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Working while studying in Germany: the 140-day limit, how a week counts, and the official page that still says 120

1 published version. Every version stays readable at its own address, and nothing is removed without a correction note.

  1. Version 1Current · created

    Record created.

    • Timeline added: The rule comes from the Act to Further Develop Skilled Immigration, published in the Federal Law Gazette in August 2023, which rewrote the student work section of the Residence Act.
    • Timeline added: Those changes took effect on 1 March 2024. They raised the yearly limit for students from 120 days to 140, according to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
    • Confirmed: Jobs as a student assistant at the university do not count towards the yearly limit.
    • Confirmed: A compulsory internship that is part of the course is covered by the study permit itself: the law counts it as part of the purpose of study.
    • Confirmed: According to the same BAMF page, a voluntary internship counts as regular work against the yearly limit even when it is unpaid, while internships required by the study regulations (compulsory internships) are exempt from it.
    • Confirmed: Under the first counting method, a day with up to four hours of work counts as half a working day, and a longer day counts as a full day.
    • Confirmed: Each calendar week is counted separately under whichever method is better for the student.
    • Confirmed: A separate 20-hour rule applies to working-student (Werkstudent) status in social insurance, not to the residence permit's day count. The Federal Employment Agency's student jobs page says it usually means at most 20 hours a week during the semester, and well over 20 hours a week in the semester break without losing that status.
    • Confirmed: The rule comes from the Act to Further Develop Skilled Immigration, published in the Federal Law Gazette in August 2023, which rewrote the student work section of the Residence Act.
    • Confirmed: The same law raised the side-job allowance for people in vocational training from 10 to 20 hours a week.
    • Confirmed: A Federal Foreign Office FAQ answer on working while studying still gives the old limit of 120 full or 240 half days a year.
    • Confirmed: The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees' page on internships and other options also gives 140 days a year for students from outside the EU and EEA, and says working more needs permission from the foreigners authority and the Federal Employment Agency.
    • Confirmed: A student residence permit is usually issued or extended for two years, and for at least one year.
    • Confirmed: Students must also show they can support themselves. The Residence Act ties the monthly amount to the student need set in the BAföG grant law: 475 euros plus 380 euros for housing away from parents, plus health and care insurance supplements of 102 and 35 euros.
    • Confirmed: A blocked bank account is one way to prove this. Only a set amount can be withdrawn each month, and the Foreign Office says the exact sum for each purpose of stay is on the website of the German mission abroad.
    • Source added: § 16b AufenthG - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: Au-Pair, Praktika, Freiwilligendienst & weitere Möglichkeiten (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF))
    • Source added: Jobben neben dem Studium | Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit))
    • Source added: Bundesgesetzblatt Teil I - Gesetz zur Weiterentwicklung der Fachkräfteeinwanderung - Bundesgesetzblatt (Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette))
    • Source added: https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2023/217/regelungstext.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3 (Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette))
    • Source added: https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Forschung/BerichtsreihenMigrationIntegration/MonitoringBildungsErwerbsmigration/mobemi-jahresbericht-2024.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=6 (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF))
    • Source added: Studium (Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt))
    • Source added: § 2 AufenthG - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 13 BAf�G - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 13a BAf�G - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: Opening and closing a blocked bank account (Sperrkonto) (Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt))