Job Discussion Forums

[ioamosalerno]

Hi all,
I was granted a work permit from the foreigner's office last month to work for Berlitz. They required a copy of the contract, which I provided, but they screwed up big time, and issued me a permit to work on a fixed contract for Berlitz, not freelance. I started working, but then HR at Berlitz discovered that it was the wrong type of permit and suspended my hours beacuse of it. I contacted my visa official, who then in turn contacted the labor office and the equivilent of the German chamber of commerce. Apparently, some incompetent bureaucrats can't figure out whether I am self-employed or a freelancer (I am the latter!). Has anyone delt with a similar problem before? I can't work in the mean-time, and I have no way of knowing how long it will take to resolve this issue..... or if it can even be resolved. Any insight is much appriciated.

[spiral78]

I expect that a freelance contract is not eligible for a visa, whereas a fixed contract would be. Have you clarified this distinction with the officials?

In short: must you have a fixed contract to get a work visa?

(this is true in some Western European countries, where freelance contracts do not qualify one for a legal working visa)

If yes, then you can ask Berlitz to give you this. If not, then you can clearly go forward with trying to get a work visa based on freelance status.

[artemisia]

Which employment term is used on this fixed term contract to describe your status (Selbstst�ndig, Scheinselbstst�ndig etc.)?

It would certainly be a problem for Berlitz if they have been deemed 'the employer', otherwise I don't know why it's an issue for them. Perhaps, yes, it just affects the work visa.

Ultimately, I think it's the Finanzamt that decides your status as it all comes down to taxes. If you're 'self employed' and trading in goods, for example, you'd be liable for a trades tax as far as I know, whereas whatever comes under 'profession', such as teaching, is usually in a different financial catagory. There are other issues that decide whether someone is truly 'freelance' or really an 'employee'. I think, for example, not more than 80% of your work can be through the same 'employer' (who is not classed as an employer) to be given freelance status. This is quite a complex legal area and Germans themselves have problems with it at times. I'm afraid I'm really not up-to-date on this issue.

[ioamosalerno]

The 'contract' says vereinbarung uber freie mitarbeit, and the 'work permit' (vorlaufige bescheinigung) says zur ausubung einer beschaftigung and then goes on to say beschaftigung.......erlaubt fur eine tatigkeit als englishlehrer. Finally, Berlitz gave me a letter that I submitted to the visa office that was supposed to suffice on it's own for the visa (which, most likely because these people are incompetent, didn't suffice on it's own). I just don't know what to do about it. I'm going to ask Berlitz to call the labor office, and see if they can clear things up, but aside from that, I think I might be out of luck with it. Thanks for the help.

[artemisia]

Your contract is a "Freelance Agreement". From what you wrote, it would seem as though you�re permitted to undertake work as an English teacher. There doesn�t seem to be a reference to �self-employed�. BTW, �vorl�ufige� means temporary or provisional so perhaps that�s the issue. Berlitz HR identified the type of work permit as the problem so hopefully they will act on your behalf. You could also try checking out other schools, but you've probably already done that.

This is going back about ten years now, but I met an Australian who�d got freelance status in Germany as a language teacher through the assistance of a language school. I know it required some persistence on the part of the school to see it through. It�s hard to say if that situation would still apply. If you're willing to fork out the money, you could see a lawyer specialising in employment law/ immigration and have him/her examine the work permit status.
Good luck with it!