Working and Restrictions
Seeking Work
For part-time or temporary jobs, check the job agencies for students that are often run at your university by the Job Agencies and the student services organisations. You can also check the noticeboards (schwarze Bretter) at the university, the job exchange websites on the university’s website, or the regional and local newspapers which generally have a jobs section in the Wednesday and Saturday editions.
Financial obligations while working
Depending on your kind of employment, you will have to pay various social security contributions. Detailed information on this is provided by the Association of German Student Services Organisations (Deutsches Studentenwerk), which can be downloaded from here
When you finish
Having completed your studies you can stay in Germany and look for a job here. You have one year to find a position that is appropriate to their qualification. If an appropriate job offer is made, the Federal Employment Agency will carry out a priority check (to ensure that no other persons with priority - i.e. Germans or EU citizens - can take up this job offer). After this, the graduates can receive a residence permit for the pursuit of gainful employment.
During that one year period you can while looking for a job take on temporary jobs to maintain yourself. However you will require approval to do this from the foreigners authority and, in most cases, from the Federal Employment Agency as well.
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While Studying
International students who do not come from EU or EEA countries are only allowed to work to a limited extent in Germany. In addition, they generally need the approval of the Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) before they can take up a job.
Note that this also applies if you are only taking a language course in Germany or are studying at a Studienkolleg. Before you take up a job, please make sure that you find out whether or not you are allowed to do so. The International Affairs Unit at the student services organisation at your university will be able to advise you.
Under the rules in 2007 a student with Australian citizenship could expect to be allowed to work for 90 full or 180 half days per year. If you wished to work longer you had first to obtain approval from the Federal Employment Agency and the foreigners authority.
However do note that jobs as a student or graduate assistant may exceed the 90-day limit. But even then the foreigners authority must always be informed.
Also note that independent or freelance work is not allowed.
Participants of language courses and preparatory courses may also only work with the approval of the foreigners authority and the Federal Employment Agency – and then only in the semester vacation.
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