Hello everyone, so I have recently picked up this company in Germany that is offering me a job but what I came to know from glassdoor reviews and what not is that the company is not really a great place for career growth. I am a developer and would ideally want to see myself in a management role in next 5 years and I am only thinking of taking up this current company because I see that I will be able to move to Germany. There’s a lot at stake here but basically I am looking for LGBTQ+ positive laws and better quality of life as the most important factors in making this decision. My current company is already amazing at diverse culture + growth oppurtunities as we’re still growing but there’s no guarantee of me getting a chance to move outside of India. Since I’m young I want to move and travel too. Can someone help me how I can make this decision? My current opinion is that I can maybe move to Germany using this company, work for 1-2 years and jump ship to a better company (Google / Uber etc). Would that be a possibility?

Unlike the US, the EU actually has a sane immigration policy that isn't tied to your employment. IOW, you don't become indentured to your company to keep your visa status. Assuming you move there on a Type A Schengen visa, and you can find another job, you can move to another company after a year or two without impacting your visa status or your path to permanent residency.

It depends on the country. For example in Romania your employer needs to get a work permit for you and the work permit is tied to the role/job.

@modern-table-48211 Interesting. All of the Nordics, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, etc. don't have this from my previous experience. The first permit is applied by the employer, definitely. But it doesn't prevent you from changing employers. In the US, you can't change employers until you can get your H1B tranferred to a new employer.

Just FYI this is for a german employer HQ’ed in berlin

@refined-vegetable-38843 @big-sundown-21933 @brief-branch-80482 Hey guys, could you share your experience/thoughts here?

Normally in Berlin, Germany the role is not tied to the company, specially if it is specific like Software Engineer etc. But it still varies from case to case and it could be tied for someone specific and I think it is only possible to know that after the visa is issued. There is a requirement for everyone to inform the govt. if you change jobs within the first two years. Other than that, EU blue card is pretty chill and sane. Spouse can work from day 1 etc.

Congratulations on getting the offer! I've been to Berlin and it is a paradise. When I moved to Sweden recently, I was also in discussion with Berlin based companies. They are very open and offer a great work life balance. I haven't seen a vibrant city both in terms of technology as well as freedom wrt Berlin. There are tons of startups and opportunities in tech space. Bureaucracy is a bit slow to act in Germany and paperwork takes some time. Generally your first work permit is tied to your employer, but there is provision to change. People in my network have done that. Sometimes, change of scenery and a possibility of starting a life from scratch is all we need. No one can decide for you, but I would move to Berlin if anyone gave me a chance.