Hello my name is Shoshiro. 

I am from Japan and live with my family in Germany since 2019 for my assignment. It is our first time in Europe. We were very happy to live in EU because of the amazing travel opportunities. For that reason my wife, our daughter and I took our car and drove to Strasbourg. We liked it a lot, until we went to a street cafe! We always thought that EU was safe, especially Strasbourg. But, live thought us a different lesson. As we sat at the cafe bar, my wife put her purse on a chair next to her. Suddenly a guy on an electric scooter drove by and grabbed the bag. We were shocked and did not know what to do. We do not speak French, and we figured that the police in France does not speak English either. 

Very angry and stressed we drove back to Germany, hoping that we will not be checked on the German border. As we arrived at our apartment in Germany we tried to call the police and explain the situation. But, they don’t speak English that well, sooo, we went there in person. They asked if we had confirmation from the French police about the bag being stolen. Well, of course not! We felt stuck, and did not know what to do. Our friends and colleagues could not help us either, all were busy with their work and families. 

Because of that, we had to do it all by ourselves… Talk to German police over and over again to give us confirmation that the bag and the Residence Permit was stolen. After that we had to make an appointment at the Ausländerbehörde, this was a challenge in itself! As we got the appointment we went there with the document we got from the police and some other documents. We paid again for the Residence Cards about 300€ and waited for about 5 week until we got our new Cards. 

This was a horrible experience, but on the upside, if this happens to someone else then I can help that person. I wish somebody were there for me and my family when we needed help!

• Share
• Tweet