Immigration Services Germany

Your employer wants you to work in Germany. We will gladly assist in that. Does he already have a subsidiary of any kind (representation, representative office, independent/dependent branch) in Germany? If so then choose the applicable residence permit for you from below. If not, your boss will need such in Germany, otherwise any application for working in Germany will be denied.

A representative office allows you to let employees of the company come to Germany to construct machines or negotiate contracts under a national visa. It also allows the company to send employees to work there because the authorities will not grant any foreigner a resident permit for employment when the employer is not established in Germany.

To apply for a representative office you must have a formal legally established company in your own country, you will have to include notarised evidence of its legal establishment with your application.

You will require a physical correspondence address in Germany and a VoIP line which we will provide you with as part of our service.

A representative office will not result in any corporate taxation liability in Germany.

You will usually obtain a residence permit if the following conditions have been met:

• the occupation you wish to take up requires a vocational training qualification and you possess this qualification
• you can show that you have a job offer
• you work under equal conditions as Germans
• no privileged person can fill your position
• the granting of a residence permit for your occupational group is envisaged by legal regulations, and
• the Federal Employment Agency approves of your employment (where this is required)

Job Offer

You will need the offer of a job, which must include a job description and a draft employment contract. If you want to improve your chances of success ask your prospective employer to provide you with a signed contract.

Federal Employment Agency

Your job offer must normally not have a negative impact on the German labour market; you must show that the work you are going to do requires an individual performance, which nobody else – at least not easily – can replace. Typical examples are professions where staff are needed such as nurses, engineers, physicians , artists or professional sportsmen in a federal league.

Our Service (managed by our immigration lawyers)

• Supplying a checklist for any and all documents to be submitted
• Confirmation of the office where documents must be submitted
• Streamlining supplementary documents
• Handling legal questions received from the authorities
• Supplementary letter to convince the authorities to grant your application
• General advice/instruction during the application process

This is almost identical to a "normal" residency for employment purposes, however the requirements are more strictly tested, because the client will receive permanent residency immediately without any testing of their German knowledge and no integration test.

Generally, the following people will be considered as highly qualified:

• Scientists with special technical knowledge
• Specialists and executive personnel with special professional experience who receive a salary corresponding to at least twice the contribution assessment limit for the statutory health insurance scheme (this ceiling will change annually)

Bear in mind, Germany invented bureaucracy and especially when applying for a "highly qualified permit" you will have to really prove that you are highly qualified. Such qualification typically starts with a PhD or having registered a patent. The less formalized you can show your "high qualification "the more argumentation will be needed.

A visa whether it is for self-employment or opening a business is fundamentally the same.

Generally, for a successful application, you will need to invest €250k, employ five people (excluding yourself) and also demonstrate the following:

• Germany's higher economic interest or a special regional need for your business
• The expectation that your business will have a positive effect on the economy
• Financing secured through equity or by a bank loan
• The business will not damage Germany's overall economic interests

By fulfilling these conditions it will generally be presumed that you have met the requirements for commercial migration though you will also need a detailed business plan for your venture. The advantage of investing these funds right away is that you will be granted permanent residency from the very beginning! However, when you lack such funds, you still can apply but you will only receive a temporary upon grant with validity for at most two years.

The authorities will test your case, based upon

• Your experience as an entrepreneur
• The level of capital you are investing
• The effects on the employment and the training situation, and
• The contribution you have made to innovation and research

Our Service (managed by our Immigration Lawyers)

• Supplying a checklist for all documents to be submitted
• Confirmation of the office where documents must be submitted
• Streamlining supplementary documents
• Handling legal questions received from the authorities
• Supplementary letter to convince the authorities to grant your application
• General advice/instruction during the application process
• Submitting your application details in advance to local authorities for them to process
• Client provided business plan (in German) will be proofread; translation will be invoiced separately.

During application proceedings, the business plan will be studied and evaluated by the competent Chamber for Industry and Commerce (IHK) and / or State Ministry of Economy.

Experience shows that the application will progress more quickly when they receive the business plan in advance. We will send a copy in advance to these authorities and answer any questions subsequent to their evaluation.

Business Plan

When applying for a residency permit based on self-employment (freelancing) or when opening a business a business plan is mandatory. The business plan will be prepared by a specialist in Germany. The Ministry of Economy of the respective Federal State and/ or Chamber for Industry and Commerce will evaluate the business plan to, in order to ensure that the plan works.

Experience shows that the application will progress more quickly when they receive the business plan in advance. We will send a copy in advance to these authorities and answer any questions subsequent to their evaluation.

Trailing Spouse or Children

If your spouse/family has chosen not to work than they will pay a reduced fee though a new application will still have to be made.

Timescales

Please note that the time indicated below is estimated, and will depend on the individual.

• For Visas: In general it will take about two months
• For Residency Permits: This will take up to four months.

After successfully working as self-employed or running your business for three years, you will receive a permanent residency permit.