Hetvi Dhruva is 27 years old and has studied Data Analytics in Mumbai. After completing her bachelor’s degree and a brief period of employment, she came to Germany in 2021 for further studies, and obtained a master’s degree in Data Analytics. She now works for an insurance corporation in Hanover as an insurance mathematician.

Many people from around the world, including numerous Indians, think of Germany as an attractive country where they can work and advance their . Hetvi Dhruva from India is certain that “Germany is considered a low-risk country”. She believes that there are many reasons for going to Germany: the Federal Republic is a safe country. Those who choose to need to spend a lot less money than in the USA or in Britain, as it is free to attend public higher education institutions. Another aspect is the fact that German degrees are held in high esteem in India.

Language barriers and integration

Nevertheless, she found it harder than expected to become part of the German society. “The is the biggest obstacle,” Hetvi Dhruva says. “I attended language classes but had few opportunities to speak German in everyday life,” she recalls her experience. Her master´s degree course at the University of Hildesheim was in English, and this was why she struggled with German for a long time. Since moving to Hanover as a bigger city, she has had fewer problems and her German has improved.

Bureaucracy and digitisation: everyday challenges

Hetvi Dhruva also struggled with German bureaucracy. “There’s a lot of paperwork,” she says, adding that “Germany is less advanced than many other countries when it comes to digitalisation,” making it necessary to frequently visit public offices. “Bureaucratic German is also hard to understand for people from abroad,” she adds. As she is Indian, Hetvi Dhruva has to go to the Immigration Office once a year to renew her visa. “That takes a lot of time,” she says.

She is also puzzled by the different types of insurance, tax statements and German rental arrangements. It took her a long time to understand her rights and duties as a tenant of an apartment, for example. “That was a real challenge,” she says. The insurance mathematician feels that Germany could do more to attract from abroad, such as simplifying and digitising bureaucratic processes and providing information about arrival and life in Germany.

Wishing for greater open-mindedness

Most of all, she wishes the society were more open-minded. She points out that the German language is difficult and that it is therefore perfectly normal to make mistakes if you are not a native speaker. In a small town such as Hildesheim, people were often impatient in her experience. Hetvi points out that this type of behaviour makes it harder for people who have just arrived in Germany. She says that she would have been happy if more integration classes had been available that seek to make life in Germany easier to understand. “Classes often tend to attach too much importance to German grammar, rather than focussing on everyday experiences and everyday language,” Hetvi Dhruva finds. She always received top marks in her language class, but still found it hard to navigate everyday life at the start.

Support from her employer

Hetvi Dhruva’s current employer helped her a lot when it came to overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. “I work for an international company and English is our working language. My colleagues had some good advice for me,” she says. Through her employer Hetvi Dhruva got the EU Blue Card, a residence permit for highly skilled professionals from non-EU countries that enables them to work and live in an EU country. “That was really helpful and a good experience,” she recalls.

It took her some getting used to that contact with co-workers tends to be a bit more reserved in Germany than is common in her home country. “There is a clear line between co-workers and friends that I had to get used to.”

Benefits of the work-life balance in Germany

One thing Hetvi Dhruva experiences as very positive, is the good work-life balance in Germany. “That’s really great,” she says. After the end of a work day or when you are on holiday, nobody from the company will bother you, she explains, adding that “you can really switch off”. The Indian also enjoys the open-minded working atmosphere. “Any question you want to ask is okay,” she sums up the situation.

Hetvi Dhruva recommends that other international skilled professionals should take a look at the following website: . This platform provides comprehensive information about job opportunities, visa requirements and life in Germany. There is also a selection of resources about recognition of foreign degrees, application advice and information on integration.