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I am a Singaporean living in Germany. I am married to my German husband. I have a residence permit, which allows me to work and live in Germany. Recently, I tried to start up my own company to sell bags online. I work with a manufacturer to do so. was told by the “Einheitlicher Ansprechpartner” Team, that I cannot set up my business, because I do not have a settlement permit and I only have a residence permit. I would like to ask for official information on this. I know that only a residence permit is needed to set up my company.

Antwort

Persons who have a residence permit for family reasons are subject to the unrestricted permission to follow a self-employed activity, i.e. they are not subject to the requirements of the residence title according to Article 21 of the Residence Act (§21 AufenthG) and they do not have to apply for their self-employed activity at the Foreigners authority (“Ausländerbehörde”). The residence title according to Article 28 Residence Act (§ 28 AufenthG / Family reunion with Germans, residence permit for family members of German citizens) entitles the holder to take up a self-employed activity without restriction (source: Netzwerk IQ). To get more details please read page 16 of the Netzwerk IQ document.

For personal advice regarding issues on visa or residence permit, do not hesitate to contact the hotline “Working and Living in Germany” under the telephone number +49 30 1815 - 1111. Counselling sessions will be provide in English or German. More on setting up a business in Germany please visit the Website "Make it in Germany"

We wish you all the best for your future plans.

* 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.
Juni 2018

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