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My apologies, I seem to have missed this for some reason.
You should be able to get by with the basics, but if you are planning to live and/or work in Germany for a period of time I would recommend enrolling in a German course before you leave (and possibly also after you arrive). If you want to work in a bar/restaurant etc, you will probably need to know more than just "Guten Tag!" I do know of some exceptions, e.g. there's a few cafes in Berlin where virtually none of the staff can speak German, but I wouldn't count on that.
To get a bank account set up, you will simply need to register yourself and address with the Einwohnermeldeamt (roughly translates to citizen's registration office) and you'll be able to set up a bank account fairly easily. To get a job, the requirements vary with each employer but as long as you are allowed to work legally (with a valid working holiday visa this won't be an issue) you should be okay.
As far as I'm aware you are entitled to stay in Germany for the entire duration of the visa, which can be up to 12 months. You should be fine. Although if for some reason you need to leave the Schengen Zone, you could always jump on an easyjet flight to London and then come back with a UK passport stamp.
Hmm, not sure about that. You need to be definitely covered. The embassy has turned people trying to get visas away because they weren't adequately covered for repatriation costs. And I would agree that $585 seems quite cheap.
No, we don't know how to speak German, although willing to learn some basics in order to "get by"...We'd probably enjoy some hospitality work over an office job, so hopefully there are some hostel/bar jobs floating around.
You should be able to get by with the basics, but if you are planning to live and/or work in Germany for a period of time I would recommend enrolling in a German course before you leave (and possibly also after you arrive). If you want to work in a bar/restaurant etc, you will probably need to know more than just "Guten Tag!" I do know of some exceptions, e.g. there's a few cafes in Berlin where virtually none of the staff can speak German, but I wouldn't count on that.
How do I go about getting a bank account set up? Will I need additional information/requirements to get a job?
To get a bank account set up, you will simply need to register yourself and address with the Einwohnermeldeamt (roughly translates to citizen's registration office) and you'll be able to set up a bank account fairly easily. To get a job, the requirements vary with each employer but as long as you are allowed to work legally (with a valid working holiday visa this won't be an issue) you should be okay.
I've heard of stories where, even if you have a working visa for a Schengen Zone country, you'll need to leave and depart from that country. i.e. being in the Schengen Zone for 5 months and then leaving from, say Italy to a non Schengen zone country, would raise questions as to why we've overstayed. I guess my question is, will a German working visa satisfy the 'legal' requirements for being in the zone for more than the 180 day period?
As far as I'm aware you are entitled to stay in Germany for the entire duration of the visa, which can be up to 12 months. You should be fine. Although if for some reason you need to leave the Schengen Zone, you could always jump on an easyjet flight to London and then come back with a UK passport stamp.
I've looked at covermore. It appears they've noted in its PDS that repatriation costs are decided by them where deemed necessary. I'm assuming this is enough proof? On another note, for a year in Europe, for a 26 year old, it comes to a total of $585...which is unusually cheap compared to others.
Hmm, not sure about that. You need to be definitely covered. The embassy has turned people trying to get visas away because they weren't adequately covered for repatriation costs. And I would agree that $585 seems quite cheap.