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- Minimum income
- No fixed floor
- Initial duration
- 3 years
- Renewable
- Health insurance
- Required (explicit)
- Full visa period
- Tax treatment
- Standard resident taxation
- Path to residence
- Yes
- Family can join
- Government fee
- ≈ €100
All requirements in detail
- Official name
- Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Ausübung einer freiberuflichen Tätigkeit (§21 (5) AufenthG)
- Visa type
- Freelance / self-employed visa
- Status
- Active
- Income basis
- Freelance income
- Proof of funds
- Required
- Family surcharges
- No fixed figure published; the local Ausländerbehörde assesses sufficient means case-by-case.
- Working for local clients
- Allowed
- Path to citizenship
- Yes
- Where to apply
- Embassy / consulate, In country
- Processing time
- —
- Tax residency trigger
- 183 days
Insurance requirement, verbatim intent: Proof of health insurance is required for the permit; statutory (GKV) or private (PKV) cover applies after entry. No minimum sum published centrally.
Tax notes: Unlimited tax liability arises from a residence (§8 AO) or habitual abode (§9 AO); an unbroken stay over six months is generally habitual abode. Worldwide income at standard progressive rates; no special nomad regime.
Insurance requirement
Insurance that meets the Germany Freelance requirements
Required (explicit), for: full visa period. These plans match the published requirement:
Feather Expat Health Insurance (incoming insurance, Newcomer plans Basic/Premium)
Likely qualifyingFeather Insurance (Popsure Deutschland GmbH, Berlin-based digital broker) · Incoming insurance (Germany)
Purpose-built German incoming/expat health insurance issuing German-embassy visa-compliance documents, matching the §21(5) permit's proof-of-health-insurance requirement.
- Flat community pricing independent of health history: EUR 72/month Basic and EUR 134/month Premium for ages 18-64 (higher band 65-74)
- Issues instant confirmation-of-coverage and visa-compliance documents (incl. Anlage 6 style letters) tailored to German embassies and immigration offices; insurer states it meets the EUR 30,000 Schengen visitor-visa coverage requirement
- Covers trips throughout the EU/Schengen area for up to 90 days, plus up to 6 weeks per year in the insured's home country after 12 months on the policy
from €72 /mo
View plans (opens in a new tab)Care Concept AG (Bonn, Germany) · Long-stay travel insurance
German long-stay expat health product recognised by German authorities, fitting the permit's health-insurance proof.
- Contract terms from 3 months up to 5 years; max entry age 74 (Care Expatriate); Germans/Austrians abroad can re-extend repeatedly until their 74th birthday
- Home-country visits insured: 30 (Basic) / 45 (Comfort) / 90 (Premium) days per insurance year
- Official insurer FAQ states products generally meet Schengen visa requirements; instant online confirmation issued at booking and products are recognized by German authorities (>EUR 30,000 coverage)
from €58 /mo
View plans (opens in a new tab)Cigna Global Health Options – International Health Plans (Silver / Gold / Platinum)
Needs verificationCigna Healthcare (Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited) · International health insurance
Full international health plan usable as private cover, but acceptance vs statutory GKV/PKV is not confirmed.
- Three core tiers with annual maximums of $1M/€800k (Silver), $2M/€1.6M (Gold) and paid-in-full with no overall cap (Platinum)
- No upper enrollment age (18+); insurer states it does not terminate policies based on age
- Modular design: outpatient, evacuation & crisis assistance, health & wellbeing, vision & dental can be added; deductibles ($0-$10,000) and cost shares (0-30%) reduce the premium
from — /mo
View plans (opens in a new tab)Beyond the visa
Germany — the rest of the move
The visa is step one. Here is the rest of what it takes to live here — each researched and sourced.
Sources
- Government Visa for freelance business — Make it in Germany (Federal Government) (opens in a new tab) accessed 2026-06-15
- Government Visa for self-employed business — Make it in Germany (fees, health insurance) (opens in a new tab) accessed 2026-06-15
- Official gazette Residence Act (AufenthG) §21 — official English translation (opens in a new tab) accessed 2026-06-15