Every year, Cuban Yairan Montejo has to renew his residence permit in order to keep living in Germany. What may sound like a simple process often causes him frustration and distress: Appointments are difficult to get, and many government officials are not as understanding as he would like them to be. Will he achieve his goal of obtaining a permanent residence permit? For Catalina Fajardo, from Colombia, things are somewhat easier. The kindergarten teacher is about to come to Germany with the support of a placement agency — because skilled workers are desperately needed. But, before that can happen, she needs to pass a language test. Kathrin Wesolowski follows both of them as they navigate German bureaucracy.