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I am working as a self-employee in India and I am planning to start working as a freelancer in Germany. I am looking for someone, who can help me to solve the mandatory requirements.

Antwort

Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in setting up a business in Germany. We will gladly give you more information.
Regarding your residential status:
In order to set up a business in Germany you will need a residence permit for the purpose of self-employment (“Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Ausübung einer selbständigen Tätigkeit”). Therefore you will need to apply for a visa for the purpose of self-employed occupation (http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/for-qualified-professionals/working/setting-up-a-business-in-germany/visa-for-self-employment#general-information-on-the-visa-process-for-citizens-of-other-states) at the competent German Mission in your country of residence. The German mission abroad will send your visa application to the Foreigners’ authority (“Ausländerbehörde”) at your future place of residence in Germany. Please note, that this process normally takes two to four months. On the basis of the outcome, the German mission abroad will decide whether it can grant an entry visa for the occupation you would like to pursue. The entry visa is usually valid for a period of three months, and once you are in Germany, it will need to be converted into a term Residence permit by the Foreigners’ authority. Generally, there a several criteria, which need to be fulfilled in order to obtain the residence permit for the purpose of self-employment. On “Make it in Germany” you will find a list of documents, you will normally need in the process (http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/for-qualified-professionals/working/setting-up-a-business-in-germany/visa-for-self-employment#requirements-for-citizens-of-other-states-wishing-to-set-up-a-freelance-business). As this list is not exhaustive or universal, we strongly recommend you to get in touch with your competent mission. You can for example fill out this form and contact the Visa and Consular Section in New Delhi: https://india.diplo.de/Vertretung/indien/en/01__Embassy/Visa__Consular/Contact__Visa.html

To get first personal advice on visa issues you can also contact the hotline “Working and Living in Germany” under the telephone number +49 30 1815 - 1111. Counseling sessions will be provide in English or German.

We wish you all the best for your new business.

* Please note:
The information presented here is a general service offering. Only the German missions and the foreigners’ authorities are responsible for the issuance of visa resp. residence permits. For further questions, please contact directly the respective authority.

Source: Justina Alichniewicz
Projekt „Make it in Germany“
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e.V.
April 2018

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