My 24-year-old daughter, a US citizen, is in Berlin right now, hoping to qualify for a visa so that she can stay until August 1st. (Her boyfriend is there until then, as a student.) Without a visa, she must leave on Jan. 18, 90 days after her entry date, then cannot return until another 90 days have passed. She tried looking for an au pair job but learned that the rule is that the au pair must be live-in, for the job to qualify for a visa. She was only interested in an au pair position if she could live on her own, going to the family's home each day for her assigned hours. Her appointment for a visa is next week so she is scrambling to put a plan together with all necessary documentation. She can obtain a visa for German language study, so she signed up for a 4 week course that starts on Jan. 6. However, it appears to me that a German language study visa will only be for the duration of the course. So that will only give her two extra weeks. Enrolling for six months of this language school would be too costly for her. In the course of her interviews for au pair work, she found two families who are interested in hiring her to give piano lessons to their children, if she gets a visa and can stay in Berlin. One of them has indicated that she can probably help her network with other families for more piano lesson jobs. My daughter has both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in music performance from universities in the US. She has prior experience teaching piano while getting her masters degree. She has become aware of a visa commonly referred to as an artist's visa, sometimes referred to as a freelancer's visa or self-employment visa. If she purchases German health insurance and can show that she has sufficient funds in a bank here at home to support herself for the duration of her intended stay, and furnishes a copy of her degree and her resume and letters of intent from the two families, is it possible she might qualify to get a visa for self-employment in Germany as a piano teacher? Is anyone familiar with this visa and whether this type of freelancing/self-employment might qualify?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23548 posts
You are asking extremely technical questions concern visas which should only be answer by someone in authority. I doubt if anyone on this site has that knowledge. She really needs to be prepared to leave on Jan 17th. If she over stays the Schengen zone visa, it can causes problems for any future visa. I would get a refund for the four week course. Is boyfriend US or German?
You might want to look at this web site
http://www.bbk-berlin.de/con/bbk/front_content.php?idart=1954&idartlang=2136&idcat=145&changelang=5
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"furnishes a copy of her degree and her resume and letters of intent from the two families, is it possible she might qualify to get a visa for self-employment in Germany as a piano teacher?"
Partial answer to one of your many questions. She would need to apply for recognition of "academic equivalence". If her time is up on 18 January, though, I think this option will be a dead end. These kind of applications generally take several months to process, and even at the end, she may not qualify if there's a substantial difference in the academic requirements between the US and Germany in her field. For something like music education, however, I doubt they would be as stringent as they would for, say, medicine or engineering. Still, it's probably too late in the game to expect a favorable outcome, but good luck.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"she found two families who are interested in hiring her to give piano lessons to their children, if she gets a visa and can stay in Berlin. One of them has indicated that she can probably help her network with other families for more piano lesson jobs."
Also, I'm not certain how it works for private employment, but in general, if a business wants to hire a potential employee who does not hold a passport subjected to the labor agreements of the Schengen Treaty (which covers more countries than the more well-known travel zone), they must apply in writing to the government on why they need to hire this particular individual for a job that could be performed by someone from the Schengen Labor Zone. The onus is on the potential employer, not the potential employee. If the justification is "cheaper wages" or "worker wants to stay here", the application will be denied. And once again, if her deadline falls on 18 January, it's probably too late by now.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23548 posts
Tom, think the artist visa is for performing or practicing (good word?) artists. I would think she might have a shot at that but time is not on her side.
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
I have no idea about the legalities, but I have a few suggestions of where to knock on doors looking for jobs. I assume she's already done this if she's interested in music, but on the chance she hasn't........ Has she contacted the international schools in Berlin and surrounding towns? There's a handful from kindergarten (Waldorf style) through high school. Maybe they need an assistant music teacher that isn't advertised, who knows, it's worth a try. Also, many villages have their own music schools, Musikschule, which may need a teacher in whatever instruments she plays. Again, look at the ones where the international families live so there would be a need for an English speaking teacher (and whatever other languages she speaks).
Good luck!
Posted by
San Francisco
14770 posts
Hi,
One of these international schools in the greater Berlin area is located in Kleinmachnow, near Potsdam. A US friend of mine looked into that school two years ago because he wanted to teach History in the school's IB program.
Posted by
OP
Wisconsin
465 posts
I'm posting an update. My daughter's visa appointment was today. She took in copies of her degrees, contracts to teach four piano students, a bank statement from home, proof that she is covered under a US health ins. policy for emergencies. She knew this insurance wouldn't be adequate, but wanted to get a sense of whether this artist's visa is going to be granted before she incurs the expense of a German insurance policy. The appointment went very well. She was told she just needs to get the insurance now. Her tourist visa expires on Jan. 18 but today was extended until March 9, and they gave her a return appt. date of Jan. 27 to come back and show that the insurance is in place, and it appears that she'll then get the artist's visa.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33457 posts
that's very good news...