Job Discussion Forums

[dannenbr]

Hello. I am an American citizen (I do not have EU citizenship) with my bachelor's degree in German for Secondary Education and I have my ESL certification as well. I am going to Germany this year for 3 months on a tourist visa. I want to find a way to simply legally stay in Germany through working. I am under the impression that it is nearly impossible for someone who is not a European citizen to find a job in Europe. My ultimate goal is to find an English teaching position at either a public school or private institute (I will be in Berlin where there are dozens of these schools/institutes). I already have a free place to stay (with my boyfriend's family--they are German) and have 4000$ saved up for the trip. I don't care if I have to work for extremely low wages or even under low working conditions. I simply want to legally stay in Germany. I have heard of "freelancing" opportunities but honestly do not quite understand them. Is it true that if a few private schools write a letter stating they would hire me--even offering a freelancing job--that this would suffice and allow me to obtain a work permit / residency permit? I would so appreciate any help. Thanks to all who read this!

[shevek77]

have a read here -

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=61648

[dannenbr]

Shevek, I appreciate the link. The only thing is, those posts are from 2008. In late 2009 there were a lot of changes made to the laws in Germany about who can get a work permit and who can't. Things seem to have tightened up a bit. I am looking for something current or someone who is an American there and can tell me. Thank you though!

[JN]

Take a look at this link: http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/selbststaendige_en.html

I am not going this route yet, as I am waiting to hear back from the Auslaenderbehoerde on changing my permit. On my currrent permit I am allowed to be self-employed (besides the part-time job I have), which means I can do freelancing.
Good luck on finding a job. It's a good thing that you have a lot of money saved up. Even with my MATESOL, I am still having a hard time finding part-time work teaching English. In time you may find some part-time work teaching English. Good luck!

[dannenbr]

Thanks JN. It sounds like I need to somehow invest 250,000$ into the economy to work as self-employed? I am confused by that line.

Could you possibly explain to me how freelancing works? Is freelancing considered self-employment?

[artemisia]

There have been a lot of threads on non EU working in Europe and not just under "Germany". Try the search function at the top of the page or look through the forum threads here.

Freelancing generally means working for yourself and so is distinct from being an employee. Investing money refers to the whole process setting up a company in Germany (and offering work to German citizens). You can be a freelancer by getting a contract offering work directly from a company needing English training. It's very hard to do this without a lot of contacts and considerable experience. The most usual scenario, especially for someone new, is getting contracts of work (usually in companies) through language schools. You'll be fully responsible for paying income tax, contributing to the pension fund and getting health insurance. Language schools function a bit like an agent. They find you work and pay you directly, and they take their cut.

Read through this thread and take note of JN's comments about the ease of finding work. Even freelancing work can be tight and it's generally not well-paid. But you have a big advantage in not having to worry about accommodation and also knowing Germans who'll be able to help you through the mind-numbing redtape.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=91236

[dannenbr]

Thank you both JN and Artemisia. Your threads were both very helpful to me.

In regards to what you are doing now in Germany, JN, would you mind describing to me how you obtained your freelancing permit? Did you actually let the school know straight away that you would be willing to work as a freelancer if they could not offer you a part-time or full-time position? Is finding freelancing work generally quite "easy"--as in most private schools are willing to hire you in if you work as a freelancer? I would like to emphasize that I do not care how much money I make or how many hours a week I will work. I just want to be able to stay in Germany. I read the posts that were on the link Artemisia sent and "gjj" stated that "When I worked until recently as a recruiter for one of the language schools, US citizens seldom had problems obtaining permission to work on a freelance basis." *hoping it is true!*

My next question would be... after you are offered a position as a freelancer, what exactly do you do? Do you have to advertise that you are an ESL teacher and get enough people to take a class from you? Can you do one-on-one tutoring?

Thank you again. I will be sure to come back to this forum and write a detailed thread on my entire process in Germany to repay everyone for their advice. (:

[JN]

I don't have a freelancing permit. I have a regular permit, but I am allowed to be self-employed, if I wish. This means that I could freelance. I think many of the language schools prefer to hire freelancers and do this part-time. I am not working at a language school right now. It is not easy to find work teaching English. I don't think there is a problem in obtaining a permit to freelance, as long as a person can prove he (or she) has the funds (or will have) to support himself. Of course, I do not have the freelancing permit, so don't know exactly how it works. There may be people connected with ELTABB (local English teacher's assoc.) that would know.
If you get a job as a freelancer then you will teach whatever class or course that language school gives you to teach. Your best bet for employment is probably language schools and not regular German schools, international schools or universities.
You don't advertise that you are an ESL teacher and get people to take a class from you. I wouldn't do that. You could advertise that you teach English and do tutoring or teaching one-on-one. I've seen advertisements at the local grocery story and on Toy Town Germany. I am not sure how the one-on-one would work with the permits for freelancing, though.
Let us know how it goes.

[dannenbr]

Great. Thank you JN. Do you know by chance if there is a specific amount of money the Ausl�nderbeh�rde wants to see that I have? I will have around 4k$ and am hoping that is enough. I won't be paying rent at the apartment I will be at since I am staying with a German family.

This may be a dumb question, but can you obtain a freelancing work permit if you don't have a company stating they will hire you? For example if I have enough money to support myself and wish to simply tutor independently. I'm assuming that's not possible...

I'll check into this ELTABB that you mentioned. Thank you (:

[JN]

I think 4K$ sounds good, but I have no idea what the Auslaenderbehoerde would say. I can't really say much about the freelancing permit, either.

[renovatio]

I got back in April '11 from Frankfurt teaching English, the job wasn't for me, but if you go to Frankfurt and present yourself well, then you're almost guaranteed a job. You don't need a college degree.

Be aware, however, that the job that you'll get will be a homework, travel job where you'll probably be spending about 30 - 40% of your time on a train. Sometimes they'll send you to remote areas where you'll have to walk, and in the winter this isn't a good thing.

I have read on here about some getting good jobs, but those ones aren't easy, I'd try out Berlitz and inlingua in the Frankfurt area, and like I said as long as you can speak and dress well, you'll get a job. Berlitz pays $13 an hour with little travel outside the school, and inlingua pays $18 with almost all travel outside the school.

Also, walk your resumes in and include a professional pic in your resume somewhere. Don't be shy, just walk in and ask to speak to the director of the school, introduce yourself, and you'll get a job. If you like the job, which some did, but I didn't, then in about a year with the experience you gain you can try to apply for other better jobs.

As far as the paperwork and two large stickers that go in your passport, it's easy, especially if you reside in a big city, for an American to get. IT TAKES AT LEAST 6 WEEKS, but be prepared to wait 8 for you resident/work permit to process from the time you give them your paperwork and photo. The schools will train you without a permit, but will not let you physically work without it. The training takes about four weeks, and well it wasn't for me.

So good luck, save up some money, if you don't know anyone where you're going $3000 USD, if you do know someone, maybe as little as $1500, but be careful there. Create a good looking resume, dress nice, and walk into the schools. And don't listen to the negativity on here, right now in Frankfurt you're almost guaranteed a job as an American as long as you can meet the pre mentioned requirements.

[artemisia]

[JN]

I'd also mention that the person who posted the question was going to Berlin, so my comments were tailored for someone going to Berlin. That's great if there is work in Frankfurt. It may help someone else.

[Roundtrip]

Can anyone comment on age restrictions for working in Germany? I've heard you can't get hired after 55. I'm highly qualified in English and German and couldn't get an interview in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. I was told up front by most schools that their age limit was 50, some said 55. On another note, I have friends teaching English for private language schools and they are making $250.00 a day just teaching six or seven students. They teach six classes per day and make their own schedules.

[spiral78]

I've worked in this region for over a decade, and there is no real blanket age limit.

The job markets in the three countries you mention are fairly tight for teachers. If, in addition to your age, you don't carry an EU passport, meaning that you would be some extra hassle in terms of getting legal paperwork, it's likely that you just weren't seen as 'worth' the extra work - the schools can fill any open positions more easily with available EU candidates. I am not implyingt that you are not 'worth' the effort, of course !!- just that in comparison to other candidates, you may have been seen as too much work for the school administration.

You say that you are qualified, but that can imply quite a wide range, from CELTA + some experience up to related post-grad degrees and lots of experience and specialities, etc.

It's basically all about who you are competing with - if there are available teachers with similar quals to yours who automatically have the right to work, then it probably wasn't your age that was the problem.