Searching for Visa / Freelancer Advice.

You posted another message with largely the same content, and I replied there.
In addition, I can give my personal opinion about your proposed "solutions":
- Since studies are designed to be full-time here, it is not realistic to expect to earn your entire living expenses at the side. That's why you need to show sufficient finances to get a student visa.
- Freelancers can only earn more than employees, if they are better AND work more/harder. In addition, you need connections in your field to find clients/customers. On top of that, you need sufficient finances to cover the initial period until the business becomes profitable (typically 6 - 24 months). Do you have them?
- Yes, marrying for a visa is unromantic and morally doubtful, but I see that as your only realistic option.

Sounds difficult. Like you have found out, the pay for such things is not great and the demand too low to get a work visa. Working freelance really depends on the kind of work one does. And this is in the context that freelancing means working for various clients and not say exclusively for one. This is ruled out to keep companies under-paying people and getting around their contribution to the health care, vacations etc. which would be due an employee. I have no personal knowledge about sports therapy but would imagine that most positions are on a regular basis for a sports team or through a practice offering physical therapy – and not free-lance. Theoretically you could maybe ground your own physical therapy business but this would probably be a huge undertaking, renting an office, and getting office personnel plus all of the machinery and supplies needed, having insurance tec. And not being a native speaker… sounds far-fetched. Maybe freelancing as a personal trainer would be simpler, going to people’s homes or maybe in connection with a fitness studio where you would get referrals and private clients but not be hired by the place directly.

And you would have to check the details of any Master’s program but nearly all subjects will be using German as the language of instruction and usually require a C1 level, which is really difficult. You write that you are ona B2/C1 level but one wonders after 2 years... One hears that there are occasionally programs with English instruction but these are nearly always at private universities meaning tuition of well over 10,000 Euros a year - rather than public universities that are generally free. And like Beppi mentioned, one cannot really work enough to finance their studies and you would be expected to have 8000+ Euros available to pay your way.

I’m sure getting married is a personal matter but in your position it REALLY sounds like the best option; one many would love to have. And if you feel it is the right partner for the long term then why not? You seem to be grasping at straws to find a work around when you have the solution in hand. And even if you would get a permit to free-lance it would be a limited visa for 6 to 24 months. You have to keep renewing it and never know if they will renew it. But if you don’t make what they consider enough they certainly won’t. Not so nice to try to build a life not knowing if you are going to have the rug under your feet yanked out. I basically faced the same situation years ago and got married.

Hallo Beppi and Tom,

Firstly, thank you once again for your helpful tips.

As for the Marriage Topic, she is the right women, theres no doubt about that. However we are both hopeless Romantics and picture it happening in a few years time. We would like to try to keep that more sacred until then. I will agree that it would make things much, much easier though.
If this were to be the path we choose - when does one qualify for this Visa, after living together, after an engagement or is a legal document from the courthouse required?

For Freelance, I have already received the Okay to change to this visa and would have 3-4 Different work offers for a Monthly income of the same or more then my current job (after deductions from Insurance, etc). However I have very little savings to fall back on if things go wrong.
Would I be able to use the proof of Work contracts instead of financial proof?

For Studies, once again I agree that my german would be struggling to write academically and it would be a heavy workload. I have found a few Master programs which are from public universities and have instruction in German / English. By information comprehension, I believe there should be no problem and as for writing the thesis or Mastersarbeit - I would be able to write it academically in English. The Workload would be no more then what I experienced in Australia as I studied and worked fulltime in my last year of University, however that is an incredible workload to maintain for 2 years.

I guess I have to have some serious talks and set a hard deadline for certain solutions.

I really appreciate your help and being able to talk through the situation.
Micah

Micahtheaussie wrote:

Hallo Beppi and Tom,

Firstly, thank you once again for your helpful tips.

As for the Marriage Topic, she is the right women, theres no doubt about that. However we are both hopeless Romantics and picture it happening in a few years time. We would like to try to keep that more sacred until then. I will agree that it would make things much, much easier though.
If this were to be the path we choose - when does one qualify for this Visa, after living together, after an engagement or is a legal document from the courthouse required?

For Freelance, I have already received the Okay to change to this visa and would have 3-4 Different work offers for a Monthly income of the same or more then my current job (after deductions from Insurance, etc). However I have very little savings to fall back on if things go wrong.
Would I be able to use the proof of Work contracts instead of financial proof?

For Studies, once again I agree that my german would be struggling to write academically and it would be a heavy workload. I have found a few Master programs which are from public universities and have instruction in German / English. By information comprehension, I believe there should be no problem and as for writing the thesis or Mastersarbeit - I would be able to write it academically in English. The Workload would be no more then what I experienced in Australia as I studied and worked fulltime in my last year of University, however that is an incredible workload to maintain for 2 years.

I guess I have to have some serious talks and set a hard deadline for certain solutions.

I really appreciate your help and being able to talk through the situation.
Micah

Sorry but engagement or living together does not count in such a case. You have to get married.

You would have to ask the worker handling your case if proof of work contracts instead of financial proof is sufficient. For such things there are guidelines but probably no definitive answers. And asking advice here might get you a response from someone on how it went with their case but it might not be comparable – and thus misleading. And the reality is that given the exact same information, a visa request or extension might be decided differently in 2 different cities or from 2 different officials.

And I would get expert advice about a Master’s program.  I know for myself that I am probably around a C1 level of comprehension but writing on such a level in German… difficult. And double check if you can really submit a thesis in English. It would be a heavy blow to go to all of the trouble to do such a program and then be told it’s not possible after all. But again, a student visa is no long term solution and one has neither the time nor the allowance to work full or even half time and needs to show enough financing.