No agency fee. Not now, not later, not ever.
In India, people are asked for lakhs of rupees for information about Germany. That information is on this page, in full, for free: the steps, the real timelines, the attestation route through your state and the MEA, which consulate is yours, and what you will actually pay. You pay us €29.90 a month for German lessons — and nothing else, ever.
Start my 14 free days → First read: living in Germany
Your route — step by step
There is not one route but four, and they do not take the same time at all. Nursing is the longest. The shortest one is the one almost nobody shows you — because there is less money to be made explaining it.
| Your occupation | Do you need recognition in order to work? | Realistic timeline |
|---|---|---|
| ⚙️ Industry, metal, electrical, mechatronics, welding, trades | No — not a regulated profession. There is no recognition procedure to pass in order to work. An equivalence assessment from the chamber of crafts or industry is only needed for the residence permit. | the shortest route of all |
| 🚚 Truck driving | Partly — licence exchange plus Code 95 (accelerated basic qualification). After that you can drive. | medium |
| 🩺 Nursing and health care (GNM, B.Sc. Nursing) | Yes — a regulated profession. The longest route, in four stages. | 6–12 months, often longer |
| 🎓 Vocational training (any branch) | Different logic: school place first, then a training visa. | April / September intake |
Check your own occupation on the official German portal anerkennung-in-deutschland.de (German federal government, available in English).
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1
German first — everything else waits
A1 → B1: roughly 9–12 months at 20 minutes a dayAlmost every work visa requires a language level: usually A2 as a minimum to enter and B2 to practise a health profession. Start here, because this is the only step that depends on no authority at all — it depends only on you.
Only Goethe-Institut, telc and ÖSD certificates count. Certificates from private institutes are not accepted for a visa, no matter what you paid for them. Goethe examination centres exist in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Pune.
Our live classes for India are scheduled around midday Indian Standard Time, so they sit inside your day and not in the middle of your night. You get the exact time in IST with your access.
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2
Attestation and apostille — start early
4–8 weeks, sometimes moreThis is the step Indian applicants underestimate most. Your documents need state-level attestation first (Home Department or Education Department of your state), and only then the apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs, which accepts documents through authorised agencies and collection centres rather than directly.
Begin while you are still learning German. Detail is in the next section.
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3
A German employer and a contract
variesThat is our job, and the employer pays us — you do not. There is no registration fee, no file fee, no "processing charge". If anyone uses our name and asks you for money, it is not us.
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The fast-track procedure (§ 81a) — filed by the employer
pre-approval, then an appointment within 3 weeks by lawYour employer applies to the Central Office for Skilled Worker Immigration of North Rhine-Westphalia (ZFE NRW, Cologne) and pays the €411 fee. With the pre-approval you are entitled to a visa appointment within three weeks instead of waiting months — and in India there is a separate appointment window for it. That is the law; in practice waiting times vary.
Source: ZFE NRW — Bezirksregierung Köln · portal: extra.bezreg-koeln.nrw.de/zfe
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The visa — your consulate, through VFS Global
visa fee €75 (as of 2026) plus the VFS service chargeGermany has five missions in India, and the one responsible for you depends on where you live — not where you were born. National visas are lodged in person through VFS Global (fingerprints are taken).
Where you live Your mission Delhi and northern India (Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan …) Embassy New Delhi Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Consulate General Mumbai Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry Consulate General Chennai Karnataka Consulate General Bengaluru West Bengal, the North-East, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha Consulate General Kolkata If you are from Kerala, Chennai is your consulate — and it is the busiest of the five. Book as early as you possibly can.
Confirm your jurisdiction and current appointment process at india.diplo.de · apply online at the official visa portal.
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Your first fourteen days in Germany
we stay with you for six monthsCity registration, residence permit, health insurance, bank account, tax ID, first day at work. Every one of those has a counter, a form and a deadline — and that is exactly where people get lost. You will not do it alone.
Sources: ZAG-PuG · qualifications from outside the EU · reviewed 09/2026
Your papers — the Indian route
One piece of good news and one warning. Good news: most Indian documents are already in English, and both the embassy and the ZFE accept English without a German translation. Warning: the recognition office in North Rhine-Westphalia generally still wants German translations — ask them before you pay a translator.
- Passportvalid for at least 12 months at the time of application, two free pages. If your passport is marked ECR: for Germany you do not need emigration clearance. Germany is not an ECR country.
- Degree or diploma certificatestate attestation first (Home / Education Department), then MEA apostille. Allow 4–8 weeks for the full chain.
- Transcripts and mark sheets of all semesters, plus the syllabus This is the decisive document. The German office wants theory and practice in hours, but Indian transcripts often list only subjects and marks. Ask your college or university for a written confirmation of the hours — do this early, it takes time, and without it your file stalls.
- State Nursing Council registration certificatefor nursing applicants — mandatory, with attestation and apostille.
- Experience certificateson hospital or company letterhead, showing your position, the exact period and hours per week.
- Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)through Passport Seva at your regional passport office, then apostille. Note the validity — it must still be recent when you file.
- Language certificateGoethe, telc or ÖSD. Practice at the ZFE: not older than 12 months when the file is submitted.
- Medical fitness certificateonly for health professions, and only at the end. Never send us medical documents. We do not need them and we are not allowed to keep them.
- Two biometric photographs35 × 45 mm, recent.
Living in Germany — the eight things nobody explains
An agent sells you a job. What you actually need is to know what waits for you after you land: what is left of your salary, who may come with you, what your contract is worth, what happens if the job ends. These eight topics are part of the course — and the essentials are here, free to read.
1 · Residence
Which permits exist, what "temporary" really means, what happens to your permit if you change employer, and when you must apply for renewal.
2 · Family
Family reunification: who may come, whether your spouse has to prove German at all — that depends on your permit and the requirement does not always apply —, which proofs of housing and income are needed, and how long it takes.
3 · Health insurance
Public or private, what the difference means in practice, who is covered together with you at no extra cost, and what to do on your first day at work.
4 · Money
Gross is not net. Tax classes, social contributions — and above all what is actually left once the rent is paid.
5 · Housing
Tenancy contracts, deposits (often three months' rent), the landlord confirmation you need for city registration — and the traps a newcomer walks into.
6 · Employment law
How to read a German contract, probation, paid leave, notice periods, overtime — what your employer may require of you and what they may not.
7 · Recognition
How the procedure really runs, who decides, what a "deficit notice" is and what your options are afterwards.
8 · Staying for good
Permanent residence, citizenship, pension — and what your working years build in the long run.
Official portals: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) · Make it in Germany (official federal portal)
What it really costs
The whole table, including what you have to pay. We would rather tell you now than let you find out halfway through.
| Item | Amount | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| GoWest Academy German course A1–B2, live classes, occupational module, cancel monthly |
€29.90 / month roughly ₹2,800–2,900 · 14 days free, no card | you |
| Our recruitment work finding the employer, contract, file, six months of support |
₹0 | the German employer |
| State attestation + MEA apostille | official fees + agency charges | you |
| Translations, if required | per page | you |
| Language examination (Goethe / telc) | institute fee | you |
| National visa fee | €75 (as of 2026) | you |
| VFS Global service charge | current tariff | you |
| Travel to Germany | varies | you or the employer, per contract |
| Fast-track procedure § 81a | €411 | the employer |
| Recognition of qualification (health professions) | up to €277.50 + €60 | per contract — often the employer |
Reviewed 09/2026. UPI cannot be used directly by foreign merchants; if that changes through a licensed cross-border provider, we will add it.
The ten questions agents charge money for
An agent does not sell a product. He sells information. Here it is, at no cost.
1 · Does my Indian qualification count in Germany?
It depends entirely on your occupation, and the answer often surprises people:
Non-regulated occupations (industry, metal, electrical, mechatronics, welding, many trades): you do not need a recognition decision in order to work. Your employer decides whether your skills fit. An equivalence assessment is only needed for the residence permit.
Regulated occupations (nursing and health care above all): yes, recognition is mandatory. The outcome comes in three forms — full equivalence, partial equivalence with "deficits" you must close through an adaptation course or a knowledge examination, or refusal.
Check your occupation at anerkennung-in-deutschland.de.
2 · Which German level do I need, for which visa?
As a rule: A2 minimum for most work visas, B1 for vocational training, B2 to practise a health profession after recognition. Employers often ask for more than the law does.
Only Goethe, telc and ÖSD certificates are accepted. Confirm the exact requirement for your visa category on your mission's page before you book an examination.
3 · Which papers do I need, and in what order?
The full list is above, with a print button. The order matters: original → state attestation → MEA apostille → translation (if required). Doing it in the wrong order means paying twice.
4 · How long does it really take?
Honestly: from a few months to well over a year, depending on your occupation.
Fastest: non-regulated occupations — German is usually the only real obstacle.
Longest: nursing and health care — 6 to 12 months, often more, because two authorities act
one after the other.
For India, add roughly two months for attestation and possible verification. What saves the most time is not an agent: it is starting German early and filing a complete file the first time.
5 · What will I earn — and what is left?
Pay depends on occupation, branch, region and collective agreement. What we can teach you for certain is how to read a German payslip: between gross and net sit income tax and social contributions (health, pension, long-term care, unemployment). The gap is significant.
Then comes rent, which varies enormously between cities. Be sceptical of any net figure promised to you before you hold a concrete contract. We work it out with you in the "Living in Germany" module, on your real contract.
6 · Can my family come with me?
Family reunification exists, with conditions: accommodation of sufficient size and sufficient income. As for German from your spouse: it is required in some cases and not in others — it depends on the residence permit you hold, and for several skilled-worker permits the requirement does not apply. Do not rely on a general answer, including ours: have your own case confirmed.
This is one of the eight topics we cover in detail. For your individual case the responsible authority is the foreigners' office (Ausländerbehörde) of your future city, and the free migration advice service (MBE) will help you prepare.
7 · What do I pay, and what does the employer pay?
The full table is above. In short: you pay for your documents, attestation, translations, language examination, visa fee and your German course. You do not pay Go West for a job — the German employer pays us.
8 · How do I recognise a dishonest agent?
Five signals. One is enough to walk away:
1. He charges you for a job, a "file" or a "registration".
2. He guarantees a visa or a recognition decision — nobody can
guarantee what an authority will decide.
3. He wants to hold your passport.
4. He gives you no written contract you can read and take with you.
5. He has no verifiable company address.
What you can verify about us: Go West Global Recruitment GmbH is entered in the German commercial register, Amtsgericht Aachen, HRB 27524. Address and telephone number are in the imprint. If in doubt, call the office number.
9 · Germany or the Gulf — what is the difference long term?
One word: perspective.
In the Gulf states, residence is tied to the employment contract. When the contract ends, the residence ends. As a rule there is neither permanent residence nor a path to citizenship.
In Germany, a work-based stay can lead to a permanent residence permit and, under conditions, to citizenship. Family can join you, children go to school free of charge, and the years you work count towards a pension.
Gross pay can be higher in the Gulf. What you build is here.
10 · Which occupation has the shortest route to Germany?
The answer is not nursing — and it is the question you are asked least often.
Non-regulated occupations have the shortest route: metal, electrical, mechatronics, welding, industry and many trades. There is simply no recognition procedure to pass before you can work. The shortage in those fields is enormous, and German remains the only real hurdle.
That is exactly why our course is open to every occupation, not only nursing.
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