How much can international students work in Germany?

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Working beside your studies is allowed, but two different sets of rules apply at the same time: the residence rules, which count days, and the social insurance rules, which count hours per week. Breaking the first can cost you your residence permit.

Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.

Step by step

1. Count your days

   With a residence permit for study you may work 140 full days or 280 half days in a calendar year. A half day is up to four hours. The limit was raised from 120 full days in March 2024.

   Done

2. Know what counts

   Paid jobs and voluntary internships count, even unpaid ones. A compulsory internship that your study regulations require (Pflichtpraktikum) does not count.

   Done

3. Keep to 20 hours a week in term time

   If you work more than 20 hours a week during the lecture period, you are treated as a regular employee and no longer as a student. You then pay full social insurance contributions, and you can lose the cheap student health insurance.

   Done

4. Use the semester breaks

   During the lecture-free period you may work full time. A holiday job of no more than three months or 70 working days stays free of social insurance contributions.

   Done

5. Understand the mini-job

   In 2026 a mini-job is a job with pay of up to 603 euros a month. No tax or health insurance is deducted for you. Above that and up to 2,000 euros a month, a job is a midi-job with reduced contributions.

   Done

6. Keep a record

   Write down every day you work and keep your contracts and payslips. The immigration office can ask for them when you extend your permit.

   Done

Good to know

Do not exceed the 140 days without written permission from the immigration office and the employment agency. Working beyond the limit is a breach of your permit.

Self-employed and freelance work is not covered by the student permit. It needs separate permission from the immigration office.

The legal minimum wage applies to student jobs: 13.90 euros an hour in 2026. Compulsory internships are excepted.

If you receive BAföG, your earnings are capped. Ask the BAföG office for the current figure. Money for the visa itself is explained in blocked account for Germany 2026.

In short: 140 full or 280 half days a year, at most 20 hours a week in term time, compulsory internships free, mini-job up to 603 euros, minimum wage 13.90 euros.