Working in Germany
Thinking of getting a job while you’re a student to top up your bank account or prepare for the future? We want to help make sure you understand all the rules and regulations before you do so.
Thinking of getting a job while you’re a student to top up your bank account or prepare for the future? We want to help make sure you understand all the rules and regulations before you do so.
Below, we offer a brief outline of the policies concerning working in Germany. If you should have more questions, we recommend you check the information provided by the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Science and the Arts, and consult the official offices that oversee work done by international visitors. In Munich this is called the Ausländerbehörde (Foreigners Office) and it's located at the Kreisverwaltungsreferat, KVR (Department of Public Order).
LMU Career Services supports international students with a wide range of counseling services, seminars and career events to help them gain a foothold in the German job market.
If you’re from the EU, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, you have the same status as German students and can work as much as you want. If you work beyond certain time and wage limits, you do have to pay taxes, and your employer has to contribute to your insurance, so check out the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency) website or ask the KVR for more information.
Since 2005, the international student residence permit allows students to do a certain amount of work without an additional work permit, but please check with the Bundesagentur für Arbeit or ask the KVR for more information because these guidelines can change.
Breaking the law is serious, and working without a permit, known as Schwarzarbeit, is taking a huge risk. If you’re caught, you can easily lose your residence permit and be sent home. Please don’t do it! If you have questions, just ask.
Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR), Amt für Ausländerangelegenheiten
Ruppertstraße 19
80337 München
U-Bahn U3 or U6 or Bus 31 to Poccistrasse