Working in Germany with frequent travel abroad

Hi all!

So after almost 3 years in Munich I got offered a job, which would involve me living in a non-EU country and coming back to Munich once every two weeks for around 4 days. The company is happy to pay me a German wage (so that I can continue paying all the taxes and pension plans) and a "foreign" wage in the country, in which I will be spending my 183+ days a year. I guess my question is whether I could continue having my Aufenthaltserlaubnis (which would hypothetically become a permanent visa in 2 more years). Yes, the logical thing would be to check with the company, but they are quite small and never have done this before, so I turned to the most trusted source of information in Munich. :)

Thank you in advance!

Dear fellow Toytowners, please share your thoughts.

I think you should check with the KVR to see how they handle such a situation.

Why would they renew your Aufenthaltserlaubnis if you no longer live here?

And if you are spending over half a year in another country, I don't know that you have the choice where to pay taxes. The country that you're spending 183+ days in are going to want some money from you.

I don't know what non EU country you're talking about, but if it's Switzerland you'd probably be better off paying taxes there anyway..

Hutcho - the taxes in that country are lower, than in Switzerland. However, I will spend some time here in Germany. The company is German and well, I just love Germany. I am more than happy to pay taxes in both of these places (the foreign part being paid by a Joint Venture), I am keeping my Anmeldung and keep paying for the social security and order of this wonderful country. The Niederlassungerlaubnis is just something I wouldn't want to miss out on.

So why would I keep my Aufenhaltserlaubnis? I hope because I would still work in this country (be it less than 6 months per year) for a benefit of a German country abroad (the rest of the time), pay local taxes and being registered.

Thoughts?

If you never deregister in Germany, keep your job and payslip in Germany, and keep coming back more than once per month, maybe the authorities simply will not notice that you are gone most of the time? I mean, if they bother to check all your passport stamps and do the sums, they would be able to figure out that you're hardly here. But having a job that is officially based in Germany and voluntarily paying German taxes probably means they won't check any further. Just my two cents...

Thanks tom_a, I hope you are right, as this is my way of thinking also.

Where you pay taxes and where you have legal residence can be different things.

I believe the rule is, if you leave Germany for 6 consecutive months or more, you lose your Aufenthaltserlaubnis and start the clock over with the countdown to a Niederlassungserlaubnis. Is the country where you're spending the rest of your time going to require a residence and work permit? If so, I don't know how the German authorities will handle your having living and work permits in more than just Germany.

You'd need to check with the tax authorities on what the law is for earning such a large part of your income out of country/EU. I don't think it matters that the company you work for is based in Germany.

@ cinzia - Thanks for the great info.

Check with a Steuerberator on all of this, but I think what you will be told is that if resident in Germany, you are liable for tax on income earned worldwide. Germany has a tax treaty with a lot of other countries, including the UAE, which means they are going to exchange information with each other on you (at least if they know about you) and you won't pay tax to both countries (generally speaking). I don't see how you can have a domicile in both for tax purposes, but, again, check with an tax expert on all these issues. I would think paying taxes to both countries would raise some questions from one or both (maybe the other doesn't have an income tax) and obviously not paying taxes to Germany will cause you some problems with keeping your Aufenthaltserlaubnis. I don't know for sure, but I would think that if Germany realizes that you live outside of Germany most of the time, they will yank your Aufenthaltserlaubnis, which is where the tax treaty could trip you up.

@ Conquistador - great info. You raised some good points. I think if the job does eventuate, I am going to see a tax expert right away. Thank you.

You don't need an Aufenhaltserlaubnis if you're an EU citizen. I lost my wallet a couple of weeks ago with mine it it and was told it was no longer issued (here in Darmstadt anyway.) I did need to provide them with a passport photo and they would give me a Bescheinigung (luckily the wallet turned up in the postbox of my bank.)

This guy isn't a EU citizen..