Student jobs

Studying in Germany comes with the right to work, but that right is limited and the limits are counted precisely. Exceed them and you risk your residence permit, so it is worth understanding them properly before you take a job.

Non-EU limit

Days per year, counted

Term time

Around 20 hours a week

Semester breaks

Full time is possible

Studies

Must stay your main activity

What you are allowed

EU and EEA students

The same rights as German students. No permit, no day limit. Work as much as your course allows — though above roughly twenty hours a week during term you begin paying full social contributions.

Non-EU students

You may work a fixed number of full days per year, or twice as many half days, without asking anyone's permission. The allowance was increased in recent years, so older guides understate it — and it is exactly the sort of figure that changes, so confirm the current number with your immigration office rather than trusting any website, including this one.

Two things matter more than the number itself:

• Keep a record. Days are counted across the year and across every employer. Nobody tracks them for you, and you may be asked.
• Work at your university does not usually count. Research and teaching assistant posts are generally outside the limit, which makes them worth seeking out.

Working beyond your allowance is a breach of your residence permit, with consequences reaching as far as losing it. If you are near the limit, stop and ask the immigration office.

The Werkstudent job

A Werkstudent role is part-time work in your field of study, alongside your course, and it is the most valuable kind of student job in Germany.

• Around twenty hours a week during term, full time in the breaks.
• Paid noticeably better than casual work.
• A special rule exempts working students from most social insurance contributions, so more of the wage reaches you.
• It is genuine experience in your field, and it is how a great many graduates get their first permanent job.

Non-EU students should note that the day limit still applies. A Werkstudent contract does not remove it.

Tax and insurance, briefly

Earn very little and you will pay almost nothing. Cross certain monthly thresholds and income tax and social contributions begin, and the amounts are recalculated when you file a return — students who overpay usually get it back.

You need a tax identification number, which arrives automatically after you register your address. Give it to your employer or you will be taxed at the highest rate until you do.

Health insurance is compulsory throughout, and student rates are heavily reduced. Working more can change your insurance position, so tell your insurer if your hours rise substantially.

Finding work

1. Look at your own university first

   Assistant posts, library and lab work, and department jobs. Well paid, sympathetic to your timetable, and often outside the day limit.

2. Then look in your field

   A Werkstudent role related to your degree is worth several times a casual job — for the pay, and much more for what it does to your CV.

3. Use German where you can

   Hospitality, retail and delivery work is available with modest German, but the better-paid and more interesting jobs need B1 or B2. Language is what moves you from one category to the other.

4. Keep your own log

   A simple record of days worked, by employer. Ten minutes a month, and it settles any question about your allowance instantly.

Keeping the balance right

Your permit exists so that you can study; work is permitted alongside it, not instead of it. Students who take on too much lose semesters, and a delayed degree costs far more than the extra shifts earned. Treat the limit as a sensible ceiling rather than a target.