Work permit
The prerequisite for taking up employment is that the residence permit contains a corresponding work permit. With the ancillary provision “Gainful employment permitted”, you may carry out any employed or self-employed activity. If you are only “permitted to be employed”, you may take up any employment relationship, but you may not be self-employed.
If your residence permit states “Employment only with the permission of the Aliens Department”, you must apply to the Aliens Department for a work permit before taking up employment.
In some cases, before a work permit is issued, the Federal Employment Agency must be involved, which may check whether local workers are available for the job and whether a salary appropriate to the position is paid. In these cases, the employment permit is initially limited to the activity applied for.
For some residence permits, the law stipulates that gainful employment is permitted in principle or to a certain extent (e.g. for family reunification, students, humanitarian residence permits or in the asylum procedure).
If you have a residence permit for a specific job, you are generally only allowed to carry out this job initially, see here:
- Residence permit for self-employed persons, freelancers and artists
- Residence permit for academics (EU Blue Card)
- Residence permit for persons with vocational training
However, you can have the employer commitment canceled if you
- have been in employment subject to social security contributions for two years (§ 9 Employment Ordinance) or
- have resided in Germany for at least three years with a residence permit.
As an EU citizen, you do not need a work permit. They and their family members may engage in any gainful employment.
Our specialist lawyer for migration law Sven Hasse will advise and represent you in this area.
