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Studies

Bonn Absolventenfeier

Extended employment options from 1 March 2024

With the amendment to the Residence Act (AufenthG) on 01.03.2024, those with a residence permit for study purposes in accordance with Section 16b (1) AufenthG are permitted to work a total of 140 full working days per calendar year (see below for details).

This now also applies to study preparation measures in the first year of residence.

Do you still have a valid residence permit for study purposes with the stipulation “Employment permitted for 120 days or 240 half days as well as part-time student employment”?

In this case, you are of course entitled to take advantage of the statutory extension of the employment option to 140 working days for 2024. This does not require the stipulation to be amended.

Please understand that due to the large number of students, the Berlin Immigration Office will only amend the stipulations when the residence permit for study purposes has to be extended.

If your employer has any queries, please refer them to this website.

Who is allowed to enter the country to study? What is the visa procedure?

What forms, documents and fees do I need?

Appointments

Start of studies after successful study preparation

Have you successfully completed a language course, preparatory course or internship?

  • The residence permit issued for this purpose will then remain valid in accordance with Section 16b (1) of the Residence Act (until the permit’s expiry date).
  • You can therefore also start your studies with a residence permit for study preparation.
  • An interview at the Berlin Immigration Office’s Keplerstrasse premises is not necessary before the expiry date of the residence permit.

Have you discontinued your study preparation measures without success? This will also mean that your residence permit expires, i.e. becomes invalid.

Working during your studies

Working during your studies

  • Since 01.03.2024, the residence permit for study purposes entitles the holder to work for a total of 140 full working days per calendar year. This now also applies to a stay for the purposes of study preparation in the first year of the stay.
  • Employment is counted towards the permitted 140 full working days in the most favourable manner as follows:
    1. each individual day with up to four hours as a half working day and with more than four hours as a full working day
    or
    2. a flat rate of 2.5 working days for each calendar week
    Please note:
    - A calculation according to no. 2 is permissible during the lecture period only for employment up to a maximum of 20 hours per calendar week. Otherwise, a calculation must be made for this week in accordance with no. 1.
    - During the lecture-free period, however, there is no time limit for employment, so that even in the case of full-time employment, only 2.5 working days per calendar week are credited to the working-day account.
  • Part-time student jobs are allowed without any time limit and are not counted towards the 140 days.
    • Part-time student jobs include work:
      • at universities and scientific institutions as a research assistant
      • that is connected with the studies at university-related organisations (e.g. tutors in Students’ Union (Studierendenwerk) halls of residence, activities in the advisory work of the university communities, the AStA and the World University Service)
      • at non-university research institutions or by doctoral students as research assistants
    • The following, for example, are not part-time student jobs
      • Employment at the Students’ Union (Studenwithout a connection to your studies (e.g. work in the canteen)
      • Employment of non-matriculated doctoral candidates with an employment contract as a research assistant
  • Self-employment (including freelance work) is permitted as part-time employment with the residence permit issued by the Berlin Immigration Office. The focus must continue to be on proper studies. The progress of your studies must therefore not be jeopardised by self-employment.

Internships during your studies

  • All compulsory internships prescribed in your course of study are permitted.
  • Other internships are only possible within the 140 days permitted for employment or with the permission of the Berlin Immigration Office. It does not matter whether a salary is paid for the internship.
  • Pre-study internships, especially in technical courses of study, should be completed before entering the country for the purposes of study.

Have you successfully completed your studies?

  • Your residence permit will then be extended for a maximum of 18 months so that you can find a job that is appropriate for your degree.
  • The residence permit can also be issued in preparation for setting up a business or self-employment.
  • With a residence permit for job-search purposes, you are permitted to take up any gainful employment. This means that you can take on any job or be self-employed.

Information on the documents required for a residence permit to seek employment

Continuation of a course of study that was started in another state of the European Union

Students in EU member states who have a residence title there 1 can enter Germany without a visa and apply online for a residence permit for the purpose of full-time studies.

In particular, the following must be submitted in the online application:
  • the certificate of enrolment or the letter of admission
  • as well as proof of a secure livelihood
1 This does not apply to residence titles for the purposes of study in Denmark and Ireland

Visa for spouses and children of students

Spouses and underage, unmarried children of students and language students can obtain a visa or residence permit only in individual cases.

The basic prerequisite for this is that the family’s livelihood, including adequate health insurance cover, is secured.

  • Students and language students are considered to have sufficient means of subsistence if they can prove to the diplomatic mission abroad, or to us, that they have their own monthly funds in the amount of the maximum BAföG rate.
  • As a rule, 12 times the maximum BAföG rate must be paid into a blocked account in Germany for the visa or the first-time issue of a residence permit for the purposes of study. The German diplomatic mission in the country of origin will provide information on the possibility of guarantees and declarations of commitment.
  • The means of subsistence of the spouse/children are deemed to be secured if they can provide evidence of their own resources in the amount of the respective standard rate of unemployment benefit II plus the pro rata rent for the Berlin apartment.

Information on the visa procedure for family members
Residence permit for spouses and children of students

Blocked account

You can find general information on the blocked account on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.
However, we cannot guarantee that the information published there is correct and up-to-date.