Study and internship
If you want to gain practical knowledge alongside your studies, an internship is the ideal opportunity. Your internship may be a compulsory period of practical training prescribed by the university or it may be voluntary.
This distinction plays an important role in BAföG, social insurance and minimum wage, but not in child benefit. Another decisive factor is when you complete the internship.
Internship and BAföG
Some internships are eligible for BAföG funding, others are not. Your earnings will always be deducted in full from your BAföG benefits if you complete your internship during an approval period. Sometimes you can claim increased advertising costs from the BAföG office if, for example, you have to travel a long way to the internship site by car.
Insurance
You are generally obliged to take out your own health insurance - either as an insured family member through your parents or at a reduced rate for students.
For some internships, your employer will pay additional social insurance contributions. Only voluntary internships are always deducted from the amount of gainful employment permitted for students.
Internship before your studies
If you are doing a compulsory internship that is a prerequisite for starting your studies, you can already receive BAföG benefits.
Because it is a compulsory internship, you are not entitled to minimum wage. The internship company pays contributions to pension insurance and unemployment insurance. You only share the contributions with the employer if you earn more.
Voluntary internship
If you do the internship voluntarily before your studies, you are not entitled to BAföG benefits.
You can only receive minimum wage if the duration of the internship exceeds 3 months or if you have already completed such an internship with this employer before. However, you are entitled to appropriate remuneration.
If you earn more than 520 euros per month, you will be subject to all social security contributions as an employee and share the contributions with the internship company. If you earn less, the employer will pay a lump sum for health, long-term care and pension insurance.
Internship during your studies
You are not entitled to minimum wage for a compulsory internship during your studies. The internship company pays contributions to pension insurance and unemployment insurance. You only share the contributions with the employer if your earnings are higher. Your earnings will be deducted from any BAföG benefits you receive.
Voluntary internship
If your internship during your studies is voluntary, it will not affect your basic BAföG entitlement if you complete it during the semester break or part-time.
You can only receive minimum wage if the duration of the internship exceeds 3 months or if you have already completed such an internship with this employer before. However, you are entitled to appropriate remuneration.
Social insurance
You are exempt from social insurance contributions if the requirements for marginal employment are met.
Voluntary internships are also exempt from social security contributions if they appear to be useful for the success of your studies and you are paid less than 450 euros. However, this must be for the first degree you are aiming for; a subsequent doctorate no longer counts. Otherwise, the employer pays flat-rate contributions to health and long-term care insurance.
If you do not receive a salary or are only employed on a short-term basis, you are also exempt from pension insurance contributions. The employer only pays flat-rate contributions if you earn up to 520 euros.
Only if you earn more than this will you be subject to compulsory insurance as an employee. As a student, you are always exempt from unemployment insurance.
Interrupting your studies for an internship
If the regulations of your university allow it, you can take a semester off for your voluntary internship. During this time, you will generally not receive BAföG and the semester will not count towards your standard period of study.
If you interrupt your studies without taking a leave of absence, you will lose the basic eligibility for funding for this period and the unused semester will be counted towards the standard period of study.
If you want to do your voluntary internship abroad, you should first find out what your BAföG office will do. The legislation on this is unclear and some federal states cancel the benefit during this period.
However, if you were on leave of absence from your university to spend a semester abroad, you can receive domestic BAföG for a subsequent internship abroad, but only during the last two months before you continue your studies in Germany.
Internship after graduation
If you have to do practical work after completing your degree in order for it to be recognized by the state, you are considered a normal employee and pay into all social insurance schemes accordingly. There is no entitlement to BAföG.
The same applies if you complete a voluntary internship after graduation. If it is short-term employment, you are exempt from insurance regardless of your earnings.
The employer also does not have to pay any flat-rate contributions. You must take out your own health insurance.
Internship for students from abroad
The general rules for internships with regard to wages and social insurance also apply to foreign students.
Students at a foreign university
If you are a student at a foreign university, you may come to Germany for an internship if you have already studied for at least 4 semesters and the internship is directly related to your studies.
It does not matter whether the internship is compulsory or voluntary.
Your internship counts as regular work - even if it is unpaid. You therefore need a student work permit from the ZAV. This is a prerequisite for your visa and your appropriate residence permit, which permits gainful employment.
Under certain conditions, an internship does not count as gainful employment if its duration is less than 3 months within a one-year period. You can find out from the Federal Foreign Office which internships are subject to these restrictions.
Your internship requires the approval of the Federal Employment Agency if it lasts longer than 3 months. The application for approval is usually submitted by your internship company.
Internships of up to one year as part of an international exchange programme of associations and public institutions as well as government internships financed by German public funds, EU funds or international intergovernmental organizations do not require approval.
Subject-related internships for foreign students may last up to 12 months. These 12 months do not have to be completed in one go, but can be split up and spread over the entire duration of studies. A corresponding application must be submitted for each new internship.
Students at a German university
If you are a student at a German university, a voluntary internship will be deducted from your work credit (120 full or 240 half days per year). If this has already been used up, you must obtain the approval of the Foreigners' Registration Office for an internship. Compulsory internships are not taken into account.
Please contact your local immigration authority in good time if you are planning an internship after your studies. In this case, you will need to change your residence permit.