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.

Things I Had to Collect for My Visa Appointment

My Relocation Consultant gave me a list of things to acquire:

Official copies of my university degrees
5 (or more) letters from people who I had done freelance work for in my life (saying how good I was for them)
5 (or more) letters from German residents stating that if I were available, they would hire me as a consultant for specific work for specific pay. NOTE: There was no obligation from the people writing these letters to actually hire me.
Address registration
Letter from my friend who owned their apartment and let me live there
My German Language Course visa (to show that I am in the country legally)
Proof of health insurance, along with bank records showing I paid every month
Copy of my US passport
"Biometric" visa photos
Portfolio of my projects, including awards and public recognition
Resume (which I created according to the normal German ways, and not the US ways)
Financial budget
Financial Profit & Loss
Copy of bank statements the day before my Visa Appointment

Work Categories

You need to pick categories for your freelance work, and you need to earn your money within these categories. My Relocation Consultant and I came up with a few categories of freelance work that we would give to the examiner at the visa appointment. The idea is to pick categories that are as broad as possible, yet still meaningful for the examiner. "Python Programmer" would be a category, but it is too specific. "Programmer" is very broad, but may be too broad for the examiner. "Programming expert" may be worth asking for. You can pick two or three categories.

Results of My Visa Appointment

Within a few weeks of my visa appointment, I received notice that I was granted a Freelance Visa, good for 2 years.

The Need for Real German Health Insurance

In order to have real German health insurance, you need a visa. To obtain a visa, you must have health insurance. To resolve this, companies exist to provide "Expat" health insurance. It is relatively inexpensive, but it may not be too good for paying you back for health expenses. One such company that provides Expat health insurance is: Mawista. That is what I used.

After receiving a working visa, I needed to get real German health insurance. One can choose public health insurance (with a progressive premium payment dependent on how much money you earn), or private health insurance. There are health insurance brokers to help you find insurance appropriate for you.

You Need a Tax Accountant (Steuerberaterin / Steuerberater)

It is not such a big deal in the US to do your own taxes as a freelancer. I've heard of some people able to do their own taxes in Germany, but it is not for the faint-of-heart. Almost everyone hires a tax accountant. But there aren't enough of them. And it is really difficult to find a good one. This is an obstacle that must be traversed.

Your tax accountant will apply with the Finanzamt (tax office) for you to receive your Tax Number. (This is different than your Tax ID, which you automatically receive after you obtain your first residency.)

After you have your Tax Number, you can then pay German taxes. You must pay every year or every month or every quarter, depending on how much money you earn.

You must also pay VAT every year or every month or every quarter, depending on how much money you earn. (VAT is somewhat similar to sales tax in the US, but more complex.)

As a resident of Germany, if you earn less than $122,000 worth of money, you do not need to pay US taxes. But you MUST file tax returns in the US every year. (So, you may also need a US tax accountant in the US to help you.)

Two Important Notes About Freelancing Income

As a freelancer, you must make sure that you earn your money within your chosen categories.
You must also make sure that no more than 80% of your income each year comes from a single client.

My Second German Freelancer Visa

As the end of my two years for my first Freelancer Visa approached, my Relocation Consultant told me that she got a job with a large corporation, and would no longer help private individuals. So, I found an immigration lawyer to help me renew my visa, and to make sure I was on the path towards German citizenship.

Requirements for renewing my Freelancer Visa

Renewing my visa was relatively simple. I mostly needed to show the examiner:

I had continuous real German health insurance over the two years of my residency
I earned more money than my expenses

Results of My Second Visa Appointment

Within a few weeks of my second visa appointment, I received notice that I was granted a renewal for my Freelance Visa, good for 3 years.

Eligible to Apply for German Citizenship

After 2 years of the 3 years of my renewed Freelancer Visa, I have been in Germany for 5 years, and am eligible to apply for German Citizenship.