My Freelancer Visa Personal Experience

What is a Freelancer Visa

A Freelancer Visa allows you to be in Germany as a resident. Under this visa, you are allowed to earn money under professional categories that you choose, but only as a freelancer (contractor / consultant). You are not allowed to earn money in other ways, such as part-time employee.

The Freelancer Visa is renewable. When you are approved to receive a Freelancer Visa (or renewal), you are granted 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years.

The process of getting residency in Germany is very different than the process in the US. In the US, there are many stories of the examiner being hostile to the applicant -- with no recourse to the applicant if the examiner does not want to let them become a resident. In Germany, all of the stories I've heard is that the examiners are doing their job. They may be friendly or not, but they don't stand in the way of your process.

How I Obtained My Freelancer Visa

Tourist Visa

I started out by landing in Germany as a tourist. US citizens are automatically granted a 90-day tourist visa upon landing in Germany (or anywhere in the Schengen Area, which includes 28 countries).

Registering My Address

I then asked a friend of a friend who owned their apartment to fill out a form saying that I lived at their place. This allowed me to register an address at the Bürgeramt. Once registered, I could receive official mail from all government offices.

I very quickly received my Tax ID in the mail. This is a personal national ID number. It is not the same as a Tax Number (!). You will need to get a Tax Number later, in order to pay German taxes.

I also quickly received a letter saying that I owed €220 for the Radio/TV/Arts tax. But, since the friend of a friend (where I registered my address) already paid this, I could ignore it, since it is only required that each household pay this annually.

Language Course Visa

I then applied to a German language course school and enrolled in their Intensive Course, which allowed me to get a 1-year, non-renewable German Langue Course Visa.

Having health insurance is a requirement to be a resident in Germany. The school had very inexpensive health insurance for all of its students.

The school's Intensive German Language Course fulfilled the requirements for the 18 hours of course time (or more) for the Language Course Visa.

I opened a German bank account, and put the required (about) €10,000 in a special "blocked" account, which allowed me to withdraw up to (about) €1,000 per month to live on during the 1 year of the Language Course Visa.

I almost immediately started preparing for applying for the Freelancer Visa.

Hiring an Relocation Consultant

I know many people who obtained a Freelancer Visa (or Artist Visa) on their own, without the help of a professional. But a friend recommended a Relocation Consultant who they liked a lot. They charged me about €750. I thought it was well worth the cost, since it made the process stress-free.

Other people I know hired an immigration lawyer. They are also an option, though more expensive.