What we can expect from Germany in 2022

It’s not all doom and gloom. Much of it is. But here is some hope to hold on to for bureaucracy in the new year in Germany.

• Minimum wage will rise from 9.60 EUR per hour to 9.82 EUR. This will increase again halfway through the year to 10.45 EUR per hour.
• Your employer can give you a tax-free Corona bonus of up to 1,500 EUR as long as they apply it by 31st March, 2022.
• The Telecommunications Act is being amended to stop those pesky German auto-renewing contracts from…. auto-renewing. Contract lengths can still be 24 months, but once this time period is expired, you can cancel with just one month’s notice. This will apply to contracts concluded from 01.12.2021.
• ALGII recipients will receive 3 EUR more per month – the payout on top of rent, health insurance and other reimbursible expenses was capped at 446 EUR in 2021, from now on, it will be 449 EUR. Child maintenance payments are also being increased, though marginally.
• A Samurai museum is set to open in Berlin-Mitte in March 2022.
• Tristan Otto, the famous T-Rex skeleton of Berlin is set to return to the Museum of Natural History in early 2022 after spending some time in Copenhagen.
• And the thing we are most interested in following: Germany’s new coalition government has proposed new legislation on dual nationality. They plan to make German citizenship possible sooner and with less stress, and they claim that newly naturalised German citizens will not have to revoke their other citizenship. As soon as this comes into force, Kathleen will be joining thousands of other permanent residents in finally applying for German citizenship.