EU, EEA or Swiss citizen: free movement, no limit on working days under residence law. Everyone else with a residence permit for studies (§ 16b AufenthG): up to 140 full working days or 280 half days per year; a day with up to four hours counts as half. Jobs as a student assistant at the university don’t count. Study preparation (Studienkolleg, preparatory language course) follows the same rule. A permit for a language course only or for finding a study place: up to 20 hours a week. Your employer must check your permit and keep a copy (§ 4a AufenthG).
Aufenthaltsgesetz §§ 4a, 16b, 16f, 17 and 20 (gesetze-im-internet.de), Make it in Germany, the immigration offices of Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig, Goethe University Frankfurt, City of Munich, Federal Ministry of the Interior. All checked on 21 September 2026, links at the bottom. Residence law is a field where the details decide; for your own case ask the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) before you start, not after.
Citizens of the EU, the EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Switzerland have free movement. The Federal Ministry of the Interior sums it up: Union citizens may pursue economic activity in the member state concerned under the same conditions as its own nationals. No day count under residence law. What still applies is the insurance side, the 20-hour rule for students, and if you carry an EHIC, the health insurance question: is my foreign insurance enough.
Since 1 March 2024 the residence permit for study purposes lets you work up to 140 full working days a year (§ 16b Abs. 3 AufenthG; the Berlin immigration office dates the change). The law calls it a working-day account (Arbeitstagekonto). Part-time work is counted in the way that is best for you: a day with up to four hours of work counts as half a day, any other day as a full day. Or, week by week: a calendar week with up to 20 hours during term time, and any week outside term time, counts as two and a half days. Goethe University Frankfurt adds: the count runs per calendar year, 1 January to 31 December.
Student assistant jobs at the university (studentische Nebentätigkeiten) don’t count towards the account. Everything beyond the account needs a permit from the immigration office first, and that permit may require the consent of the Federal Employment Agency (§ 4a AufenthG). The study permit itself does not cover self-employment; the Berlin immigration office says it can be allowed on application, as long as the studies stay the main thing.
What this means for a short-term job: three weeks of full-time work come to around 15 working days. The 140 days of the immigration office and the 70 days of a short-term job (kurzfristige Beschäftigung, counted by social insurance, see the Minijob-Zentrale) are two different counts. Keep your own list of days; nobody else does it for you. Minijob or short-term: explained here, German only for now.
Over the limit without a permit: the immigration offices of Dresden and Leipzig warn of a fine of up to 5,000 euros and a review of whether your residence permit is revoked. Not worth it for a few extra shifts.
Before you start, the employer must check that your permit allows the job, keep a copy of the permit for the duration of the employment, and tell the immigration office within four weeks if a job the permit was issued for ends early (§ 4a Abs. 5 AufenthG). So when we ask for a copy of your permit and the supplementary sheet (Zusatzblatt), that is the law, not curiosity. The sheet states what is allowed; Dresden quotes the usual wording: employment up to 140 days and student side activities allowed, self-employment not allowed.
140 full or 280 half working days per calendar year; a day of up to four hours counts as half a day (§ 16b Abs. 3 AufenthG). Jobs as a student assistant at the university come on top, without limit.
No. The law says student side activities (studentische Nebentätigkeiten) are not counted. You still have to tell the immigration office: it decides in each case whether the job really is a student activity, says Goethe University Frankfurt.
Yes, under the same 140-day rule: § 16b Abs. 5 AufenthG applies the rules of Abs. 3 to study preparation. Check what your own permit and its supplementary sheet say.
Up to 20 hours a week if the permit is for a language course only (§ 16f Abs. 3 AufenthG). A permit for a school exchange or school attendance does not allow work. A language course that prepares you for a degree falls under § 16b.
The immigration offices of Dresden and Leipzig warn of a fine of up to 5,000 euros and a review of whether your permit is revoked. If you need more days, apply for a permit before you work them.
No. You have free movement and work under the same conditions as Germans. Only the insurance rules for students apply, see our health insurance page.
Susanne Schmidt-Dizdarevic. Authorised officer (Prokuristin) of echt Personal GmbH, responsible for HR. Trained hotel specialist, in staffing since 2009. Signs short-term employment contracts with students and school pupils every week.
The two numbers on every staff questionnaire: your social security number and your tax ID. And whether your insurance from home is enough: health insurance for international students.
At echt Personal every contract with a student from outside the EU starts with the residence permit and its supplementary sheet; we keep the copy as § 4a AufenthG requires. Looking for a side job right now: jobs in your city.