Consulate General of Germany — Local services in Toronto

Okay - talk about German efficiency.

I applied for my German work permit/visa at the consulate (although the website was kinda annoying -- but this is coming from a UX person). I went to my appointment 40 minutes early. I thought to myself, "I'll just read a magazine or something." I didn't even have a chance to sit down and BAM! My appointment was ready (damnnnnn). The person that I was speaking to was EXTREMELY nice and super duper friendly. I told him about my situation that I was going on a trip mid December and that I needed my passport and wondered if I needed to cancel my trips. He told me that they only needed my passport for the first week or two and if I e-mailed them the week before my trip, then I can come pick up my passport! Phew!

So the Monday before my trip, I e-mailed them. I literally e-mailed them everyday. I felt kind of bad because I was harassing them for my passport. Luckily, I received an e-mail from them on Thursday and they told me my VISA WAS READY! They told me that after I sent the appropriate documents afterward that they would offer me a date and time to pick up the passport. After sending the docs, I harassed them again everyday. Finally yesterday (Monday), they sent me an e-mail to tell me that they sent me passport via mail.

All in all -- pretty good experience. Felt bad for the people that were receiving e-mails from me, however, if they sent a quick response back, I don't think I would've felt so much anxiety about...

Yesterday was a challenging day for me. I had an appointment to renew my German passport, and while the process of getting the appointment went smoothly, I encountered some difficulties with the staff at the embassy. There seemed to be a lack of professionalism, and seeing the embassy staff representing the country in that was disheartening. "No one here seemed to know the names of the personnel who serviced them." "I would appreciate it if you could compare their service ratings on Google with those of other embassies, such as the Embassy of Canada in Berlin." I became a Canadian citizen a year ago and was never asked to renounce my other citizenship. I felt a strong sense of belonging from the day I arrived. I believe that Germany could benefit from learning from countries like Canada and treating their citizens with the same level of respect, regardless of their background. The staff at the German embassy confiscated my expired German passport, which I hadn't used since becoming Canadian, and informed me that I had lost my citizenship and was no longer considered German. After 43 years of contributing to society and being born in the capital city of Germany, it was disheartening to have my citizenship revoked in a split second without any consideration of my case. The staff did mention that I could apply to become a German...

Was able to make an appointment about a month and a half in advance for my YMA Visa application -- not many choices re: the date and time, but understandable. My appointment was at 10 am on a Monday and I got there at 9h50, per Covid protocol. As soon as I sat down to wait, I was called up. The person handling the Visa applications was very professional, very understanding and kind. They took all my papers and made necessary changes to make my application that much easier to process. They were extremely efficient and patient with any silly questions I had stressed myself out about. My partner was also there for her own Student Visa application and was treated with just as much tact and professional kindness. We had booked the slots for 10h00-10h30 and for 10h30-11h; we were out of there before 10h20! I was told my YMA Visa would arrive within two weeks -- it arrived last night, after less than three days. Very pleasant bureaucratic experience, which can't be said for most bureaucracy (lol). If aforementioned German Embassy worker ever sees this google review: thank you so much! You were extremely helpful and I hope you have...