Refugees from Ukraine can work in companies in Germany—but they are also allowed to start their own business as well as work as freelancers. The prerequisite is that they have a residence permit in accordance with §24 of the Residence Act and that this document contains the entry “Gainful employment permitted”. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Those who were previously registered with the Job Center and want to become self-employed can seek advice there, according to the Federal Employment Agency. Consider future self-employed should that it must pay in most cases even for its health insurance. In some cases, contributions to professional pension funds are also due.
You can become self-employed in Germany as a tradesman or freelancer. Retailers or real estate agents, for example, are considered to be tradespeople. Anyone wishing to work as a freelancer in Germany can do so in a whole range of professions. By definition, the “liberal professions” mainly comprise activities that require special academic training: These include lawyers, tax advisors, doctors, architects, engineers and tax consultants. Like some others, they are considered so-called catalog professions because they are defined accordingly in tax law. However, their training must be recognized in Germany. Many freelance activities are considered to be “liberal professions” subject to the obligation to register with a chamber of commerce. They require registration with the relevant professional or registration chamber. This applies to professions that require prior recognition of diplomas, such as doctors, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, notaries, lawyers, patent attorneys, tax consultants, auditors, architects and consulting engineers. The responsible chamber can be found in the Behördenwegweiser.
In addition, there is a long list of so-called activity professions and similar professions that can also be practiced on a freelance basis. These include musicians, writers, journalists, designers, but also biologists and midwives. An overview can be found on a page of the Federal Ministry of Economics:
https://www.existenzgruender.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Checklisten-Uebersichten/Gruendungswege/03_uebersicht-liste-aehnichen-Berufe-Taetigkeiten.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
The first decision as to whether your activity is a freelance activity is made by the tax office. The responsible tax office can be found on the page Behördenwegweiser. If you wish to register as a freelancer, you must submit an application there. Taxes must then be paid later on the profits.
If you work as a freelancer, you must ensure that you are not classified as a bogus self-employed person from the point of view of social security. In Germany, this is considered illegal employment. Solo self-employed workers who mainly work for a client and are closely integrated into the processes of this company are particularly at risk.
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Landratsamt Tübingen Unterkünfte. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
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