Germans or progress faster in the workplace, you will need to start learning German.
In Germany, there is a good opportunity to learn the language with government-subsidised language courses.
