Dear customers and visitors,
Happy New Year! I hope that 2014 brings you health, happiness, and lots of great memories of life in Berlin. After a relaxing Christmas break in Australia, I’m back in business and looking forward to a massive 2014, with loads of English-speaking Berliners to help along the way.
Red Tape Translation kicks off with a brand new website at https://redtapetranslation.com. Have a look around and tell me what you think. Use the new contact forms to get a quote for an appointment, a translation, or telephone interpreting.
2014 will bring with it some exciting new cooperations with local businesses, as well as a wide variety of interpreting and translation projects. I’ll be visiting just about every Berlin public office there is: weddings, immigration, schools, new businesses, driving licenses, Elterngeld, Kita spots, and what to do when you’re leaving Berlin for good. I’ll continue to update the blog with tips and tricks on how to beat the bureaucracy in Berlin as I go.
Whatever 2014 holds in store for you, I hope it’s refreshing and exciting (and/or relaxing, whatever works). Frohes neues Jahr!
Kathleen Parker
Dear customers,
I will be taking a well-deserved three week break from December 13th until January 6th 2014, heading down under to enjoy an Aussie Christmas and New Years. On the beach. In the sun. Eating prawns and mangoes. During this time, your phone and e-mail enquiries may go unanswered.
I look forward to a busy and productive 2014, with loads of new English speakers falling in love with Berlin and plenty of trips to the foreigner’s office!
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Years!
Kathleen Parker
Red Tape Translation is proud to release a brand new website. I’ve listened to all of your your suggestions along the way. Getting quotes, booking, and paying is now much easier, and there’s plenty of information and resources for those among you who love a bit of online research.
It’s now a lot clearer exactly what Red Tape Translation offers: in-person appointment help, Telephone Time, and written translations. The online blog is now a feature and will be updated a couple of times a month with interesting articles, anecdotes, and tips that I gather through experience.
Special thanks must go to David Ollenberger from JSS Web Development for the design and implementation (he also did my other, more artistic sites as well!). Alexa Vachon needs to be given a medal for her fabulous photos. Charlie and Charmaine Kedmenec from My Destination Berlin are also to be thanked for input, photos, and collaboration, as is Tia Robinson from expath.de
At the Ausländerbehörde this morning, a client was informed that the rules have changed within the last six months regarding the Canadian Youth Mobility Program. Although I’ve seen a few Canadians received the permit in Berlin, the official line is now that Canadians need to apply for the Youth Mobility from Canada before they leave. This could be a bit confusing for the following reasons:
There are consultants in Berlin charging between 750EU and 900EU to prepare your paperwork and talk you through the process of getting an Artists Visa (Freelance Visa) in Berlin. Red Tape Translation was surprised to discover that some consultants will offer to fill out your paperwork for you, potentially influencing your answers on the application form to ensure that you will be defined as an artist, and issued a work permit on the spot.
While Red Tape Translation can certainly understand the appeal of avoiding bureaucracy, I find the practice concerning for a number of reasons:
Red Tape Translation was thrilled to interpret at a civil wedding ceremony for the very first time today. Getting married in Berlin can be nerve-wracking if one or both partners holds foreign nationality. Couples from all over the world get married at the Standesamt in Berlin, however, if one or both of the partners don’t understand German to a high enough level, you’re required to bring an interpreter with you. If the interpreter isn’t already sworn in at the Standesamt, you’ll need to pay an extra fee.
Here’s a run down of how a Berlin civil marriage ceremony works:
Red Tape Translation has been reading a lot of blog posts lately written by Berlin expats who obtained their freelance artist visas and want to share their knowledge with the world. Most of them are incredibly helpful and well-meaning, but there is one discrepancy which might cause a bit of confusion on the Berlin freelance scene, and we’d like to help clear it up.
Red Tape Translation is thrilled to announce we now offer certified translations from English into German. Birth certificates, academic transcripts, divorce decrees, you name it, we now have a certified translator on board who can translate and certify them for you.
The system in Germany can seem a bit confusing at first. There are different words used in different states, such as “beeidigte Übersetzer”, “vereidigte Übersetzer”, “ermächtigte Übersetzer” “beglaubigte Übersetzung”, etc. If you receive information from a public authority, an agency, or a government department that contains one of these words, you might need a sworn or certified translation.
When might I need a certified or sworn translation?
Red Tape Translation loves helping expats from all around the world with their visa appointments at the Ausländerbehorde in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt. While the majority of our clients leave the immigration office with a smile on their face and a shiny new German work permit in their hands, sometimes it doesn’t always go to plan. Here are some really common mistakes that we hope you’ll avoid when you’ve got plans to visit the friendly grey building in Wedding.
Red Tape Translation received an interesting question about booking appointments at the Ausländerbehörde (LABO), and we thought we’d throw it out there for discussion.
An American citizen was not able to get an appointment before his current permit expired. Those pesky appointment times go like hotcakes, and sometimes, there isn’t one available for 6-8 weeks.
Luckily, that’s not such a huge problem. If you can’t get an appointment before your current permit runs out, your current permit will remain valid until the date of your appointment. Whatever working conditions currently apply to you will also apply until your appointment. All you have to do is print out the appointment confirmation and carry it around with your passport, should anyone ask. You can read that on the official LABO website here.
Red Tape Translation just finished an interesting project, interpreting for a meeting with a foreign investor and a real estate developer in Berlin.
The potential for growth within the real estate market in Berlin is major, and investors are flocking to the city to make the most of wonderful acquisition opportunities in popular metro areas of Berlin. Not only in the thriving centre but also beyond the city ring in leafy residential quarters, there are some very special investment opportunities: apartments in wonderful old buildings that are being refurbished, as well as brand new modern style housing complexes.
