The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Last year around October, The German-Bhutan Himalaya Society, a friendship society based in Germany was approached by around 20 Bhutanese students in Berlin to help with getting housing.
A member of the society, on the condition of anonymity, told this paper that Bhutanese students arriving in Germany are struggling with finding housing and jobs with the biggest barrier being the language.
The member also said that Bhutanese students are being sent to very expensive private colleges when there are more reputable public colleges that are much cheaper at around 500 Euros fee for six months instead of the thousands being paid by students.
These days with the visa rules tightening up in Australia and even Canada, alternate destinations like Germany among others are being promoted by various education consultancies in Bhutan, but it has to be asked if Bhutanese students really know what they are getting into, and the challenges they will face.
The society member said it is okay if a Bhutanese is coming to Germany to work in a sector like Information Technology (IT) as that is dominated by English, but he said someone doing a Masters in Economics and not knowing the language will end up working in restaurants or cleaning rooms, and here too, it will be an issue as their supervisor will probably not know English.
He said the majority of business owners are older Germans who do not know English at all, and even the younger Germans who take it as a language subject are not conversant in it and don’t use it much.
He pointed out that in cities like Berlin and Hamburg, the apartment rents are so high that around 50% of the income goes towards paying it.
“In a shared apartment, even if you take a room for yourself, it will be around 800 Euros per month just for the room. The minimum wage is 12 Euros per hour and if one works for 8 hours then the income is 96 Euros for the day and after deducting tax and social insurance one will be left with 60 Euros for the day. Multiply that over 20 days and the income is 1,200 Euros.”
From 1,200 Euros, a student pays 800 Euros rent for a room and he or she will be left with 400 Euros for food, fees, transport and everything else.
It is a far smoother sailing if one knows the language, in terms of getting jobs and other opportunities, as there is a shortage in sectors like elder care, etc.
Another member of the society, who also did not want to be named, said that the educational consultants themselves have not lived in Germany and so do not know. The member also pointed out that most Bhutanese have never lived abroad and are generally naïve, and don’t do their research on the language barrier.
The Bhutanese talked to three Bhutanese students in Germany to learn from their experience, and all three requested anonymity.
The first student said she was more fortunate than other Bhutanese students as she came over around 4 years ago on a job search visa, and she had accommodation too with a friend. However, she shared that Bhutanese students share similar struggles in navigating German society, not only in terms of language but also a different system, and how bureaucracy operates there.
She said that Bhutanese students are completely on their own and not briefed properly, and hence struggle to find a job, with her being aware about some Bhutanese without a job even after six months of searching. She said this makes it doubly difficult to get housing as landlords want proof of employment before letting out a house.
She advised that if students are serious about coming to Germany, they should bring at least 11,000 Euros to carry them through the first six months.
“Language is one of the biggest problems and so they get jobs only in sectors that do not require much language like Amazon delivery, etc. Without language they cannot socialize and partake in society and so are marginalized.”
She said that some of the expensive private colleges that Bhutanese students study lack quality and the degrees do not have value. She said it is wiser for Bhutanese students to apply to cheaper public universities in courses that do not require a knowledge of German.
Germany also has very strict work hours and conditions which means students can only work 20 hours a week, therefore, they cannot save much money.
In Germany, the majority of Bhutanese students have come without dependents given the high cost, but here, she advised to bring a dependent as this is only way some money can be saved.
The second student is a more recent arrival reaching the country in September 2024 and stated he knew beforehand that it would be tough to settle in Germany.
“It is even tough in Thimphu as people from 19 Dzongkhags come there looking for jobs but jobs are given to only those with experience and knowledge. Germany is a developed country and there are issues with finding jobs and houses but if you know German there are plenty of jobs,” he said. However, he said there is some benefit to knowing English too while working.
He said the prior information that he received was that the private university would charge only 300 Euros per student for a room, but just two days before the flight to Germany, the students were told it is 600 Euros per student per room, which means one needs to spend 3,600 Euros in 6 months for a room.
He said, “Due to the grace of the protective deities, we did not take the university accommodation,” and instead a well-wisher from Germany provided rent free accommodation to him and around 5 of his friends. However, this is a rare case of charity and goodwill, as all other Bhutanese students pay anything from 400 to 600 Euros each for rent each month.
He said the average income of student per month can be 1,200 to 1,800 Euros. From this around 600 Euros goes on rent, 850 Euros for fees, 140 Euros for health insurance, 100 Euros for food, 50 Euros for transport etc., not leaving much as it is a hand to mouth existence.
An option to make more money is working beyond the official 20 hours per week, but here, payment will be lower and given in cash.
The second student said that another challenge is that unlike Australia where attendance is not as strict or students even outsource their assignments, the same cannot be done in Germany where attendance is taken more strictly. He said there are classes and assignments given, and if one does not take them seriously then one cannot keep up. He said the university fees is cheaper in Germany than the fees paid in Australia.
He said the German system is very strict with rules and regulations.
On his hopes for earning real money, the student said his hope is to do so after finishing his one-year course when he could get an 18 months post study work visa, as he is permitted to work full time. During this time, if he finds permanent employment with a contract then his work visa can get extended. He feels there are better opportunities to earn in Germany than in Thimphu.
He said, “The culture here in Germany is very different as people are sticklers for time and here people will not lie to you or cheat you.”
According to him, there are around 50 to 60 Bhutanese students in Germany living in Berlin, Bonn, Hamburg, Munich and Potsdam.
A third student the paper talked to said a real problem is that there are no networking opportunities, especially as there are not many Bhutanese living in Germany, and so many Bhutanese do not have a support system. He said many Bhutanese were unaware about opportunities in cheaper government colleges before applying to expensive private universities.
He said while there is income there is also high tax on wages between 30 to 35%. He explained that they approached the society for help as all houses have to be booked and paid for online, and they heard of online scams and so did not want to pay online and lose their money.
Due to more awareness, he has plans to change his university to a public one to save on fees. He said he is also learning basic German online, and plans to also attend formal German classes.
He said he needs to do this as even his delivery job needs a basic knowledge of German while looking for addresses to deliver packages.
The third student said that while there are many challenges in Germany, the situation back home is tougher. “In Bhutan, you have to save your pay for three months to buy a washing machine, but here you can work two days and buy a washing machine.”
The third student said he is getting a very unique exposure as Germans have a very different way of thinking and are very particular about punctuality. He said, “Germans are the most trustworthy and reliable people as they never cheat.”
His plan is to work after his course in the 18 months to save money and then try and get a job that can lead to his visa extension too.
