I am a freelance independent consultant in the area of international development. I recently moved my residence to Germany following my German wife, who works here. I would kindly ask, what are the requirements of establishing a small personal consulting firm in order to be able to be contracted by German public and private entities.
Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in setting up a business in Germany. As you are accompanying your wife to Germany (a German citizen) you are entitled an unrestricted right to take up an employment. This means that you have full labour market access.
In Germany there are two ways of setting up a business: you can either work as a freelancer (“Freiberufler”) (www.make-it-in-germany.com) or set up a business as a self-employed entrepreneur (“Gewerbe”) (www.make-it-in-germany.com). Being self-employed or a freelancer makes a difference with regard to certain formalities and also has an impact in your company’s legal structure. Your local tax office will decide whether your profession is considered “freiberuflich” or “gewerblich”, once you register your business at the latest four weeks after you started your activities. Here you will find out more about the two different ways of setting up a business: www.make-it-in-germany.com
More step by step information regarding setting up a business in Germany are available on the website "Make it in Germany": www.make-it-in-germany.com
Besides, there are many public information centres which will advise you as you set up your own business. On the Startup Portal, under “advice and information”, you will find the contact information of regional and national information centres for entrepreneurs with a migrant background (www.existenzgruender.de). A general contact list is available on the Startup Portal (www.existenzgruender.de). Similarly, the Authority Finder will also tell you about your nearest information centre: www.existenzgruender.de
Keep in mind, that for setting up your own business, a ground knowledge of German is very important. Even as you prepare your business, you will find that many official documents are available in German only. If your German isn’t good enough yet, you should make sure to take a language course before you set up your business. Some advanced courses have a special focus on the business world: www.make-it-in-germany.com
We hope you will find the information on “Make it in Germany” helpful.
We wish you all the best.
Source: Justina Alichniewicz
Projekt „Make it in Germany“
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e.V.
September 2016
