Joseph Olaleye

Migration From Nigeria To Germany If you are a Nigerian seeking to migrate to Germany and you want to know whether you are eligible for a Blue Card, the answer is a resounding yes. Here’s a question from one of our clients in Nigeria, “As someone migrating from Nigeria to Germany, I would like to know how to move to Germany with my family”. This question is often asked by our Nigerian clients. They always want to find out whether it is possible to relocate to Germany with their wife, alongside kids. Thanks for asking this question, Ransome, it feels good to see you here alongside all the vibrant and enterprising people of Nigeria. Germany is home to a good number of migrants from Nigeria, who are hardworking and resilient. The simple answer is yes it’s possible, especially with the EU Blue Card. The question to ask yourself is whether you are eligible for a Blue Card, if you meet this condition, then you are good to go and you stand the chance of migrating from Nigeria to Germany. Germany offers you a home with open arms, and every Nigerian is welcome to Germany as long as they are eligible for a Blue Card. “Excellent. Thank you Eleanor. And I guess a follow up question to that would be whether there is a separate process for my family members? You know this is a very relevant question to many Nigerian couples, this question keeps bugging our curiosity”. It's only a single process it takes to accomplish this. “Yeah. Um, as opposed to the Nigerian culture of politeness and submissiveness in the workplace, can you share some insights into how today's Germany encourage open communication and the voicing of concerns or disagreements in professional settings? You know, talking about migrating to Germany from Nigeria, you know, as a Nigerian, you get…” I love your question, whether you secure an onsite role or a remote one with a German company, as a Nigerian you will observe that, there is always a clear difference in communication and culture at workplaces between Germans and Nigerians. It might interest you to learn that there is a scientific account of the story. There is this gentleman called Hofstede who has made the cultural comparison framework. You can get the full gist if you follow the link provided in this short piece, this concerns all scientist following us on this platform. Without mincing words, let me put it in a non-scientific way, okay. Historically, Germans have been traumatized by the very act of submissiveness. There was a bad dude and leader in our history who abused power by kicking against good conduct and almost conquered the thought of speaking up against authority to a great deal. Today, Germans fear the consequences of not speaking up against authority when things go wrong and something really bad happens. This is why kids are taught to stand up for the truth and protest where necessary when a teacher violates his authority. That does not mean that every teacher would welcome this idea,right? We are all humans but there is so much emphasis laid on this because of the country’s history. The fear of being docile, makes sense to a great deal. Therefore, if a Nigerian tells me Nigerians are over-submissive with good intent, I am just confused. I am baffled and would like to know why in the world would a person do that. Nevertheless, it does not mean that every boss would welcome being outspoken because people tend to be self-centered. But as a Nigerian migrant who is new to the German workplace culture, you should embrace the culture of being tolerant and not too outspoken to enjoy a healthy relationship with your boss. “Oh wow, beautifully answered. My question relates to the workplace conduct of Nigerian migrants before their superiors, just to clarify because of cultural differences, when is an employee likely to be considered rude before his boss or a senior when conversing at workplaces in Germany?” This is a difficult one, simply because, the entire populace of Germany is not referring to just one person, we are looking at over 48 million people based on this context. This is just to mention that people are different and we are possibly looking at over 80 million people. As engineers and scientist we would want to conclude based on an average figure, you can calculate how certain average figures are different from others. As scientist we can see certain patterns obviously and then draw a comparison or contrast. For instance, there is a difference between working in a start up environment and working in a municipal in a government agency. This implies that the workplace culture would be different. It is safe to say there is not just one particular German workplace culture. The German workplace culture is very fast-paced and dynamic. It is safe to say that everyone has a very different threshold when it comes to the subject of ego in German workplaces. Again, we are speaking about differences in this context, it can be assumed that, once you are bad, it’s probably bad. Once you propose an idea of a better result that would bring about customer satisfaction, you can be sure that as long as you are result-oriented, then you will embrace the idea of teamwork, which is crucial and cannot be overemphasized. Every team can be likened to a football team, speaking of big names like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. It is all about productivity and getting better results. Expectations are high in every organization, if you are result-oriented and purpose-driven, your colleagues in workplaces would always expect you to speak up when opportunities present themselves, and this is a concept often misunderstood by migrants in German workplaces, it is not an optional thing to do. For instance, in the Bayern Munich team there’s one dude sitting on the grass, waiting to be told what to do. Nobody would feel sorry for such. They will carry him off the pitch and tell him “Stop hindering us”. “If you would not play, go, okay”. It is not optional, it is not a thing you do when you are in a good mood, because the stakes are high. That being said, let me expand further on the subject of speaking up, I know you have not raised the question but this issue has been resurfacing itself. We call it the wall blue anecdote on our team, this case relates with a Kenyan lady, it is not coming from a Nigerian, but the two countries have similar cultures. She went on to say “Eleanor I tried to please you, I tried to do everything you are saying. And every time you are unhappy and say uhm, that is the problem, you know, you said, how about we did this. And then I did it and you come back and you are like it’s bad”. My response is that from a professional point of view, can she tell me whether this is a good or bad result, she affirms that it is a bad result, and I ask her whether she knew that her action would lead to a bad result, she again affirms that she knew the result would be bad. My response to her is to inquire of her and ascertain who has the professional expertise to judge you as a Developer, is it me, the CEO who studied a different field or you? And she owns up to her fault. You expect me to be proud of you after performing your task in a way that falls short of expectation based on your level of professionalism and skillset, my answer to this is that it’s a bad reason to shower praises on you following your poor performance. I walk around the workplace and suggest a blue painting for the wall, I come back and it’s painted blue. I raise the question whether you think the idea was good. I call it a stupid one and your response is that we don’t do things we don’t believe in. You must understand you are hired for this job and you are handsomely paid for it. This is because as the CEO I expect that you should on your part, take the company to greater heights and be a beneficial extension to the company, my opinion shouldn’t count. This is why you are employed. “Okay. So, um, I'd like to migrate to Germany for work, obviously. So how would you describe the overall sense of fairness in German work environments, particularly in terms of opportunities and treatment of foreign workers?” I may have been carried away by the subject of German workplace culture, I am optimistic that someday there would be a greater degree of fairness on the part of employers and greater commitment to responsibility on the part of employees. I always tell people, if you want to respect me, report to work on time, be prepared and purpose-driven, set a goal for yourself. The biggest negative thing you can do to hinder your progress is to report late to meetings or be unprepared. Reporting late to meetings or cancelling a meeting at the eleventh hour is highly disrespectful. Employers pay high salary for a price, if you want to earn a high salary, then you must be ready to pay the price. Time is a lifetime resource that can’t be regained when lost, it should be treated with respect. To show no regard for time in German workplaces is a serious crime. It’s very serious and can be likened to taking somebody’s life. But if you do this by helping the people achieve something greater, that’s commendable, because you treat the people’s time as if it were your own. This is as regards the previous question, moving to the subject of fairness in German workplaces, basically if you move to Germany from Nigeria or otherwise, as a migrant, and you pay taxes here as required by the law, you are going to possess the same legal rights as any other German in the nearest future, probably in two years time with the EU Blue Card. You are also qualified for German citizenship. This implies that you will share every right and responsibility expected of a German citizen. In terms of fairness, we have a very strong and dependable legal system that works here in Germany. You pay taxes as required by the law and you enjoy all privileges as enjoyed by a German citizen to the fullest. “So, um, as someone who wants to migrate to Europe from Nigeria, let's talk about the elephant in the room. How does German work culture differentiate between directness and discriminatory behavior in workplaces?” To answer your question. If I am not mistaken, you would like to know if racism exists in German workplaces. This is a very relevant question as you have the case of cultural difference present in German workplaces. If you move to Germany as a migrant, you may want to find out if racism exists in German society, the fear of this societal ill is understandable. There are two sides to the coin, there is a way of viewing this based on policy level and there is also a subjective feeling, you may see it based on your personal ego system. On the policy level, as of today, there is an enormous amount of campaigning going on, not just against racism in the German society, but great emphasis is placed also on gender equality. There is also the fight for an all-inclusive workforce in the German society, and there is a lot of attention given to the subject of inclusivity with diverse issues ranging from policy, governmental to societal level. That being said, there is some statistical evidence that supports the claim for the presence of racial discrimination and the likes in the German society. If you wish to verify, we have linked an article as regards this, if you want to know about the facts and figures. We want you to focus on some key messages here. You may want to satisfy your curiosity by diving deeper into this subject. Yes, there exist some level of racial discrimination in Germany. It is important to add that there is another level of perception as regards the subject of racial discrimination which can be based on a migrant’s personal experience. The question is how do I react to the treatment I get from Germans as a migrant in Germany, I have an interesting story to share with you. To start with, it is important to note that there are two sides to the coin, when you migrate to Germany from Nigeria and you are faced with this German straightforwardness, you are tempted to believe that people are picking on you. They are tough to please, okay? They are just not isolating you, I will draw a comparison with this. I used to play squash and in the first squash club that I joined, I was the only girl and the only beginner, and everyone played for a minimum of ten years. As a result of this, they did not care about me, they hated me for being the only girl and nobody pitied my plight. They crushed me left, right, up, down and they did not care. Following this, I felt challenged. I embraced a positive mindset and said to myself, “I would get you, it would be fun for me”. You know that voice in the head that got me, I went on engaging in training sessions and this was a solo effort on my part. It finally paid off, after six months of personal training, I defeated a colleague who had been playing the game for ten years. What a pleasure it was and after six months I became a master of the game. Thereafter, we moved to a different city and I discovered a new club to play squash. Conditions here were much better, they were mostly gentlemen who embraced the idea of including women in the game to a great deal, I even had a special session for women. The club had a special trainer for women as well. Now, that sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? The trainer went the extra mile to be kind to me during training sessions and when I did something wrong, he would tell me, “Eleanor this is what you need to do, this is how you hold your racket. He always did this with a heart of love and was too gentle in his approach, but I felt compelled to tell him, “can’t you just yell at me to bring out the sparkle in me”. But if you tell me for an hour explaining how to move my legs, by the time you are done, I simply can’t find the rythym, and suddenly, I have become cold. This wasn’t his approach when training the boys as I watched him closely, he was strict with them and yelled at them several times saying, “move your butt”. This to me was like discrimination, he’s being nice to me and being tough on the boys. He's just yelling at them and I tell you, I could not stomach this for three years. I did not improve as a player of squash with this approach, I felt frustrated and left the club. Sometimes it is a matter of perspective. You know if I were to enter a room and someone keeps yelling at me, “move your butt” I may find this very offensive. Until I realize that is how they relate to each other. If they were with you, they would not treat you any special. This is because they do not consider you to be less capable than others, if they observe this, you would get the same treatment I received at my former squash club. If they don’t consider you to be less capable than others, you are treated like any other adult in the room. Your goal is to work on yourself and improve with every day that comes. Therefore, as a migrant from Nigeria facing issues like this, don’t feel excluded. Not every treatment that appear to be harsh is actually racism, sometimes it’s a case of candour, pure and simple. “So let’s assume that I'm now in Germany, um, and I'm concerned about job security in Germany. So for someone looking to settle in Germany from Nigeria, if you get a job offer, how does Germany ensure job security for its workforce, particularly for migrants and foreign nationals?” Thanks for the question, if you migrate from Nigeria to Germany and you want the same treatment given to a German citizen, the first thing you would have to do is to erase the world from your mindset. You don’t want to be treated in a poor manner, right? Therefore, your responsibilities and perks are no different from others. Let me describe the case as it is for the Germans, because the same applies to you. Apparently, let’s assume you secure the EU Blue Card in Germany, and you have the permanent residency permit within two years, then it’s the same for everybody else. “Uhm”, you generally have a six month probation period, meaning we have one of the strictest laws protecting employees in the world that is arguably no where else in the globe. However, employers have six months to commit themselves to employees. Let me draw a comparison here, it’s like before you get married, you have that six months to find out whether this is somebody I would be ready to give that commitment to? As a migrant in Germany, don’t take that light-hearted, because if somebody does get married, they do check. Yes, because commitment is of great importance on the part of the employers. This implies that you have six months probation period. During this period, you can be laid off, typically within a period of two weeks. If you have the EU Blue Card, you have three months to find another job at the moment. This is very important, and after this phase of probation, employers try to help their employees secure a lifetime employment. This comes as a surprise to many, especially those who are familiar with the hire-fire mentality when they go in pursuit of the green card in the US and learn about how things work in Germany. Typically, there is a great degree of commitment coming from both sides, the employers and you as an employee. The fact is that, the salaries are really high, so also is the cost of training people. Once you pay attention to details and you meet all expectations in line with your service, you are held in high esteem by your employers. This is very true in Germany, take for example, the cybersecurity sector, they are very professional and secretive, they do not want a leakage of their sensitive information and intellectual property. They are extremely cautious about who they employ, once you are able to meet all expectations, they would never want you to leave their organization. It may take long before employers are convinced that you are worthy of their trust, but once you are able to convince them, you become a prized asset to the company. “Wonderful answer, wonderful answer. But I would still like to know in the event of, um, an economic downturn or a company's restructuring, are there any protective measures or support systems in place for non-native employees in Germany?” Based on the Nigerian experience here in Germany, there is a high level of responsibility and commitment on the part of the social welfare system in Germany. There are a good number of people from United Arab Emirates who live there and are non-natives. If you lose the job even after 30 years of service, you have just three months to leave the country. This is not the case in Germany. “Okay”, after two years of stay in Germany, with the EU Blue Card, you are entitled to enjoy a permanent residency with your family. You could build a life and future also for your children. In the case of an economic recession, there can be nobody who can protect you if the entire economy is failing, but that is not the case as of today. Things are very good, thankfully. There are mechanisms in place to support the employee should there be the case of company restructuring affecting individual companies, for example, the unemployment insurance policy. This is why 40% of employee’s salary is deducted to ensure that this system or provision is put in place. An example of such payments is the child health insurance fee, which is an employment insurance fee that is mandatory. This also implies that if you become unemployed, you have a mandatory insurance for which you are entitled to 60% of your previous salary with respect to the number of months you have committed yourself to this insurance policy. That’s actually a non-governmental service. Therefore, it’s a mandatory insurance service. You will have probably 18 months, don’t quote me here, I am not a legal expert. This ensures that your needs are covered for the 18 months of your search for a new job, provided you have invested into the social welfare system long enough. If for any reason this system is no longer in place, then we have a social welfare system. The social welfare system is without conditions, in theory for a lifetime. But that is, as I say on a personal level. Ideally, this should not be your case. But if you stumble or fall in your pursuit for financial security, there are safety mechanisms in place to protect you. “Excellent, excellent. Um, so I would just ask one last question, and this would be straightforward. How easy or difficult is it to get another job in the unfortunate case of a layoff?” To answer your question, ask yourself, how hard it is to get to play in Bayern Munich? It’s always about quality, it’s always about how good you can play. Government can never guarantee job security for anybody, it is determined by your own performance. Okay, don’t forget it’s a market. Companies hire the best hand they can find. The reason is simple, there is a high level of competition among companies. Every car manufacturer is competing against choiced brands like Porsches and other great car brands and need to kick them out of the market. Employers would therefore hire people that can help them kick their rivals out of the market. You can be rest assured that you would be hired once you work on your performance. Besides, if you migrate to Germany from Nigeria, you are new in the country, so I strongly recommend that you build networks. Make sure people know you. You build a reputation not of being late but of being reliable. People should be able to recommend you to prospective clients and employers in the marketplace. They should be able to say “If you know someone who wants to get things done, ask Ransome. He will get it done”. Build a solid relationship with people, with the customer experience people get from you, it is enough to propel you forward, especially in economic downturns. Employers need people who are productive. Be that person and trust me, you’ll never worry again. Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I hope I haven’t scared you, but I am German. That’s my joke, okay? If you are somebody who is ready to work hard and who is not afraid to take the bull by the horns, you are most welcome to Talents to Germany program. It’s meant for those who are ready to put in an optimum performance. We connect you to employers who are ready to give you a chance to chase your dreams here in Germany. If you can make them proud, they are ready to welcome you onboard. If you do not need this connection, other opportunities await you. Bloggers alongside, professionals in the field of statistics as well scientist are all welcome to our company. Please follow the links provided, if you want the full details. Kindly share this information with anyone that may be in need of it, don’t hesitate to share it to their DMs, tell them that this piece of information is vital and would help them. We look forward to seeing you soon.