Work

Employed in Germany?

EU citizens as well as citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland enjoy the freedom of movement and the freedom of residence within the single European Market. They are free to live and work in Germany.

All they have to do is to register with the appropriate office of the town hall mostly called "Einwohnermeldeamt" or "Bürgeramt".

This simple procedure applies for citizens of Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

A lot of information about the legal framework of employment in Germany can be found online in the "Living and Working" section of EURES (EURopean Employment Services).

Services for Employers

The Federal Employment Office's Services for Employers

Germany offers a huge and highly qualified workforce. In general, employees from Germany are in high esteem for their precision and reliability. To find suitable candidates for their venture, employers wishing to tap the vast potential of qualified employees in Germany may use customized services provided by the Federal Employment Agency. It offers lots of information on its web-site, detailing services for employers in a bi-lingual (English-German) version. A brief portrait is available in English from German Business Portal, editions in further languages can be found on the Agency's website.

The Paperwork: Residence and Work Permit for Non-EU Citizens

For non-EU-nationals a work permit is usually granted in connection with their visa. A foreigner who intends to take up a gainful employment in Germany must state so when applying for a visa at the consulate or consular representation of the German embassy in his or her home country. When applying for a visa, foreigners who intend to work in Germany must usually name their employer and their intended residence. Visa with a work permit can only be issued after they have been approved by the German labour administration. 

Highly qualified foreigners and individuals who run their own businesses are except from this regulation. In these cases, visas and work permit will be issued without the approval of the German labor administration, when certain minimum standards have been met.

According to the Immigration Act, highly qualified foreigners are scientists with special technical knowledge active in teaching, scientists in prominent positions as well as specialists or executive personnel with extensive professional experience. Aside from the high qualification mentioned above, the exceptional work permit requires a minimum annual income of 64,800 €.

Self-employed individuals who run their own businesses include entrepreneurs as well as  managing partners, executive directors, authorized signatories and majority shareholders of limited corporations (GmbH). The visa usually requires a minimum investment of 500,000 € and the creation of at least 5 jobs.

Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the United States of America can enter Germany without applying for visa in advance. They can do the paperwork with the foreigners authority in Germany themselves.

Specific regulations may apply depending on the country of origin. The easiest way to find that out is to consult the local German embassy or consulate.

You will find more information about the visa requirements among our check lists. A list of German diplomatic representations abroad can be found at the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

New EU Member States

Transitional regulations govern the movement and employment of citizens from those new EU member states which have joined the European Union on May 1st 2004 (except Malta and Cyprus), namely the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia as well as from Bulgaria and Romania which have joined the European Union on January 1st 2007.

During a transitional period of up to seven years, certain provisions may be applied that restrict the free movement of workers from, to and between these member states. However, citizens of the member states which have been part of the European Economic Area or have enjoyed special freedoms due to bilateral agreements do not lose their previous status under the new framework.

In general, citizens of these new EU member states can enter Germany without a visa. In order to take up a gainful employment, they have to apply for a work permit (Arbeitsgenehmigung) at the local Employment Agency (Arbeitsagentur).

Double Taxation

A growing number of employees and self-employed persons are engaged in cross-border activities. They are all liable to double taxation which means their income is taxed both by the taxpayer's country of residence and in the country where the income arises. Germany has concluded many reciprocal treaties to exempt these persons from paying the same tax twice. The purpose of double taxation relief is to remove or reduce the disincentive that this double taxation represents to foreign investment. The website of the Ministry of Finance lists all countries that have signed an agreement on double taxation with Germany. Although these sites are in German only, it's easy to find a link to the foreign-language version of the relevant contact.

Social Security System

In Germany, all employees must contribute to the compulsory social security system. Entrepreneurs are not subject to join the system except for health insurance. Providers of statutory health insurance have special rates for voluntary insured people.
The compulsory social system includes the pension scheme, health insurance, and other services. These additional services include unemployment insurance, long-term care insurance, and accident insurance. Unemployment insurance covers an employee's basic needs in case of unemployment. Long-term care insurance provides financial support for those that require care and assistance from others. Accident insurance helps an employee regain his earning ability after a work-related accident.
It is strongly recommended to sign a voluntary occupational disability insurance, since the compulsory insurance does not cover this area. This type of insurance is only offered by private companies. Furthermore, employees should make additional retirement agreements because the social security payments do not cover all expenses throughout the years.
Basically, employees share the insurance premium with their employers. Employers subtract the employees' part from their wages. Employees earning more than 48.150 € for three consecutive years are exempted from the compulsory health insurance and may sign private agreements.
Even though the insurance system is meant for everyone employed in Germany, many foreign residents prefer to be exempted from this set of rules and stay in the social security system in their home country.
For this reason, Germany has signed bilateral social security agreements defining who must join the system and who may not. Moreover, there is a mutual recognition of social security systems within the European Union and the European Economic Area.
Additional bilateral social security agreements with Germany have been signed by the following nations:

Flag	Count
	Australia
	Bosnia-Herzegovina
	Bulgaria
	Chile
	Israel
	Japan
	Canada
	Croatia
	Morocco
	Macedonia
	Republic of Korea
	Romania
	Serbia and Montenegro
	Tunisia
	Turkey
	USA

German health insurances have joined hands to set up a clearing agency for all international questions on health insurances. Although it mainly supports Germans going abroad, the agency provides some useful online information for foreigners in Germany.

Working Abroad: Being Delegated to Germany

For foreigners, working in Germany comes in a broad variety of legal constellations - from being dispatched to the German subsidiary of the employee's mother company to self-employment. Therefore, different employment situations entail different consequences regarding tax, social security, residential status etc.

Many expatriates, who are dispatched to work in Germany have signed ongoing labour contracts with their employer abroad. In general, these contracts follow the national regulations of the home-country.

Furthermore, particular arrangements for employees arising from collective agreements must be considered.

A comprehensive compilation of German labour regulations is available from the International Labour Organization.

Wages and Salaries

Industrial relations in Germany are characterised by bargaining autonomy. In collective bargaining rounds, trade unions and employers' associations negotiate wages, working hours and benefits.

Compensation of employees in bn. EUR

Source: destatis

Gross wages and salaries EUR bn

Source: destatis

Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

One of the most important questions to answer before working or doing business in Germany is: ''Are the professional qualifications that I acquired recognized?'' The answer depends on a number of factors including whether the acquired professional qualifications relate to a so-called liberal profession (freier Beruf), a regulated skilled trade (Handwerk), or some other kind of commercial business. The amount of training and the professional experience the provider possesses are also factors that will be considered.

If you work in a regulated occupation, you must apply for the recognition of your qualifications at the competent authority in the federal state where you want to practice. Regulated professions are the sixty occupations whose practice is governed by law in order to guarantee the achievement of the required qualification skills.

The EU Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications stipulates the right of recognition for citizens of the European Union, if the level of their professional qualification equals the German standard. Otherwise, applicants can compensate the missing expertise by taking an aptitude test or by gaining further experience during an adaptation period. More information on the mutual recognition within the EU is available on the website of the European Commission.

Professional qualifications of non-EU citizens can be recognized if they are equivalent to the required German standards. However, some occupations, e.g. academic degrees in the legal professions, are excluded from recognition. The only exception is whenever the qualifications of non-EU citizens have already been recognized in another Member State of the European Union and the non-EU professionals have practiced their occupation during three years in that country.

Non-regulated occupations in Germany do not require any formal recognition procedure. Nevertheless, in many cases it is possible to obtain an official certificate that proves the equivalence of the achieved training or education to the equivalent German qualification. Within the European Union the Europass documents facilitate the comparison of the achieved skills and qualifications.

The competent authority responsible for the recognition or certification procedure of a specific profession depends on the occupational group and sometimes on the Federal State. In order to find out which institution is responsible for your profession, you should first address the professional association of your occupational group. These are the Chambers of Skilled Arts and Crafts, the professional associations of the liberal occupations and the Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

In addition, concise information on the necessary proceedings for the recognition of foreign qualifications and the competent authorities is available on the website ''Berufliche Anerkennung''. Furthermore, the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) provides data on the comparability of foreign qualifications and educational systems in the online-database ''anabin''.

Vocational and Further Training

Qualified Employees Wanted
There is a great demand for qualified and skilled employees. Globalization is advancing and thus increasing international competition. German companies have to prepare themselves. Qualified and skilled employees of all branches of industry, trade and the service sector are needed. All who begin vocational training in one of the more than 250 vocational occupations in these branches stand good chances on the job market and will continue to do so in the future.

On-the-job Training
In-company training is hands-on, varied, of high quality and internationally recognized. It conveys new techniques and offers many independent tasks, and in many occupations direct contact with clients. The training allowance contributes to trainees not being financially solely dependant on their parents or the government. Most young people with vocational training find a job quickly after finishing their training, either where they were trained or at a different company. These qualified and skilled employees are highly valued and well-paid.

Further Training
After finishing vocational training, career opportunities are good. A number of further training possibilities are offered - the companies, the chambers, public and private authorities make it possible. Life-Long Learning - that's our motto! That way, the employees' knowledge is always up to date and the possibilities to do something for his/her career opportunities increase. Vocational training is a stepping stone to success. Vocational training offers a secure income and great opportunities to move on up!