I am from Pakistan. I was working in Germany since one year. Now I am planning to launch a startup in Germany with my partner. I want to ask the complete procedure from starting until launching. It would be appreciated if you could help us with that.
Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in setting up a business in Germany.
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). As you are not yet living in Germany, you need to apply for a visa for the purpose of self-employed occupation at the competent German Mission in your home Country. Information on visa process is available on “Make it in Germany”: www.make-it-in-germany.com
The German mission abroad will send your visa application to the foreigner authority (Ausländerbehörde) at your future place of residence in Germany. This process normally takes two to four months.
Please note that there a several criteria which need to be fulfilled in order to obtain the residence permit for the purpose of self-employment. This depends on whether you 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. Here you will find out more about the two different ways of setting up a business: www.make-it-in-germany.com
For further questions regarding the visa process please contact the German Mission in your country of residence - especially for questions concerning the required documents. You will find the local contact here: www.make-it-in-germany.com
You normally have to pay a fee when you apply for a visa / a residence permit. The fee amount depends on your location, the duration and the purpose of your stay. A residence permit will cost you a maximum of 140 Euros - as a rule, the fee for visas is 60 Euros. Please ask your competent foreigner authority or mission about the fees you need to expect.
Once you are in Germany: 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). Furthermore the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Berlin (also available in English) provides detailed information on setting up a business in Berlin (www.ihk-berlin.de). Step by step information regarding setting up a business in Germany is available on the website "Make it in Germany": www.make-it-in-germany.com
Keep in mind, as you are operating in Germany, knowledge of German never hurts. 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 wish you all the best.
* Please note:
The information presented here is a general service offering. Only the German missions and the foreigner 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.
November 2016
