Part-Time Jobs in Germany for International Students: 2026 Rules, Pay & Tax

  • Last Updated on: November 2, 2026 by
  • Swapna Kanchikacherla
Part-Time Jobs in Germany
Part-Time Jobs in Germany

Yes, you can work while you study in Germany: a non-EU student permit allows 140 full days or 280 half days of work a year, at a minimum wage of EUR 13.90 an hour in 2026. On part time jobs in Germany for international students, 20 hours a week at that rate is about EUR 1,204 a month gross, or at least about EUR 1,092 after pension. A student assistant job at your university doesn’t use those days: aim for one, though you may need a Minijob first. Parents: job income doesn’t count as proof of funds for the visa, which needs EUR 11,904 in a blocked account, a sponsor living in Germany, or a scholarship.

Written by
Swapna Kanchikacherla
Head of European Desk
Specialises in Germany and France student admissions and visa documentation, with a focus on Campus France, APS, blocked-account and proof-of-funds files.
9 Years, 1100 Visas
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Non-EU students can work 140 full or 280 half days a year; a term week of up to 20 hours, or any break week, counts as no more than 2.5 days.
  • University HiWi jobs don’t use those days; Studienkolleg students, once accepted, get the same 140 days.
  • A 20-hour Werkstudent week at the 2026 minimum wage: EUR 1,204 gross (about INR 1.28 lakh), at least about EUR 1,092 (about INR 1,16,541) after pension.
  • A Minijob pays up to EUR 603 a month (about INR 64,366), or about EUR 581 (about INR 62,049) after the pension share at a business.
  • The first visa needs EUR 11,904 (about INR 12.71 lakh) in a blocked account, a sponsor in Germany or a scholarship, not job income.
Table of Contents
Part-Time Work Rules for International Students in Germany: 140 Days a Year Scroll here ↓ Types of Student Jobs in Germany: HiWi, Werkstudent, Minijob and Internships Scroll here ↓ Part-Time Job Pay in Germany: Minimum Wage and Hourly Rates by Job Scroll here ↓ Tax, Tax ID and Social Insurance on a Student Job Scroll here ↓ How to Find a Part-Time Job in Germany and What You Need to Start Scroll here ↓ What a Part-Time Job Covers: Monthly Earnings vs Your Blocked Account Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Part-Time Work Rules for International Students in Germany: 140 Days a Year

In 2026, non-EU students in Germany may work 140 full days or 280 half days a year under Section 16b of the Residence Act, the law behind the student permit. A day of up to four hours counts as half. All employment except student jobs at a university uses this 140-day allowance, so plan around it.

There’s an easier way to count your 140 days. Instead of counting each day you worked, you can count a whole calendar week as 2.5 days. That works in the lecture period if you work 20 hours or less that week, and in any break week, however the hours are spread. Each week, whichever count uses fewer days applies, so 20 hours every week of the year stays inside 140 days.

  • “20 hours a week” isn’t a second visa limit. It’s one way to count a week; Werkstudent insurance has a separate 20-hour rule.
  • HiWi jobs at your university don’t use your days, but tell the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners office).
  • If you’ve been accepted to a Studienkolleg (a course that prepares you for a German bachelor’s), you get the same 140 days. So do students on a language course that prepares for university.
  • A language course not leading to study comes on a different permit allowing up to 20 hours of work a week (Residence Act, Section 16f).
  • Self-employment needs the foreigners office’s approval first.
  • Students from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have no limit.

Need more than 140 days? That takes permission from the Agentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) and the foreigners office, granted only for special financial need, the DAAD says. Breaking these rules can get you deported, so log every day you work.

Types of Student Jobs in Germany: HiWi, Werkstudent, Minijob and Internships

Check your contract’s job type against this table.

Job typeEffect on your 140 daysLimit that defines itWhat you pay or must do
HiWi (student assistant at your university)Doesn’t use themNo day limitTell the foreigners office
Werkstudent (working student at a company)Uses themUp to 20 hours a week in termPension contributions only, at a lower share on pay up to EUR 2,000 a month (about INR 2,13,486)
MinijobUses themUp to EUR 603 a month (about INR 64,366)3.6% pension share at a business, unless you opt out with a written or electronic request
MidijobUses themEUR 603.01 to 2,000 a month (about INR 64,367 to 2,13,486)Lower employee share than on a standard contract
Short-term jobUses them3 months or 70 working days, no earnings capSet the time limit in the contract from the start
Pflichtpraktikum (internship your course requires)Part of your studiesRequired by your university’s rulesCheck the pay: minimum wage does not apply
Self-employment or freelancingNeeds approval firstForeigners office decidesShow it won’t hinder or delay your studies

All INR conversions use the live Google-published rate captured on 2026-10-16: €1 ≈ ₹106.74. Rates fluctuate intraday; figures are indicative.

Aim for a HiWi, which doesn’t use your 140 days, but be ready to start with a Minijob. Common job fields:

  • Cafés, restaurants and bars: waiting tables, usually on evening or weekend shifts.
  • Tutoring and babysitting.
  • Offices, shops and delivery: admin, shop and courier work.
  • Trade fairs: service staff at exhibitions, often paid somewhat above the minimum wage.
  • Call centres: German-language lines usually need stronger German.

Part-Time Job Pay in Germany: Minimum Wage and Hourly Rates by Job

Germany’s legal minimum wage (Mindestlohn) has been EUR 13.90 an hour (about INR 1,484) since 1 January 2026, rising to EUR 14.60 (about INR 1,558) on 1 January 2027. Both are gross rates, so an hourly offer below the current one is a red flag, unless it’s a mandatory internship.

The Minijob ceiling rises to EUR 633 a month from 2027.

At universities following the TdL guidelines (pay rules the German states set for university assistants), a student assistant earns at least EUR 15.20 an hour from summer semester 2026, rising to EUR 15.90 from summer semester 2027. If you already hold a bachelor’s, the rate can go up to EUR 15.81. Typical off-campus rates:

  • Werkstudent roles: typically EUR 14 to 20 an hour, more in IT and software.
  • Private tutoring: commonly EUR 15 to 25 an hour, depending on the subject.
  • Cafés, delivery and shops: usually at or a little above the minimum wage, plus tips in hospitality and delivery.

Wages usually run higher in Munich or Hamburg, but so does the cost of living. Between a HiWi and a café shift, the HiWi usually wins: higher base pay and no days used.

Tax, Tax ID and Social Insurance on a Student Job

Being a student doesn’t exempt you from tax; staying under the yearly allowance does. For the 2026 tax year, the Grundfreibetrag (basic tax-free allowance) is EUR 12,348 (about INR 13.18 lakh) of taxable income, taxed at zero. Tax can still be withheld from your pay, so:

  • Give your employer your tax ID (Steuer-ID, your personal tax number). If you don’t and it’s your fault, the employer must use tax class VI, the class that takes the most tax from each payslip.
  • Claim withheld tax back by filing an income tax return.
  • On a Minijob, your employer either taxes your pay at a flat 2% or deducts wage tax by your tax class.

Social insurance has its own 20-hour rule. A Werkstudent (an enrolled student working for a company) pays no health, long-term care or unemployment contributions at 20 hours a week or less. You can go over 20 hours for up to 26 weeks a year, as long as the extra hours fall mainly in evenings, nights, weekends or your university’s official semester breaks.

  • Pension applies anyway: the 2026 rate is 18.6%, split half and half, so you pay 9.3% in 2026 on a standard contract. In the Midijob band, your share is lower than 9.3%.
  • Health insurance is your own monthly bill, owed whether or not you work: EUR 141.16 to 146.29 at TK in 2026, depending on your age (no children); other insurers charge a different add-on, so check yours.

How to Find a Part-Time Job in Germany and What You Need to Start

Where to look:

  1. Ask your institute’s office about student assistant vacancies and watch the notice boards; larger universities also post jobs at student services. Don’t count on a HiWi in your first months: students we’ve supported at TUM and RWTH Aachen typically landed their first one in semester two.
  2. Check the Agentur für Arbeit, whose regional offices often run a student job exchange.
  3. Search Indeed, StepStone and LinkedIn, where students commonly look, and filter for “Werkstudent” or “Minijob”.

Off-campus jobs that deal with customers usually want basic German, around B1 (intermediate). Any job also adds experience to your CV.

From our counselling desk: In our 2025 Germany cohort, Indian students who landed English-language Werkstudent roles typically had a hard skill such as Python, SQL, CAD or SAP. Hospitality and retail jobs almost always asked for B1 German.

Once you have an offer:

  1. Register your address (Anmeldung) within two weeks of moving into a flat, not of arriving.
  2. Give your employer your tax ID and date of birth. If the ID is missing through no fault of yours, the employer must use your expected tax class for up to three months.
  3. Hand over the documents employers usually want: residence permit, enrolment certificate, tax ID and bank details.
  • Get the contract in writing, and never take cash-in-hand work without one.
  • Paid leave: at least 24 working days a year, counted on a six-day week (every day except Sundays and public holidays).
  • Sick pay: up to six weeks for illness that isn’t your fault, once the job has lasted four weeks. For free help with job problems, contact Faire Integration.

What a Part-Time Job Covers: Monthly Earnings vs Your Blocked Account

For part time jobs in Germany for international students at the 2026 minimum wage, a Werkstudent job and a Minijob leave you this much each month:

Each monthWerkstudent, 20 hours a weekMinijob at a business
Gross payAbout EUR 1,204 (about INR 1,28,491): 20 h x 4.33 weeks x EUR 13.90EUR 603 (about INR 64,366)
Pension shareUp to EUR 112 (about INR 11,950): at most 9.3%, less in the Midijob bandAbout EUR 22 (about INR 2,317): 3.6% unless you opt out
Pay after pension, before wage taxAt least about EUR 1,092 (about INR 1,16,541)About EUR 581 (about INR 62,049)
Health insurance (TK 2026, under 23 / from 23, no children)EUR 141.16 or 146.29 (about INR 15,068 or 15,615) in both cases
Left after health insuranceAbout EUR 946 to 951 (about INR 1,00,948 to 1,01,495)About EUR 435 to 440 (about INR 46,433 to 46,981)
Blocked account’s monthly releaseEUR 992 (about INR 1,05,889)

Withheld wage tax comes back through a tax return if your year’s taxable income stays under the tax-free allowance. Don’t plan on 20 hours every week, though: exam weeks rarely allow it. Funding all your living costs from side jobs is virtually impossible, the DAAD says.

For the first visa, the German Missions’ checklist accepts three routes, not job income:

  • A Sperrkonto (blocked account): a German account that lets you withdraw at most EUR 992 a month, holding EUR 11,904 for the first year.
  • A Verpflichtungserklärung (formal obligation letter) from a sponsor residing in Germany, made at their local immigration office.
  • A German or EU scholarship covering EUR 992 a month, under the Missions’ visa FAQs; a tuition-only award still needs one of the other two.

Parental income isn’t on that list, and the Indian affidavit of support isn’t accepted. An education loan can help pay, but the visa still needs one of these three routes, plus the loan papers.

When you renew your permit in Germany, a working student at a company can generally be their own guarantor, says Make it in Germany. You must show at least EUR 992 a month at your disposal from the job (2026). Check with your foreigners office first.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The 140-day allowance comes with your student permit. Register your address within two weeks of moving in. If your tax ID is still missing through no fault of yours, your employer must use your expected tax class for up to three months.

Yes, within limits. For the visa, any week outside the lecture period counts as no more than 2.5 days off your 140 days, however you spread the hours. For insurance, a Werkstudent can go above 20 hours for up to 26 weeks a year, mainly in evenings, weekends or breaks. Working-time law still caps a normal day at eight hours.

Tutoring and IT Werkstudent roles usually pay most. Werkstudent roles typically pay EUR 14 to 20 an hour (about INR 1,494 to 2,135). Private tutoring commonly pays EUR 15 to 25 (about INR 1,601 to 2,669). On campus, student assistants at universities following the TdL guidelines earn at least EUR 15.20 an hour (about INR 1,622).

Yes. German-university graduates get a job-search permit for up to 18 months if they can support themselves. If your degree is under three years old, a job paying at least EUR 45,934.20 a year (about INR 49.03 lakh) can lead to an EU Blue Card. Both are post-study work visa routes.

Not for every job. Basic German, around B1 (intermediate), usually opens most off-campus jobs that deal with customers. English-only roles exist mainly in big cities, on campus and in tech, so campus jobs and tech Werkstudent roles are the likeliest part time jobs in Germany for Indian students who speak only English.

Ardent Overseas has offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati and helps Indian students with university selection, applications, financial assistance and student visas for Germany. Our director, Kongara Sridhar, has more than 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting and student visa guidance.

Sources

Official sources first: German law, the federal portals, the DAAD and the labour ministry, then insurers and the pension fund.

Show 26 more sources

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