# Relocating to Köln and have some questions



## cowboyarcher (Feb 27, 2016)

Hi All, 

My family and I are planning to relocate to Köln this fall for non-work related reasons (we plan to help a church ministry there). We are seeking information regarding visas that would allow us to work online remotely and receive income from the US. 

Also, which health insurance providers qualify for German visas? 

Thanks for any insights and God bless you all! 

Adam 


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

The short answer is, there is no such visa. An American cannot easily move to Germany and live there on the basis of income earned from working online for a US company. There are people who do this, but typically they have other reasons for legal residence in Germany - marriage to a German, or a spouse working in Germany, etc. To do this properly would also require setting up as a freelancer, paying German taxes as well as social security contributions and 100 percent of health insurance (employees normally split the cost equally with their employer). 

If this is intended as a permanent move then you have some challenges ahead of you. It's unlikely you'd get residence and work permits based on working remotely for a US company. If you were intending to go over a year or two as volunteers to work with a church, there might be some leeway. They might let you in on the basis of having sufficient savings to support yourself (in which case you could also work online but under the table and unreported, which entails some risk). You could even be honest and say you're planning to work part-time, and if you're granted a residence permit on that basis, go through all the hoops of setting yourself up with German taxes. 

If you are US citizens, you can come to Germany as tourists and you have 90 days to sort out your status with the Ausländerbehörde, though you might still want to go visit a consulate first. (If you have EU/EEA citizenship, life is much easier.) 

It's hard to answer the health insurance question because there is no visa for what you want to do. If you move permanently, you'll need German health insurance. If it's a year or two you might be able to get away with an expat/travel insurance - not the cheap stuff for vacations, but something a little better.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

cowboyarcher said:


> Hi All,
> 
> My family and I are planning to relocate to Köln this fall for non-work related reasons (we plan to help a church ministry there). We are seeking information regarding visas that would allow us to work online remotely and receive income from the US.
> 
> ...


I think there is a visa category for missionary type people, I know the church a friend attended when I was living in the US sent a family to "the former communist East Berlin" (I am not even kidding). Mormons on their 2-year stint abroad must be on some such visa, coming to think of it.

Your nearest German Embassy or Consulate and the Church that will be sponsoring you should have more information.

Working remotely for a US company could be illegal, complicated and/or costly for you as Nononymus has already explained.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

ALKB said:


> I think there is a visa category for missionary type people, I know the church a friend attended when I was living in the US sent a family to "the former communist East Berlin" (I am not even kidding). Mormons on their 2-year stint abroad must be on some such visa, coming to think of it.
> 
> Your nearest German Embassy or Consulate and the Church that will be sponsoring you should have more information.
> 
> Working remotely for a US company could be illegal, complicated and/or costly for you as Nononymus has already explained.


I'd guess that missionaries would have a similar status to academics and researchers - they are in Germany for a temporary stay, up to a few years, and they have financial support either from their home country or from the host institution in the form of stipends. To fund such an enterprise entirely by working remotely is a different matter.

That being said, remote work is difficult to detect, so if one were given a residence permit for missionary purposes, it would be quite easy to work online without the German authorities being any the wiser. Ignoring tax laws while working for a church is of course somewhat ironic.


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## cowboyarcher (Feb 27, 2016)

Thanks for the insights here folks! 

I have heard of a visa for those wanting to start a business. I was told it was something like an 18 month visa. Does anyone know anything about this? 

Also, which German health insurance providers are you all using? I've found international insurance that covers Germany, but my understanding was that I need to find a German company. 


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

cowboyarcher said:


> Thanks for the insights here folks!
> 
> I have heard of a visa for those wanting to start a business. I was told it was something like an 18 month visa. Does anyone know anything about this?
> 
> ...


Couldn't find specifics on the Köln municipality website, so this is from Berlin, should be about the same nationwide:

https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/305249/en/

Applications seem to take 1-3 months to be processed but German authorities hardly ever give target processing times and if they do, those are not binding - it takes as long as it takes (and who knows how long nowadays, as the immigration authorities are working with a skeleton staff trying to deal with the refugee crisis). You won't be able to work until the permit is granted.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

The "starting a business" visa might be something with substantial investment required, a commitment to hiring a certain number of employees, etc. If it exists, it's above my pay grade so I've never enquired.

What's linked to above is the "freelancer visa" - which has in recent years taken on mythic properties as the all-purpose tool for anyone wanting to stay in Berlin for years with no fixed plan or source of income. In any case, the freelancer visa is predicated on the idea that you are engaging in the local economy, working for local clients. That's how I'd understand the following:



> Economic interest of the state of Berlin
> A residence permit can be issued to a foreigner for practicing a self-employed occupation if there is an economic interest or a regional need.


Which is not quite the same as "I want to live in Germany while working remotely for a US company." I'm sure that a few people have pulled it off, or have shown enough local interest - offers from potential clients - to obtain the permit but then have subsequently derived most of their income offshore. What I'm suggesting is that it's not a slam-dunk, there's no guarantee. You can only show up at the Ausländerbehörde and ask nicely and hope it works out.

I don't have any specific advice on health insurance but there's a PDF available via the page linked to previously - sounds like a good place to start.


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