Work and Study

A residence permit for the purpose of studying allows students to take on (holiday) jobs which do not exceed 120 days or 240 half-days per year, or to take on student jobs. Half and whole days can be combined.

Students may take on (holiday) jobs both during the semester and during the semester break. Working time only encompasses the days or half-days actually worked. You will be required to provide adequate documentation of your working hours. If you work half-days, you should base your working hours on the regular working hours of the other company employees. Half-days constitute no more than 4 hours a day if the the other employees regularly work an 8-hour day. The maximum number of hours constituting a half-day is five if the regular working day is 10 hours long.

For students from Bulgaria and Rumania (having joined the EU 1.1.2007) the same rules as for students from non-EU countries apply for a transitional period of maximal 7 years.

Students from all other EU-countries except Rumania and Bulgaria are allowed to work like German students: during the semester they may work up to 20 hours per week, during the holidays they are allowed to work full-time.

Students may also take on student jobs with no time-limit at the university (e.g. student helpers) or at other academic establishments. Student jobs also encompass jobs involving university-related and study-related activities in organisations connected to the university (such as tutors in the halls of residence run by the Lower Bavaria/Oberpfalz Student Union).

Internships are permitted if they form an integral component of your degree course, or are necessary for you to be able to complete your degree. You are however required to apply to the Immigration Office for permission, and to provide approprate documentation from the university. The hours you work on an internship do not count towards the hours you are permitted to work in the case of a (holiday) job.

Long-term employment (e.g. for a whole year) can count as a part-time job if the purpose of residence (studying) remains unchanged, and if this does not hinder or postpone your studies. The permission to work does not mean that the purpose of residence can be changed before your studies have been completed. The same applies to other recommended or voluntary employment described as an internship. If you wish to take up employment, you must apply to the Immigration Office for permission. If the type of employment is generally permissible (e.g. mainly academic work as a research assistant), no application is necessary, but if this is not the case, the Immigration Office must contact the employment agency in order for permission to be granted. However, the employment agency will normally only grant permission if no priority employees are available and if wages follow tariff regulations and are in line with local levels.

Further employment may also be allowed in exceptional cases if your means of subsistence can no longer be guaranteed due to circumstances beyond your control, or beyond that of your family members, and if you have so far conducted your studies conscientiously and the university can confirm that it is to be expected that you will finish your degree.

Further exceptions can be made for citizens of Andorra, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, and the USA. The regulations described above apply accordingly.