Minijob and income

Hi @gch86  ,

regardless of your EU citizenship and student status, as long as you are allowed to work, you can have more than one minijob simultaneously. However, the current regulations around minijob are as follows:

1. If you have a main job („Hauptbeschäftigung“ or „Hauptjob“, where you earn more than 538 Euros monthly and you work for more than three months or 70 working days in a calendar year), you are allowed to have only one minijob on side. 

https://handbookgermany.de/en/minijob#faq_607

2. If you don’t have a main job, in theory you are allowed to have multiple minijobs, as long as the total income doesn’t exceed 538 € monthly (minijob income limit as of 2024). If your income from multiple minijobs is more than 538€, all of the jobs would not be counted as minijobs, which means that you will need to make social security contributions and pay taxes like regular jobs.

https://handbookgermany.de/en/minijob#faq_612

 

This is the official informational website around the topic of minijob. Some information is also available in English. The page about having multiple minijobs is unfortunately only in German but a translator app or browser tool might help: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/die-minijobs/mehrere-jobs/mehrere-jobs_node.html

 

And now to your second question about the limit of working hours for students: The 20 hours per week limit applies to everyone who studies full-time („Vollzeitstudium“), regardless of EU citizenship. The status as a full time student impacts the health insurance, tax/social security contributions for jobs and BAföG. There are exceptions when working during the semester break or evening/nights, which you can read more here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/student-jobs#faq_1242

 

This exception aside, if you work more than 20 hours per week, you will be classified as a regular employee, meaning you and your employer will need to make social security and health insurance contributions.

 

Now to your last question: there is no exception for jobs in the university regarding the 20 hours limit.

 

I understand that it’s important for you to be able to support your family. What could be helpful for you is the option of receiving BAföG. As a full time student, you might be eligible to receive it. You can also work on side as a recipient. If you earn no more than approx. 520 Euro monthly (as of now, the limit will increase to 556€ from the coming winter semester), this will not impact the amount of BAföG you receive. Here more information on BAföG: https://handbookgermany.de/en/bafoeg

 

I don’t know in which city/region you live, but you can check out the local student services organisation („Studierendenwerk“) or your university to get more information about BAföG application and even get a counselling if needed. Here is the info site of the student services organisation of Berlin about BAföG: https://www.stw.berlin/en/finanzierung/baf%C3%B6g-faq/

 

I will leave you with the link with general information on student financing: https://handbookgermany.de/en/student-finance

 

Let us know if you have any further questions and I hope you can figure out good options for you and your family.

 

Best wishes

Seoyoung