Application for a Work Permit, Munich, Germany, 24th July 1990

Application for a Work Permit, Munich, Germany, 24th July 1990

4th January 2012: Some of the friends I'd made during my travels in Europe informed me that as long as I was age 26 or under, I could get a seasonal student work visa in Germany.  Typically these work permits were intended for students to work during the summer months; as I had the STA student travel card and was under student "age," that qualified me to receive a work visa.  Of course, I had to have a job first - ya, real fun, gotta have a job to apply for a work permit, but can't get a job without a work permit!  Through the traveling crowd's grapevine, however, I did find that a local cleaning company (Central Reinigungs Anstalt) hired transients err students and would provide the necessary paperwork for acquiring the work permit.  In other words, they sponsored people for work permits willing to work at rates far lower than the locals for jobs nobody wanted... sound familiar? I got the job and was assigned to a hospital, where I mopped floors and cleaned the nurse's station and break rooms, for 11.58DM an hour (DM = Deutschmark, at the time, about US$7.14 an hour - which when you take into consideration inflation etc., is equivalent to around $12.40 an hour in 2012.  I'm such a geek...)

Resident Registration Form, Munich, Germany, 16th July 1990

 Resident Registration Form, Munich, Germany, 16th July 1990

Back of form

Commentary, 4th January 2012: Of course, it's not enough that I had to find a job, get a work visa, get a health certificate, I also have to register as a resident with the local town authorities...basically a form that says who I am and that I live here.  Back side of form basically says that within two weeks, the resident authorities will send confirmation to my employer that I live here.

New Employee Paperwork, Munich, Germany, July 1990

New Employee Questionnaire, Central Reinigungs Anstalt, Munich, Germany, July 1990

Employment Agreement, Central Reinigungs Anstalt. Love the "Liebe Mitarbelter" line - "We love our employees" is what it basically translates to! July, 1990

Of course, I had to go to the local health authority to get tested for TB and basic general health before I could work in the hospital or the kitchens.  CRA paid the 113.80DM for the TB test. July, 1990

4th January 2012: Of course, as is true of any new job, you've got lots of forms to fill out and employment agreements to sign...