Germany’s ‘opportunity card’ visa launches

For non-EU citizens, coming to Germany for work should get slightly easier from June 1st.

That’s because those who are eligible can apply for a new visa for jobseekers called the Chancenkarte or ‘opportunity card’.

The basic requirement is at least two years of vocational training or a university degree in the country of origin as well as language skills in German or English. Depending on the applicant’s language skills, professional experience, age and connection to Germany, they are awarded points that entitle them to receive the visa. 

READ ALSO:

• How Germany’s ‘opportunity card’ will allow easier entry for foreign workers from June
• Chancenkarte – how many points could you get on Germany’s new jobseekers’ visa?

Bahncards 25 and 50 to go digital

Rail customers will see a change to Deutsche Bahn subscription cards from June 6th. From this date onwards, the plastic cards for Bahncard 25 and 50 will no longer be available and will only be offered in digital form.

To use the travel card digitally, customers will need a profile in the Bahn app or on the bahn.de platform. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can print out a replacement document. Existing plastic cards can be used until the printed expiry date.

The BahnCard 100 is exempt from the change and is still available as a plastic card.

READ ALSO: How to find cheap train tickets in Germany

EU citizens vote in the European elections

The European elections in Germany will take place on June 9th. Some countries, such as the Netherlands, start voting on June 6th.

A new EU Parliament will be elected with over 720 MEPs. This year, for the first time, young people aged 16 and over will be able to vote in Germany. This means that the number of eligible voters has increased from around 61.5 million in the last election in 2019 to around 65 million people in this election.

If you are still unsure which party to vote for, you can check out the Wahl-O-Mat to help make your decision. 

READ ALSO: What’s at stake in Germany’s European election vote?

The UEFA European Football Championship comes to Germany 

Get ready for football mania as Germany hosts the Euros. The championship kicks off in Munich on June 14th when Germany will take on Scotland. 

A total of 24 teams will compete in the month-long tournament, which ends on July 14th in Berlin. In total 51 games will be played on 22 match days.

Several cities will host games. Aside from Berlin and Munich, matches will be held in Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dortmund, Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen, Stuttgart, and Düsseldorf.

READ ALSO: Euro 2024 – What you can expect from Europe’s biggest football frenzy 

New German citizenship law comes into force

It’s a moment many people in Germany have been waiting for. The landmark reform of citizenship law will come into force on June 27th 2024.

From this date, foreign residents will be able to obtain German citizenship more quickly. Naturalisation will be possible after just five years of residence instead of eight, and even after three years in cases of ‘special integration and C1 level German.

Dual citizenship or holding multiple nationalities will also be permitted – the law previously only allowed this in exceptional cases and for EU citizens. Former ‘guest workers’ and ‘contract workers’ will only have to prove their oral knowledge of German for naturalisation and will no longer have to take a naturalisation test.

READ ALSO: Requirements, costs and permits – 6 articles for German citizenship

Changes to cable TV connections for tenants

Millions of tenants in Germany have to decide by June 30th at the latest how they want to watch TV in their home in future. From July, landlords will no longer be allowed to add cable TV connection fees to the Nebenkosten, or additional costs. 

Tenants who want to continue to watch cable TV in their home will have to contact a provider to arrange for this. However, some renters could find themselves potentially paying more for this service. The new arrangement starts from July 1st. 

READ ALSO: Why tenants in Germany could face higher costs for cable TV this year

Some German states begin their summer holiday 

While most of Germany’s 16 states start their summer break in July, a few begin earlier. Pupils in Bremen, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia will start their summer holidays in the second half of June. 

READ ALSO: 7 reasons why June is the best month in Germany

Disney+ to start restricting account sharing

Anyone who uses Disney+ via someone else’s account will have to make a change. The streaming service is launching its measures against account sharing worldwide starting from June. In future, every household will need its own Disney+ account to continue streaming films and series from the Marvel or Star Wars universe.

New Europe-wide payment system launches

The online payment services PayPal and Apple Pay are facing competition. Customers of some banks in Europe will be able to make smartphone-to-smartphone payments with each other from the end of June.

This is being made possible by the Europe-wide payment system ‘wero’ from the EPI banking initiative. In Germany, savings banks, cooperative banks and Deutsche Bank are participating. The first expansion stage is due to start at the end of June, with the aim to create a standardised Europe-wide system for payment by card and smartphone.