“So.. what do you do in Berlin?” It’s fun to wave the term freelancer around casually, perhaps even with an air of pride. But then you have to deal with the tax and immigration offices and suddenly everyone’s confused. Red Tape Translation would love to help you find your bureaucratic identity.
Updates to our payment system
What a boring blog post to have to write! Still, you might have noticed that things look a bit different. We’ve updated our payment system. When you book a service, you’ll now get sent an invoice by email straight away that you can pay immediately with bank transfer, credit card or PayPal.
Naturally, there might be some teething problems. We did a lot of testing, but you just never know. If you run into problems paying for services, you can chat to us online, email info@redtapetranslation.com or call us on 030 2089 6634.
Kind regards
Kathleen Parker
Today we’re celebrating parents… and kids… and milk
Parents deserve some appreciation. Especially right now. Parents’ Day draws attention to the importance of parents and their role in society. Since most of us at Red Tape Translation are parents juggling our work projects with school pickups, we’re taking a moment to give ourselves – and all of our clients who are parents – a serious pat on the back.
Berlin Rental Cap deemed unconstitutional
The Federal Constitutional Court declared the Berlin rent cap “unconstitutional” this morning at 9:30 a.m.… Read More
Enjoy the Easter Break – Out of Office until 6.4.2021
Happy Easter or happy holidays, whatever tickles your fancy. Red Tape Translation is now out of office until Tuesday, 6th April.
Applications for Neustarthilfe are open
Good news: It’s finally here. The application process for Überbrückungshilfe III started in mid-February, and the coveted Neustarthilfe für Soloselbstständige followed last Tuesday.
Neustarthilfe für Solo-Selbständige
Lots of freelancers find themselves in a tough financial situation. Ever since the pandemic started, many of us have been left entirely without work. There are financial instruments like Kurzarbeitergeld for employees, but freelancers have often been left with no choice but to get their basic needs covered by the Jobcenter.
Apartment search packages at Red Tape Translation
Welcome to Berlin! Now that you’re here, you’ll need a place to hang your hat. It’s easier said than done. It’s made confusing by the rental cap law in Berlin that might or might not be annulled retroactively.
If you’re not sure where to start, help is at hand. Red Tape Translation has just started offering an Apartment Search service to help you get your hands on a rental contract.
We’re offering three different packages starting from just 225€. We can:
- search for apartments based on your criteria
- communicate with letting agents
- set up apartment viewings (also known as “castings” but not as exotic as they sound)
- come with you to the viewings to interpret
- help you put together an application
- take you through the small print of the rental contract
- accompany you to the apartment handover
- help you organise utilities
To book, have a look at the PDF below, choose a package and follow the link to pay. We’ll take care of the rest!
Happy hunting!
German Bureaucracy: Changes to Expect in 2021
The year 2020 kept us on our toes, so we can only hope that 2021 is not quite so unpredictable. While we anticipate life beyond our firework-free Silvester evening, let’s outline the bureaucratic changes likely to affect expats living in Germany in 2021.
A New Project for Brits in Germany: Converting your UK Driving Licence
The Brexit transition period ends on 31st December 2020. If you’ve decided to stay in Germany, now is a really good time to think about converting your UK driver’s license to a German one, but you’d really need to get into gear to manage it by the New Year!
Novemberhilfe, Dezemberhilfe, Neustarthilfe, Soforthilfe … please explain?
Lockdown ruining your revenue? Homeschooling your kids instead of earning? Enter a confusing array of government grants designed to compensate you. There are so many of them, it’s hard to keep track. Here’s what we know so far.
IBB to check whether you really needed Soforthilfe II in Spring
The Investitionsbank Berlin will be asking all freelancers and small businesses who received Soforthilfe in the Spring whether they needed it or not. If they didn’t really need it or didn’t need all of it, they should pay some or all of it back.