hi
im a south african, and as such not a member of the eu. I want to move to munich to be closer to my boyfriend, but i want to know that i can get a permit to teach english, or do other freelance work. How does one go about doing that? Im currently in London at the moment, on visa for working in London, but i really would prefer to be in Munich, for obvious reason. Can i come in on a tourist visa, then do the application? Ive already made contact with a number of companies in Munich who are all willing to give me work on a freelance basis, teaching/training as a native english speaker.
Any advice would be welcome.
thanks
shulla
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Work permits for freelance English teachers
Advice on how to applying for a visa etc.
Yes, you can come to Germany first (which is what I recommend) and then apply for your visa.
I received a permit for English teaching freelance in Frankfurt. I was here initially on a student visa and after one year I applied for an extention, or rather, a visa 'conversion' to work freelance.
I think since you do not have a permit at all you will have to do the following:
-Come to Germany
-Find a place to stay (hopefully with your boyfriend)
-Register ("Anmeldung") with the local authorities in the town where you will be living (your boyfriend can help with this process- it's standard procedure for anyone living in Germany- even for Germans). You might need to take a rental agreement or a letter from the landlord (if you're not the legal tenant on the rental agreement) allowing you to stay at that address. You might not need it to register but I you'll need it for the Aliens' Office.
-Obtain 2-3 letters (the more the better) from potential employers stating that they would like to give you work, including number of hours per month and earnings (approx). In my case, I had my employer state that they needed an native speaking "American English" teacher, just in case they wanted to deny me based on the fact that British, Irish (and Australian) citizens are given preference for work permits before Americans (based on recipricol country agreements).
-Letter from landlord or rental agreement. Showing monthly rent, square meters, etc. They use this with the employment letters to determine if you can support yourself. If you are living with you boyfriend, you might want to his proof of earning for the last 3 months. It could help, if they determine you won't earn enough. But basically, they want to make sure you won't become a charity case and apply for social help.
-Obtain health insurance if you don't already have international coverage from elsewhere. You can get German coverage for non-citizens, but do your homework and check around. Prices vary considerably. Also compare the cost with coverage from your home country, someimtes that can be much cheaper than getting German insurance.
-Apply for a residence permit with permission to work freelance.
Documents you'll need: passport, extra passpost fotos, proof of health insurance, employer letters, city registration and rental agreement/permission from landlord.
You should get (up to) 3 years residence permit to stay and work (mine was only granted for 2 and a half because my passport will expire 6 months before the 3 year mark).
As soon as you get here, you should start arranging/collecting your paperwork and look for a job - you'll have 3 months on your tourist visa (depending on the allowance for your country of residence) before you have to apply for the permit. I waited until the last week of my tourist visa to go apply and got an extention to get all my paperwork in order. I think the standard extention is 1 to 3 months. She didn't say how long I had, just to get everything together and come back in "a month or so". For my initial study visa, we made like 4 trips to the Aliens' office because every time I thought I had everything, they would ask for something more. I don't know if this was on purpose (to make me jump through hoops) or honest oversightS (emphasis on the plural!:).
I strongly suggest taking your boyfriend when you apply. If you're German isn't good, they might not be as cooperative.
Best regards,
Jennifer in Frankfurt
I received a permit for English teaching freelance in Frankfurt. I was here initially on a student visa and after one year I applied for an extention, or rather, a visa 'conversion' to work freelance.
I think since you do not have a permit at all you will have to do the following:
-Come to Germany
-Find a place to stay (hopefully with your boyfriend)
-Register ("Anmeldung") with the local authorities in the town where you will be living (your boyfriend can help with this process- it's standard procedure for anyone living in Germany- even for Germans). You might need to take a rental agreement or a letter from the landlord (if you're not the legal tenant on the rental agreement) allowing you to stay at that address. You might not need it to register but I you'll need it for the Aliens' Office.
-Obtain 2-3 letters (the more the better) from potential employers stating that they would like to give you work, including number of hours per month and earnings (approx). In my case, I had my employer state that they needed an native speaking "American English" teacher, just in case they wanted to deny me based on the fact that British, Irish (and Australian) citizens are given preference for work permits before Americans (based on recipricol country agreements).
-Letter from landlord or rental agreement. Showing monthly rent, square meters, etc. They use this with the employment letters to determine if you can support yourself. If you are living with you boyfriend, you might want to his proof of earning for the last 3 months. It could help, if they determine you won't earn enough. But basically, they want to make sure you won't become a charity case and apply for social help.
-Obtain health insurance if you don't already have international coverage from elsewhere. You can get German coverage for non-citizens, but do your homework and check around. Prices vary considerably. Also compare the cost with coverage from your home country, someimtes that can be much cheaper than getting German insurance.
-Apply for a residence permit with permission to work freelance.
Documents you'll need: passport, extra passpost fotos, proof of health insurance, employer letters, city registration and rental agreement/permission from landlord.
You should get (up to) 3 years residence permit to stay and work (mine was only granted for 2 and a half because my passport will expire 6 months before the 3 year mark).
As soon as you get here, you should start arranging/collecting your paperwork and look for a job - you'll have 3 months on your tourist visa (depending on the allowance for your country of residence) before you have to apply for the permit. I waited until the last week of my tourist visa to go apply and got an extention to get all my paperwork in order. I think the standard extention is 1 to 3 months. She didn't say how long I had, just to get everything together and come back in "a month or so". For my initial study visa, we made like 4 trips to the Aliens' office because every time I thought I had everything, they would ask for something more. I don't know if this was on purpose (to make me jump through hoops) or honest oversightS (emphasis on the plural!:).
I strongly suggest taking your boyfriend when you apply. If you're German isn't good, they might not be as cooperative.
Best regards,
Jennifer in Frankfurt
QUOTE (jlyoung71 @ Apr 1 2008, 12:26 pm) 
... Yes, you can come to Germany first (which is what I recommend) and then apply for your visa ...
Americans can ...
QUOTE
Visa Requirements
South African residents need a valid visa to enter Germany, unless they have a UK or other European passport. Visas must be obtained prior to entering Germany and cannot be issued at the border. All visas are issued by the mission responsible for the province where the applicant has his or her ordinary residence or domicile.
You must submit your visa application, together with all necessary documents, in person at the German mission. In order to avoid time-consuming requests for additional information or documentation, you should contact the respective mission well in advance of your travel dates to inquire about any special local requirements pertaining to visa formalities. On the planned date of departure from Germany, your passport should have at least another four months validity. It should also contain at least two empty pages where the visa can be inserted.
Missions require between two and ten working days to issue a short-stay visa. During the peak travel season there may be a waiting period. If a visa is required to enter Germany, the application should therefore be submitted in good time. Application fee: 60 €.
South African residents need a valid visa to enter Germany, unless they have a UK or other European passport. Visas must be obtained prior to entering Germany and cannot be issued at the border. All visas are issued by the mission responsible for the province where the applicant has his or her ordinary residence or domicile.
You must submit your visa application, together with all necessary documents, in person at the German mission. In order to avoid time-consuming requests for additional information or documentation, you should contact the respective mission well in advance of your travel dates to inquire about any special local requirements pertaining to visa formalities. On the planned date of departure from Germany, your passport should have at least another four months validity. It should also contain at least two empty pages where the visa can be inserted.
Missions require between two and ten working days to issue a short-stay visa. During the peak travel season there may be a waiting period. If a visa is required to enter Germany, the application should therefore be submitted in good time. Application fee: 60 €.
just crosslinking to another freelance visa thread for non-EU citizens (where I've posted another question)
Hi everyone,
I really appreciate all the diverse knowledge gained on this discussion forum. Without it, I would not have a clue where to start, let alone know what questions to ask.
At the risk of getting flamed, I am going to ask another visa related question and hope that some of you could give me your best advise on the topic.
I am currently employed as a Product Manager / Buyer in Canada and I wish to spend at least a year in Germany teaching English starting in August. My goals are to (1) learn more of the German language and (2) to impart some of my business experience in a classroom setting teaching English to Germans.
As far as accommodation goes, I will be staying with a friend, so that is not an issue.
My concern is with the granting of a visa for freelance teaching.
I want to be able to stay in Germany for 1 year minimum and need advise on the best way to proceed. I was in Heidelberg last week and met with a number of schools who said there would be work in August and that I could get a letter from them stating that they needed my freelance services to teach english once I arrived over there.
However, the wild card is the granting of the Visa at the foreigners office. Berlitz, for instance told me that is is realitively easy to get a freelance visa for teaching english once you get a letter from a school that wants to give you hours. Other places say it can be difficult to get a freelance visa. Thus, I am trying to decide my best course of action:
1. Do I come over to Germany in August and not register right away and look for work. This way I have 90 days stay in Germany without needing a visa and can register towards the end of this period and get an extension if I have not found work (hopefully I would have found freelance teaching by then). I number of 'native' Germans have told me one can get an extension of up to 90 days when looking for work if your original 90 days allowed as a tourist have expired.
2. Do I register for a set of German language classes at a school and come over under a student visa, teach part time (the allowed 10 hours a week) and then try to switch the student visa to a freelance visa when it expires. The only thing that scares me about this approach is that my student visa would only be for the amount of weeks I signed up for classes (unless I am wrong here), hence, if I did not find work by the time the student visa expired, I would most likely have to leave the country.
Any advise would me much appreciated, and I apologize if I am re-hatching an old topic.
Thanks
Cory
Topics merged by admin
I really appreciate all the diverse knowledge gained on this discussion forum. Without it, I would not have a clue where to start, let alone know what questions to ask.
At the risk of getting flamed, I am going to ask another visa related question and hope that some of you could give me your best advise on the topic.
I am currently employed as a Product Manager / Buyer in Canada and I wish to spend at least a year in Germany teaching English starting in August. My goals are to (1) learn more of the German language and (2) to impart some of my business experience in a classroom setting teaching English to Germans.
As far as accommodation goes, I will be staying with a friend, so that is not an issue.
My concern is with the granting of a visa for freelance teaching.
I want to be able to stay in Germany for 1 year minimum and need advise on the best way to proceed. I was in Heidelberg last week and met with a number of schools who said there would be work in August and that I could get a letter from them stating that they needed my freelance services to teach english once I arrived over there.
However, the wild card is the granting of the Visa at the foreigners office. Berlitz, for instance told me that is is realitively easy to get a freelance visa for teaching english once you get a letter from a school that wants to give you hours. Other places say it can be difficult to get a freelance visa. Thus, I am trying to decide my best course of action:
1. Do I come over to Germany in August and not register right away and look for work. This way I have 90 days stay in Germany without needing a visa and can register towards the end of this period and get an extension if I have not found work (hopefully I would have found freelance teaching by then). I number of 'native' Germans have told me one can get an extension of up to 90 days when looking for work if your original 90 days allowed as a tourist have expired.
2. Do I register for a set of German language classes at a school and come over under a student visa, teach part time (the allowed 10 hours a week) and then try to switch the student visa to a freelance visa when it expires. The only thing that scares me about this approach is that my student visa would only be for the amount of weeks I signed up for classes (unless I am wrong here), hence, if I did not find work by the time the student visa expired, I would most likely have to leave the country.
Any advise would me much appreciated, and I apologize if I am re-hatching an old topic.
Thanks
Cory
Topics merged by admin
Hi,
In Germany they offer a "self-employment" visa. Which extends to Artists, Architects, and you guessed it English Teachers. Please take a look at http://4dayvisa.tumblr.com it'll tell you the necessary steps to take.
Best,
Barrie
In Germany they offer a "self-employment" visa. Which extends to Artists, Architects, and you guessed it English Teachers. Please take a look at http://4dayvisa.tumblr.com it'll tell you the necessary steps to take.
Best,
Barrie
If you are coming here with the main purpose of being self employed, then try to get the self-employed visa.
If your aim is to be a student whilst earning a bit of cash on the side, then get a student visa and live in accordance with what it allows you to do.
Transparency - adopting behaviours and doing things that match your reality - is usually the easiest option in the end, however attractive short cuts or circumventions or may appear in the short term.
If your aim is to be a student whilst earning a bit of cash on the side, then get a student visa and live in accordance with what it allows you to do.
Transparency - adopting behaviours and doing things that match your reality - is usually the easiest option in the end, however attractive short cuts or circumventions or may appear in the short term.
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