Hey there :)!

The only problem really was that it was told to me that the only possibility to attend the meetups would be through registering first through a paid workshop.

I can guess the answer, but I would like to see this clarified, so may i ask about who told you so?
Any information about who told the others to do so, too?

Any suggestions/ideas how to on-board a new person and introduce them to community without them taking a workshop?

If you need a Account or anything - let me know. Also working on solving the information problem btw., but guess this will take some more time.