So now I’m hooked up with a great insurance policy (private health from Gothaer), but there was a serious catch: I had to pay a fee for the last two years that I haven’t been insured. It wasn’t much (900 euros), but it was a bit hard to swallow! In the end, I did save some money for not being insured, but to pay that at once was a bit frustrating…

Hey kids

I actually made my trip to the Ausländerbehörde on the second of February, but since I didn’t have my insurance papers, all I got out of the deal was a Fiktionsbescheinigung. What’s a Fiktionsbescheinigung? Well, I’ll tell you: it’s a simple certificate that essentially states that my case is undecided, and that I may continue my current activities until it expires, which in this case is on the day of my next appointment in early March. So basically, I have to go back and show them my insurance papers, and then I’ll be allowed to stay for another two years.  What’s the moral of this story? Make sure you have all of the papers required beforehand, since otherwise things could get a little sticky!