Watch: After 5 Years in Germany... I Moved Back to India For Peace | NRI
A interview-based Germany-to-India return story covering career motivation, language and culture adjustment, Blue Card and settlement permit paperwork, apartment exit, tax office notifications, pension refund planning, money transfer, Hyderabad job fit, and life after return.
The full write-up, with the numbers and the links.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 5:08 Life in Germany
- 9:58 Why move to India
- 13:41 Planning the move
- 19:27 Financial planning
- 23:05 Life in India
- 27:35 Automotive Industry in India
- 31:39 Advice
Transcript
Auto-generated captions, lightly cleaned
0:00 I actually spent about two to two and a half months and I made a huge checklist of the task, the the respective state office, the timeline when I should give them notice, and in what form, whether it is in person, whether it is email, or whether it is written mail, and all of those. They exhausting, like I said. I was stressful, also. And timing was not right. Originally from Hyderabad, born and raised here. Did my bachelor's in JNTU in mechanical engineering. And then I did my master's in Sweden. Then yeah, then I moved back to India, worked for a couple of years in Hyderabad and Bangalore, which was 2018 to 2020 this time.
0:59 The main reason now how and why I moved to Germany was it was like initial days of COVID or just before the start of COVID. I I was I had a like a couple of ideas. Starting to work on something new. Especially machine learning was bit fresh back then. 2018 and 19. I had a lot of friends from computer science, although I was from mechanical engineering. And whenever we used to chat and I used to learn from them like what they do, what is their course, and all of that. And then then I started to think like how this machine learning can be applied for mechanical engineering problems or areas. And then a couple of ideas came to my mind. And then started like researching is there anything that people have done in terms of research, in terms of starting companies in this space.
1:56 And that was quite fresh area. And I think I came across a couple of research articles, but nothing concrete that the industry has started using it like machine learning for mechanical engineering. Then I spoke with a couple of friends about this idea and they were very excited. So, we started working on this idea. Our goal was to have started something as a small startup. And start developing of this product and especially a solution for these kind of problems, machine learning for mechanical engineering. We picked a couple of use cases and actually built a use case with which we thought we could go to a couple of potential customers and show them hey, what we are doing.
2:43 Would you be interested? Would that be useful to you? after a bunch of weeks we were actually successful in building a use case and the first MVP, the first version of the product. But then this is actually not giving us money, isn't it? So, that was not motivating to some of my friends and then they one by one started dropping because some of them were also jobless back then looking for jobs. So, yeah, eventually it didn't monetize the idea where we started. Yeah, then I took a step back and actually thought about this and how to not kill it completely, but rather make use of the work we have done together. And what I did was I turned this into a research blog on Google blogspot.
Read the full transcript (38 more sections)
3:39 And then I start I used to give some knowledge to the LinkedIn community out there on how machine learning works with Those two spaces combined together. Then I got a lot of traction out there from different countries, different people. And one of such countries was Germany. Then I started looking, oh, Germany is actually very good for engineering and automotive, the space that I come from. And also very good for innovation, right? [clears throat] So then I started looking, oh, are there any companies that is doing this? Then I came across this very cool startup. It was not doing exactly same. But the kind of automation, so automation, AI, robotics, all falls under one category umbrella.
4:27 It was a small startup back then. I think about 10 people, 2 to 3 years old. I did an open chat with them. I sent a request on LinkedIn to the CEO. And then started an exchange, had an open chat. and then we started talking. And a couple of months later, I joined them. So that's how I moved to Germany. It was unexpected, a different story, but it was also exciting. yeah. So that's that's the kind of motivation there. How I why I moved to Germany.
5:09 I was 25 back then, 25 years old. it was a perfect combination of this career excitement and also personal adventure. trying to explore Germany and Europe as well. personally, I also really like Europe. when I was there, 2016, 2017, so yeah, then I made a move. This was 2021. India was going through intense COVID second wave. And in fact, at home also, my my dad was hit by COVID. not that extreme, but this but the you know the situation was not not comfortable outside. You could even go out and none of the hospitals were accepting.
5:56 In that situation I actually accepted this job offer. And it took some time to get the visa there in Germany. For someone like engineering field, medicine and all of that they give something called as blue card. Blue card is a work permit that allows you to 4 years in any European country. After that you can extend based on your job contract and so on. So I applied for this. Things were moving slow. Took about 3 to 4 months. So 2021 mid about August time 2020 is when I moved to Germany initially. Got it. And then how was the life in Germany? Initially it was exciting like July, August, September. This is like summer and you know like summer slowly getting down and all of that. It was a very good weather. So weather was good, welcoming. and initially it was exciting like you know trying to explore new places.
6:59 New food, new things, new culture. Initially it was good. Also the company that I work for works for Cinera, a startup. They were very welcoming. Startup, small community, more like family. Yeah, the people was very good. initially, but over the time you know the the daily lifestyle actually starts to kick in. Isn't it like need to figure out things, the processes, the everyday life and all of that. So then it started getting challenging actually. One is the the culture itself, Well, adjusted to them because often times some of not everyone, but some of them think culture might not be a big thing, but actually what I realized is it's a it's a very big thing whenever we are living in any city, any country because yeah, like the interact every day like,
7:59 You know, going to supermarket, going to banks, going to state offices and all of that. So, getting used to the culture actually took significant amount of time for me. And adding to that, you know, Germany speaks the language German and since usually a couple of people that go to Germany for masters or for studying do learn a basic of German, but I I didn't do it because the reason for me was to work and yeah, although I tried to do a bit on Duolingo and all of that, but it was not that enough to to start communicating there. So, yeah. I think language was a bit of barrier or rather I would say something that's important to learn. For example, anyone moving to Germany for the first time >> [clears throat] >> should register their home or apartment and get an appointment in the state office like it's it's it's called
9:00 Citizens office. We do as well, but usually we do it once on our ID proof. Let's say we call it other card here like we do it once, but usually it's not mandatory when we move to a new city or new new place within the same city, new apartment we usually do not change the house address on that, but there it is mandatory. For the first time moving in or changing as well. So, to get appointments there takes a lot of time I think because maybe of the capacity and all all that. So, taking appointments and getting that is a bit of challenging task. And adding to that usually here we get some guidance, some consultants, some help if you wanted to any of those bureaucratic works for the first time.
9:52 But there it's we need to figure out things on our own.
10:01 Right. So, I worked there pretty much close to 5 years. And from 2021 mid to end of 2025. I used to visit India home once a year to visit the family, my parents. And every time I come and go back, going back is never an easy thing. it takes always some time to get used to the life and adjust there. but adding to that every time I see there is some health issues that I see in the family, especially for my mom. nothing serious, but usually that comes with the age and all of that. this it kept bothering me sometimes, but then over the time I got used to everyday life and then you know, we have technology like WhatsApp, talk everyday.
10:58 But then it got actually intensified in the last 1 to years, especially in the last year. And then I decided that I have to make a move to India in a way that is logical for me, just not purely emotional driven, but also something that makes sense for what I am doing in my career as well and my future aspirations as well. So, that everything is balanced when I make a decision. so, I would say early 2025 the idea started and over the time then I started researching like what exactly to consider when making a decision. Then I came across your podcast YouTube and was quite helpful looking at some of the some of the interviews out there and what people are considering different things.
11:56 One good thing was I was single I'm single and this made it a little bit easier as my whole and sole decision. yeah, then it was mid-2025. one fine day I'm usually quite active on LinkedIn because my job my previous job and also my current job it's always a techno-commercial which means I handle commercial part in our company and I could travel to our customers and events, conferences and all of that. So, in that sense I'm usually active on professional platforms like LinkedIn. I came across one such thing heard of it from an ex-colleague.
12:42 Company I worked in Bangalore before moving to Germany and we had an open chat and I shared my my thoughts on moving back to India and we had a couple of rounds of discussion with that particular team and what they're trying to do and so on. And yeah, one fine day they offered me welcomed me to come back to the same company the company I'm working for right now. this was like October 2020. And but they said would be nice if I join in January of 2026 which was 2 to 3 months from from informing my ex-employer to moving to India.
13:31 So, this was a tight timeline and [clears throat] yeah, that's that's when I made my decision to move back to India.
13:42 I think with the logistics itself, yeah, I've had an apartment with with the furniture, >> which some of them I liked to to bring back to India. Some of them although I liked it, was not that worth to move take it to India, in terms of cost and everything. So, then I also researched about a couple of logistics companies that can help in moving homes from country to country. And looking at the cost and the cost that I spent on buying the furniture, I decided to sell everything off in I know in Germany there are different platforms and one of the most familiar ones is called eBay Kleinanzeigen. I can share the message the name of that in the chat. so, in eBay Kleinanzeigen, people usually buy and sell used stuff. It can be furniture, it can be clothes, it can be anything. And this is
14:44 Also quite genuine and people do trust it. And I also had a lot of things from furniture to kitchen items to, you know, wardrobe stuff. And a lot of those things. The notice period to inform my landlord to move out of the apartment was 3 months. I thought it was 2 months for some reason because I lived there for 5 years and never really thought about the contract I signed. then I had to all actually pay 3 months of rent, one month which I didn't live, moved back to India as well. So, that's about the apartment and then slowly also some things I gave gave away for free. You can actually give small small stuff on the street and then write it like to give away. And yeah, some people who are interested usually like to pick it up and all of that. So, this is in terms of the apartment and all of that. And the
15:44 Most important thing was the documentation work. I think this was a pretty exhausting process for me. I actually spent about two to two and a half months. And I made a huge checklist of the task, the the respective state office, the timeline when I should give them notice person, whether it is email or whether it is written mail and all of those. And some of them I can share the detailed list a little we can tag it. yeah, I think the most important thing is to inform the the foreign office about the residence permit. So, from the blue card, which allowed me to work for four years initially, I switched to the permanent residence.
16:33 It's called settlement permit, which which allows you to stay in Germany for indefinite period, basically. So, at the end of my last day in Germany, I got converted into this type of residence permit. So, one thing is to inform them. To inform the bank. And there is something called as radio tax in Germany. Radio tax as in the broadcasting TV what we usually watch in India. this is somehow mandatory in Germany and everybody who lives in an apartment, rental or has to pay this. And usually I used to pay it for six months at once. It's a lump amount. So, also giving them notice out there. And the electricity contract in Germany, there are two types of apartments, studio which gives everything and the rent on the other side. We rent the apartment and buy things like furniture, like electricity contract, internet contract and all of them. So, all of these contracts also I
17:37 Yeah, so And also the tax office is the most important thing. anybody who is moving out of Germany, whether they work, they don't work, the first and foremost important thing to do is to inform the tax office on when we are moving out. what is our tax number, what was our employment status and all of that. Of course, they might have the information. This is super important. Otherwise, yeah, it might get challenging in the future whenever you want to move. So, Germany or neighboring countries. So, yeah, this is a I made the list red, green check mark whenever I finish something then turn it into green. This was a huge checklist.
18:24 Very [clears throat] exhausting like I said. I was stressful also. timing was not right because December was what I was planning and then mid-January was what I planned to move back to India. And that's also actually when I moved back to India. If you take the last two weeks of December, I saw Christmas vacation. And the first one two weeks of January, it's also vacation like people slowly come back after mid-January including the state offices like what I just mentioned. So, some of them don't work and it's absolutely not easy to get these things done. yeah, that's also one thing. So, initially getting rid of the stuff in the apartment, informing the landlord and also, you know, giving the apartment in a condition that we received it as as important if you want to receive the deposit back, for me it was important to receive the deposit.
19:23 And then the bureaucratic work.
19:29 Yeah, so initially based there are three I had three three parts of the financials that I had to handle. One is the tax returns basically, so usually every year we apply for tax returns of the previous year. And I had some couple of years that I didn't do the taxes well, maybe the last year and so on. So first and foremost thing was I did the account for the returns which I which I will keep the bank account that I'm going to keep, so first thing is to to file the taxes and give a bank account that I'm sure that I would keep it even after moving back to India. And the second one was the the pension.
20:16 So in Germany as a part of the employment the salary we pay pension to the state, and then at the the retirement age we get this pension back every month. But in Germany to be eligible to get this pension, one needs to pay pension period of 5 years. As per my knowledge as per my research and what I did. Subject to changes if there are any new changes there. so since I worked for a little few months less than 5 years, one can actually get all the pension amount that has been paid, like the last 5 years of pension what I paid to the state there. So I had this is called a Versichrung in Germany in German.
21:04 So then I visited this office and I inquired about it works and all of that and they gave me a couple of forms. the process is after moving back to India so they get notified from the foreign office where we registered our apartment like so and so person has deregistered from their apartment. And also they get information from the migration office so so and so person has exited the country. this is this is a general information. And then for a certain period of time if they don't see an entry from my side again into the Germany, let's say for the next 6 months, then I can start applying for this pension refund.
21:53 Yeah, they'll it will take after I apply it takes a couple of months, probably also one one year or even more and then they verify and get the pension so I'm assuming it's it's like but it's around since I lived here for four four years to five years. So that's the second part of the financials. the third one is if I got any savings and how I managed to transfer them into the Indian currency. So yeah, what I did was since I planned like this 3 months of checklist, the respective state offices stuff, I learned all of that. In that I also planned to transfer the funds. And I transferred in different stages of the funds.
22:40 So there are different platforms like Wise, Remitly and all of them quite reliable Wise especially what I used to use. And yeah, and basically I used them to to transfer some of my funds from from those local bank accounts that I had there.
23:06 Yeah, it's been exactly 2 months. Quite new. Yeah, it's very good. Coming back to India and living with family, it's a it's a good feeling. especially being close and having this social interaction restarted again. Because yeah, I did have social interaction in Germany, but I always felt it was limited and sometimes a little more support would have been nice. In terms of mental support or you know all of that. So, in that sense, it's very good. coming back to India. I think especially in terms of domestic help, right? It's much more convenient here to take help from someone. in terms of yeah, everyday life. that's something I feel very convenient here.
24:00 And also buying something, ordering food, or groceries, whatever it is. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, let's say 1 hour. it's much more easier. even with Amazon overnight next day, one can get things. It's not about the how quickly it is delivering. It's more about sometimes one has to buy some some emergency things, some important things. And how quickly I'm able to access those emergency things, that is something that I'm appreciating here. Especially health, medication, and all of that. Although there was very great health system in Germany.
24:46 Health insurance. it's unfortunate to say that the access to the hospitals and all of that is was not satisfied. Multiple times though it felt like helpless there. Although the system was very good in terms of the insurance and how clean it was and all that, but yeah, here although insurance health system is not that great. But access to health like hospitals like like pharmacists and all of that is much quicker for So those things I'm appreciating especially also the food which I've been missing home food. That's that's also very good. yeah, also like I said I enjoyed the work, my new job and it's also [clears throat] quite exciting as well.
25:38 So yeah, first two months have been going well. So I was pretty sure to move only to Hyderabad. to to be close to family. Although Bangalore is not that far, but yeah, I was I was pretty sure that I I have to live here in Hyderabad. And when I came across this job and spoke for spoke in that the interview process I mentioned this is my first priority. And they were kind and flexible to offer me work from home. So from time to time I do travel to Bangalore on some business trips, but majorly I am based in Hyderabad. That's it.
26:25 I think yeah. So I think in terms of the the domain and the industry everybody is working with one can choose. We all know Bangalore has been one of the you know, like IT hubs of India and there are quite some companies in Bangalore. Also on the other side if you look at Hyderabad it's it's growing as well. Pune is growing as well. So I think a lot of tier one and all and other metropolitans and tier two are also growing in that sense. And also if you look more traditionally like from service-oriented to product-driven startup India initiatives and all of that what we are looking at are quite some companies, so what I would recommend is not purely if anyone ever wants to move back to India and start to look for opportunities, one recommendation what I can give is like start to look deep like do research on your specific
27:25 Industry and the region and also the technology and all of that and based on that one can find I guess.
27:37 In in general the automotive industry is is facing a lot of challenges in the last two to three years because of the because of the heavy competition. China has is going light-speed with the electric vehicles technology and some of the companies in Germany like Volkswagen, like BMW, like Mercedes which were known to be one of some of the strong in automotive industry. Some didn't try to keep up the pace. And also on the other side if you look at the automotive industry in US as well, and some tried to keep up like Tesla and some didn't manage like Ford, like Chevrolet which is part of all of that. So, I think because of the heavy competition the automotive industry is challenging globally I would say.
28:38 But India if you look at India itself there are quite some startups in the automotive space in India both on developing new vehicles like two-wheeler vehicles, four-wheeler cars, but also on the technologies that offers to this, right? Like the battery. Whenever somebody is building like there is this company called Ola Electric. They They developed this two-wheeler. Then there are like some companies that offers the batteries to not specifically Ola Electric, that was one example. So, all of that Basically, India is building this ecosystem of designing, developing, and manufacturing in India.
29:24 And in that sense, what I've noticed is we have grow We are growing India significantly in the last three, four years, and we will see an upward trend in the next four to five years, definitely. And if you look at also some of the companies like Mahindra, we are also catering to the global market like US. Maybe not highly competitive to companies like Ford. Good question. I think this was one of the important factors for me when making a decision. especially also to choose a company that I'm going to work for. like you mentioned, work-life harmony is is amazing in Germany. And I think after 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m., people don't work and nobody even gets into the private space.
30:13 Privacy is well respected there there in Germany. And weekends, no questions of work itself. and the vacation is great. used to get 30 days of paid vacation combined with weekends and all of that. That was great. So, overall, work-life harmony was great, especially also with the company I worked for. Moving back to India, that was one of the main reason of main you know, the topics I thought this is very important for me because one is I am making a move to India. Two is I am joining a new company. The both gets challenging, then I will probably question everything on why I moved back So, of course not everything can be sure even if you choose a company that's you know, ranked well in terms of work-life balance and all on Google and everywhere.
31:07 We never know how it will But luckily, I got into a team and the company that has like great work-life balance here. working with this company called Cadence and also the team I work for yeah. We work we we respect both private life and also the work. So, in terms of that it's been great. I'm balancing well. Got it. Both work and private time.
31:39 So, thanks to you Avinash for doing this. and this was quite helpful also for me to to move back to India. And that was the reason I wanted to give it back to the community as well, right? and do this. I think only one final advice that I can suggestion what I can share is make an informed decision whatever might be the reason to move back to home or when you any other country one is look at the opportunities. If one wants to continue the career, two private stuff what one likes. Like this. Being close to family, either it being close to sun like nature or being close to your country which has more sun or whatever might be the reason. I think making that informed decision is very important. Also, what I did was I spoke to a lot of people, consulted multiple friends ex-colleagues family members and so on.
32:41 Because often times they they might get some ideas from from the other perspective and you know they think all this either improves the the perspective or gives new ideas. It's only good ideas. Got it. Yeah, thanks a lot Akhil for taking the time and sharing your story as well as the thoughts that went into the planning. So really appreciate it and good luck with everything. Thanks. Thanks for having me, Avinash.
