How many hours can an international student work?
If you hold a German student residence permit (§ 16b AufenthG), you may work 140 full days or 280 half days per calendar year without separate permission. A full day is any day you work more than four hours; a half day is four hours or fewer. The count runs 1 January to 31 December — it does not reset on your permit's issue date. On-campus academic jobs and compulsory internships that are part of your study programme do not count against this limit.
This is higher than the old rule: the allowance was raised from 120/240 to 140/280 days on 1 March 2024.
EU/EEA students have full access to the labour market — there is no day cap — and only the social-insurance rule below applies.
Two separate limits: your permit and your insurance
Student work is governed by two different clocks, and most mistakes come from confusing them:
- Immigration (non-EU only): the 140-full-day / 280-half-day cap is a condition of your study residence permit. Going over it breaches the permit and can put your stay — or a future extension — at risk.
- Social insurance (everyone): during lecture periods, keep work to 20 hours per week to keep Werkstudent status, which exempts you from health, long-term-care and unemployment contributions (you still pay into the pension). During the semester break (vorlesungsfreie Zeit) you can work full-time — up to 40 hours a week — without losing it.
How to count your days and stay compliant
Track every day you do paid work — mini-job days count too, against the same 140-day cap. Keep your payslips and a simple log of the days you worked. If you are getting close to the limit, move hours into the semester break, where there is no weekly cap. Going over is never worth the risk to your residence permit. This is general guidance, not legal advice — if you are unsure, ask your university's international office or the Ausländerbehörde.
Mini-job or Werkstudent: which fits
- Mini-job: earn up to €603 per month (2026) with flat-rate contributions and effectively no income tax. Simple — but the days still count toward your 140.
- Werkstudent contract: a regular part-time role, ≤ 20 h/week in term; you pay only pension contributions and gain relevant work experience.
Either way, work income supplements but does not replace the blocked account you needed for your visa.
Where work fits in your study plan
Your right to work rests on your student residence permit being in place first. Build your student plan to see every task — enrolment, residence permit, insurance and work — laid out in the right order.