[mdekkers]

> Elsewhere in Germany, bureaucracy tends to be tedious but functional.

Data to back up your assertion that it’s only Berlin? I can speak for Düsseldorf, which is a total nightmare. Literally everything folks talk about regarding issues in Berlin also happens as a matter of course in Düsseldorf.

A friend of mine is high up in the NRW civil servants apparatus and he confirms it’s fucked across the board in NRW.

[nicbou]

I only cover Berlin, but the relocation consultants I frequently talk to will confirm that it's even worse in other medium to large cities. The Berlin immigration office is doing well given the hand it has been dealt.

[Semaphor]

The immigration office in Lübeck, STB inner city, is overworked like everywhere, but they are competent, friendly, and decently digitalized. From what a US friend of mine who lived in many cities in Germany told me, it’s pretty much an exception, though.

[asyx]

What do you dislike about the city stuff? I think all bureaucracy I had to deal with with the city of Düsseldorf have been better than the state or federal agencies. Kita Navigator, Straßenverkehrsamt, appointments for the Bürgerbüro were all working pretty well online. Not all the way, of course, but post COVID Straßenverkehsamt is a million times better than pre COVID Straßenverkehsamt.

[Tainnor]

Like everyone else here, I don't have any data (I searched, but couldn't find anything), only anecdotes - my own experiences from living in Cologne and Berlin, and those of friends who live in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, etc.

There are issues everywhere but Berlin is particularly bad. We weren't even able to hold a regular election without messing it up.

[elbear]

Do you know the causes for why there's so much bureaucracy? I wonder what the potential solutions are.

[microtonal]

The bureaucracy problem is compounded by not wanting to link databases between government organizations and a general resistance to anything digital that involves personal data (except Facebook et al. for some reason), which reduces efficiency a lot.

However, this is understandable given German history.