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This is not true. Civil servants hate drudgery as much as anyone else, and there plenty of work to go around. The chief complaint of Ausländerbehörde employees is that the work keeps piling up.

You must involve your landlord because you need some proof that you live where you are registering.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the most likely: that the system is a disorganised mess, and that those most affected by it (including bureaucrats) are incapable of fixing it.

Yes, there are also people selling immigration office appointments. If there is desperation, there is a business.