Getting a residence permit as a freelancer

I was just wondering how hard it is to get a residence permit for Germany from Berlin?

I make all of my money doing work for US companies over the Internet, so it does not really matter where I live. I can prove income from a sole proprietorship I formed of around $3000US per month.

Can I just take this evidence to the office in Berlin and apply? Or do you think they're likely to reject me?

Thanks.

If you have an EU passport then little or no problem. Any other and it's unlikely...

YL6

@[email=islander]islander[/email]

Yo Islander!

I remember you saying you aren't from the EU. Then it really is not gonna be easy. The Berliner Ausländeramt(at Friedrich-Kraus-Ufer) is, unfortunately, a bunch of prejudice bastards. I was always shocked by the way they treat people, there are some moderately decent people working there as well, you have to be lucky to get a nice "Sachbearbeiter". Maybe your chances would be better if you were to ask your company to write them(the Ausländeramt) a letter explaining why it is essential for them(the company) to have you freelance for them in Germany and not in any other European country. In this letter they should somehow make it sound as if there would be some sort of advantage for Germany in it to have you here freelancing for this company. Maybe the promise of creating jobs somehow in the feature for this company and that you are "scouting" for them? Just an idea..

Good luck to you!

I wouldn't say it's unlikely!! Along with Canadians, Japanese, Australians, NZ'ers, Americans have certain residence/work privileges exceeding beyond the rights of citizens coming from outside the EU.

You do have the money issue covered, all that is left is a solid reason to why you want to live (and work) in Germany, a profound interest in learning the language/culture and furthermore, that you have private health insurance.

To better your chances of getting a residence permit, why not take part-time German classes? ...

You should also get in contact with the American embassy in Berlin - or speak with a lawyer.

Good luck!

I'm suprised no one else is offering their .02 Euro since this has been discussed a billion times before.

Islander, I'm also American and came over a year ago to represent a company in the US on a freelance/consultant basis. My freelance permit only permits me to work for myself but specifically mentions that my company is my "customer."

Since Berlin is in Germany, I think you should be able to get a residence permit there. Here is a list of everything I had to bring to get my residence/freelance permit:

apartment lease, receipt of last rent payment (used e-mail from landlord), contract from employer (in English is okay), proof of health insurance (important), marriage certificate since my wife was with me. If you can get all of that together you should be okay. I would recommend taking a German friend or even paying someone who speaks German to go to the local KVR with you to translate.

They later told me I needed private pension insurance but I had someone "give them a talking to" and they dropped it...don't ask me why.

I think that's about it. Despite some of the horror stories and bad service experienced by other TTers at the KVR my experience was pretty painless. Wait til you have to deal with Deutsche Telekom though...

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions. My permits expire next week so it will be interesting how hard/easy it is to renew.

++++ Don't forget a current bank statement ++++

The residence permit will not be a problem as Kit just said. It will probably be stamped with a phrase like "freelancing is not permitted with this permit" but this does not apply to you IMHO because you are not freelancing in Germany but rather in the US. If I were you, I would not bother to ask for permission to freelance in Germany because you don't need it. Your clients are American. Your company, I'm assuming, was also founded in the US. If you're paid in US dollars in a US bank account, have a US billing address and a US residence, the Finanzamt is not going to bother you.

Dont know if this would apply to you as dont know your details about the type of freelancing - but for me (freelance English teacher) I hve been told (by several sources) that you CAN NOT just work for 1 company - that no more than 5/8 (or some other strange percentage) of you income can come from 1 sourcr - otherwise you are not considered freelance, but as a full time employee if you income comes from 1 source. Might be worth checking into.

It's true that as a freelancer you cannot work exlusively for one company. It's considered . "Scheinselbstständigkeit" - essentially avoiding the additional costs (taxes, insurance, etc) which normal employment would bring. There are no hard and fast rules about how many different companies you should work for or how much work you should take from each however. This is determined from individual circumstances. People attempt to get around this days using the "Ich AG" principal, where you create a company entity and provide the company services, rather than personal ones to your client...

YL6

Thanks guys.

How does one get private health insurance? Do you have to pick a company (like Blue Cross in the US, except the German counterpart) and pay a premium per month?

I'm currently trying to find CHEAP private insurance...

you also need some sort of a retirement fund...which sucks arse

Why do you need it (recommended, yes, but necessary, no - planning for retirement is important but there are many ways to do it) and why does it "suck arse"?

That about sums it up.

Islander - Use the serach feature - there are TONS of info on here about freelance permits, insurance, pensions etc...

http://www.toytowngermany.com/search/?q=freelance

http://www.toytowngermany.com/search/?q=insurance

http://www.toytowngermany.com/search/?q=pension

and if you cant find it here - do a full search (this was only simple search for these results)

Then if you dont find your answer - post back here and am sure someone can answer any further specific questions.

Yorkshire: umm, it's not optional, they check to make sure you have it or you don't get an extention to your staying permit. My girlfriend is German, this is a fact. Repeat, NOT optional.

And it sucks arse that it's NOT optional.

None of those links had specific companies to check with on prices...any ideas?

Must be a rule to inhibit non-European freelancers (nice rule!). As a European, with a permit, I have no "retirement plan" and have never been asked for one...

that's wonderful for you. Any americans/canadians/aussies/etc (non-EU) with answers?

NOFXmike - if you click on the middle line (the one for insurance) there are several of the forums listed that DO have mulitple insurance companies - both German and UK/Us ones as well.

If you still cant find them (they are there - in several places) then type in insurance in the seach and do a full search which will produce more choices - But they are there.

I have a question in a similar vein: have any Americans here had a residence permit, then worked for the US forces here in Germany?

If so, can you please shoot me a PM, I have a few questions I'd like to axe you.