Independent artists and applying for residency

Dear friends,
I have been reading through a lot of the posts on visas, work permits, freelance workers, etc., and know that Berlin is full of artists.

I am an american citizen, but have lived most of my life in europe. Now I have finished studying, and am an artist, specifically and mainly a filmmaker.
I have not found any information about artists legally living in Berlin.
I know that this city is a great place for artists, but wonder if anyone could illuminate me on how one would go about finding the permits etc to stay, if one does not have a safe, regular source of income with a company backing you and needing you over any german worker...

Everything I have read has been quite worrying...

Does the state give something special to artists, as I think it at least used to? I have been unable to find anything about this.

many thanks,

Joseph

Hi There, My husband is an artist and he has been offered a job doing concept and mattes for game company. I am sorry I dont have any advice for your situation, just wanted to say hi as I havent come across any atists on this forum so far. Best of luck with it all.

thanks a lot clea. nice to meet you.
I will be working freelance, but without a constant client flow, so no way of demonstrating what the officials seeem to need. Also I imagine I will be getting work from various countries, which probably makes things even more complicated...
so I was hoping someone had ideas. There are a number of artists on this comunity... so I was hoping someone had some great little secrets...

Hey,

I am applying for residency as well. I am an illustrator and my work comes from the states. I have an appointment with the immigration office next thursday and I'm a little nervous about being totally prepared for what to bring/say at the interview. I am NOT going to be working for any German companies, only working and living here. I have money in the bank and health insurance and a lease agreement. I am getting letters from people/publishers/companies that I work for in the states as well. Am I prepared?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sarah

I'm in a similar position. I have clients in the US, and I want to continue with this while developing my biz here in Germany, for any company, as well. I'm not interested in a visa that would restrict me to one company.

What I did was hire an immigration lawyer. Every situation is different and it's good to find an expert who does this for a living to help you out. It will cost me around 450 Euro, but she has been incredibly helpful. Once everything has finally been taken care of to my satisfaction, I'll gladly recommend her to you if you're interested. I know some people who just go down there with their German speaking boy/girlfriend or whatever and hope for the best, but a lawyer can provide the best information AND do all of the work for you. Plus, I'll will come out of this with a very nice business plan that has been translated into perfect German which I can use for other purposes.

pm me if you have any questions. I was in a similar place 6 months ago without a friggin' clue about how this works. Even a 4-hour visit to the auslaenderbehorde last summer (with a German girlfriend) couldn't give me all the answers...

oh, it would be great if you both could keep me up to date with how things go.

great to find people in the same boat...

thanks so much for posting,

Joseph

Awesome,

I just got a lawyer. I feel a lot better about it since I don't speak the language and such. I feel like it's a necessary step that anyone with such a case should take. Seriously, 400 whatever euros is worth peace of mind.

Sarah

Cool cool. Best of luck. Let's compare notes when we're both done

Sounds great.

I also have an appointment on tuesday for my application, but my lawyer said that he would be taking care of the whole process. I dont know if you know anything about this.

S

Hello! New here.

I'm actually in a similar situation as well. I'm a musician moving to Munich. The good news is that I already have two groups who want me playing/singing with them who are reputable. What I'm wondering, is if a letter from the founder of these groups will be enough for me to get a residence permit. Of course, I plan on taking care of the other documents, ie. Applications, Passport photos, Police letter of good conduct, etc. But I wanted to know the board's opinions (and especially the artists here) on if this is the right way we should proceed. I've talked to the consulate in New York and they said that the letter should be sufficient. What I'm afraid of is that someone else will have a different opinion and that I'd have to try to apply as a freelancer. Judging by the advice given on the board, it looks like freelancing status for a non EU citizen is next to impossible.

Also, does anyone know anything about the Künstlersozialkasse? Are foreigners eligible for it? I've also been looking into private health insurance (since obviously a musical group isn't going to be providing health insurance...), but I can't get any of them to answer me about how to actually apply for it. Ideally, I'd like to have my health insurance all set up when I get there so I won't have to think about it.

Vielen dank und liebe Grüße!

Sarah