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Freelance Visa & Other Options

Posted in Germany forum

Hello all,

First and foremost thank you in advance to everyone for any suggestions you may have!

My goal is to move to Germany in Septmeber 2017 (i.e. this year!). I currently work as a staff translator for a small translation firm in Madrid, Spain and am looking to move to Germany, but to keep working for this company on a remote basis. Unfortunately I am not an EU citizen and am looking for visa options. At this point, I think my following options would be;

1. Student Visa + Working
This option would involve me doing a Master's Degree and working full-time. The degree would be something I am personally interested in doing, but my concern would be time...I don't know how time demanding master's programs in Germany are. Is it more class time or more outside class study time? I also see that there are restrictions on the amount a student can work, but if I were working as a freelancer would this limit (120 full working days I believe it is) apply?

2. Freelancer's Visa
From what I've read the requirements for this visa seem to be pretty basic...is there a catch? How hard is it to actually obtain this type of visa? Has anyone obtained this visa (either alone or with the help of an immgration attorney or other advisor)? Any suggestions of good immigration attorneys or consulting firms?

3. Freelancer in Spain
The third option would be to register as a freelancer in Spain, but live in Germany.... Not sure if this is truly an option or not...

4. Long-Term Residency
Althoug this wouldn't be an option for this September, I am curious about this 5 year permanent residence visa. I haven't looked too much into this one, but from what I've heard, after a Non-EU Citizen has spent 5 years in an EU country they can obtain permanent residency for Europe (not just for the specific country)? In September 2018 I will have been in Europe for 5 years...3.5 in Spain and (hopefully, if any of the above options work) 1.5 in Germany. My question is, do the 5 years have to be spent in the same country?

Any comments, suggestions, experiences, horror stories, etc. would be greatly appreciated!!

  • Go to Frank (confidential)'s profile

    posted by  in Germany forum 

    1. Study courses are designed to be full-time, thus if you work at the side, your results will suffer. Furthermore, as you already mentioned, you can only work a limited time, which is usually not enough to survive on. Thus you need savings.
    2. No idea, but I heard it's not easy to get.
    3. This won't work: You must register in the country you reside in.
    4. As far as I know, times you spend on a student visa (or any non-residential visa) don't count towards a permanent residency.

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