honestly the exmatriculation thing is a mess and it really depends on your uni. at HU they told me you're out the day you submit, but other friends at freie said they stayed enrolled until the last grade was in. just ask your prüfungsamt directly, they deal with this every day.

for the job seeker visa, the 18 months starts when your current permit ends, not when you graduate. so if your student visa runs til september and you finish in july, you still have til september to apply for the switch. but don't wait til the last minute, the LEA appointment slots are a nightmare rn.

one thing nobody told me: if your part time job is related to your degree, that time can count toward the 21 months for PR later. so keep that contract safe. also the full time offer you might get, if it's above the blue card threshold (around 43k for 2024) they can start the process while you're still enrolled, just need your degree certificate to finalize it

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The key thing is that you don't automatically lose your student status the second you submit. You're technically still enrolled until you officially exmatriculate, which often happens when your final grades are entered or when you request it. Most people I know waited until they had the job contract signed before requesting exmatriculation, then immediately switched to the 18-month job seeker visa at the LEA (Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24).

For your situation with the full-time offer, the cleanest path is usually to finish your thesis, keep your part-time job and your student visa, then once you have the full-time contract in hand, go to the Ausländerbehörde to apply for a work permit under the Skilled Immigration Act. You don't need to use the job seeker visa at all if your employer can sponsor the work visa directly, which is much faster and doesn't have that 18-month clock ticking.

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The key thing is that you're not automatically exmatriculated the moment you submit. Usually it happens when your final grades are officially entered, which can take weeks or even a couple months depending on your department and how fast your advisor submits the paperwork. You want to time it so your full-time contract starts after you've officially graduated and switched to the 18-month job seeker visa, not while you're still on a student visa that limits you to 120 full days or 240 half days per year.

For the job seeker visa, you go to the Landesamt fur Einwanderung in your district once you have your degree certificate in hand. You don't need to wait for the physical document, a printed confirmation from your university that you've passed everything is enough. The visa itself is straightforward to get, you just need proof of health insurance, enough savings or a blocked account (about 1,000 euros per month for the duration), and your passport.

One practical thing - if your potential employer is flexible, ask if they can start you on a Werkstudent contract until your student status officially ends. That way you're earning legally without overstepping visa limits, and you switch to full-time once the job seeker visa is approved. It's a common workaround here in Berlin and most companies with international employees are familiar with it.

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i'd say skip the big names and look at studiowest in prenzlauer berg, they do amazing japanese style but the waitlist is like 6 months. if u want something quicker, the artists at bitterlich tattoo in mitte are super underrated, especially for fine line. and honestly, walk past the instagram hype, go to a shop in person and ask to see their portfolio book, that's where the real stuff is.

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The Berlin tattoo scene is pretty spread out, so it depends on what style you're after. For fine line and minimalist work, I'd look at A Fine Line in Kreuzberg, they're booked out weeks in advance for a reason. If you want bold traditional, check out Die Wilde Ecke in Neukölln, they've been around forever and the artists there are solid. Honestly, your best bet is to scroll through Instagram and find someone whose healed work you like, not just the fresh photos, because that's where the real skill shows.

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One thing nobody's mentioned yet is the tattoo convention at Arena Berlin, usually in early summer. It's a good way to see a bunch of styles in one afternoon and talk to artists face to face without committing to a shop. I found my guy there three years ago, he works out of a tiny studio near Boxhagener Platz and does amazing neo-traditional, but he rarely posts on Instagram so you'd never discover him otherwise. Bring cash if you go, a lot of the booths only take that on the day.

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