Hi everybody, my name is chouchany and i am new to this website. i have a problem with my visa: i am a ph.D. student but i got the §16 on my passport without noticing. now that i want to apply for NE, they told me that i am a student although i am not!! i work full time (not only 90 days/year). my question is: What is BE? does it help me to stay longer in germany? what are my other options? i am hers since march 2004,but always as §16.My visa expires in Nov 2007. Thank you in advance for any help, i am really desperate and don't know where to go or what to do!

"BE = Beschäftigung Erlaubt"
means allowed to be employed by an employer

"jeglicher art BE = jeglicher art Beschäftigung Erlaubt"
means allowed to be employed by an employer to do any kind of job(secret service agent, IT consultant, bus driver etc. simply anything but no freelance work)

"EG = Erwerbstätigkeit Gestattet"
means you can setup your own business and do not need an employer to hire you like BE and jeglicher art BE.

hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for your answer!! but what are the conditions to take a BE and if i have a BE does it mean that i can stay in germany as long as i want??
sorry for these basis questions, i have noticed that all of you on this site are experts, but i am just a beginner in this subject and i can appreciate any help!

@chouchany

Please search the fourm, this topic has been discussed many times and you will find all answers of your questions. Just type BE or EG and search.

Now regarding to your question, Can i stay as long as i want with BE?
No you cannot, you can stay only with NE as long as you want.

"if i have a BE does it mean that i can stay in germany as long as i want??"

What kind of a question is this ?
Your aufenthaltstitel sticker says "gültig bis:"
you can stay as long as what it says....

Is this rocket science ?
Please do not tell me you do not know the meaning of "gültig bis" ...

sorry

I think you misunderstood me, i do not have a BE, i have never seen a BE, and i did not know that it is written "Gültig bis"!!! but anyway thanks for your kind answer!

This should be a joke.

"gültig bis" is written on EVERY aufenthaltstitel/sticker given by any ausländerbehörde in Germany and also on Schengen visas...

@chouchany

i am a ph.D. student but i got the §16 on my passport..........they told me that i am a student although i am not!!

You are confused yourself, and second, you should be ashamed of your grammar. I wonder which idiot accepted your application for doing Ph.D. in Germany.

An earthly approach to your situation would have been simply writing in this forum exactly what is written on your passport and what you want (BE or NE). It is never too late ....how about doing that now?

Hi chouchany,

you are considered as a student in Germany, because

1. you are registered in a university in Germany
2. and you are studying for PhD
3. German officials have given you a residence permit w.r.t. AufenthG §16.

... even though you are working in a company.

As long as you have your residence permit w.r.t. §16 on your passport, officially speaking you are a student in Germany.

Now I ask you to read this law item §16. This item includes law details about your residence permit, what you can do and what you cannot do:
http://www.aufenthaltstitel.de/aufenthaltsg.html#16

(3) Die Aufenthaltserlaubnis berechtigt zur Ausübung einer Beschäftigung, die insgesamt 90 Tage oder 180 halbe Tage im Jahr nicht überschreiten darf, sowie zur Ausübung studentischer Nebentätigkeiten.

That means, for a person who has a residence permit w.r.t law item (e.g., you), any work longer than 90 full days or 180 half-days within one year will not be regarded as a work stated by law. It will be just work for yourself. Because of that, as long as you have a residence permit given for §16, none of any single day you worked anywhere will be counted for BE, EG or NE. Proof is next paragraph:

(4) Nach erfolgreichem Abschluss des Studiums kann die Aufenthaltserlaubnis bis zu einem Jahr zur Suche eines diesem Abschluss angemessenen Arbeitsplatzes, sofern er nach den Bestimmungen der §§ 18 bis 21 von Ausländern besetzt werden darf, verlängert werden. § 9 findet keine Anwendung.

For you, last sentence is important. §9 is the law item which is the NE. That means, as long as you have a residence permit w.r.t. §16 on your passport, your stay in Germany will not be counted for unlimited residence permit.

Now...

NE = Niederlassungserlaubnis (unlimited residence permit)
EG = Erwerbstätigkeit gestattet (self-employment permitted)
BE = Beschäftigung erlaubt (work employment permitted)

Since you have residence permit w.r.t. §16, your work contract will not be regarded as a full time worker contract. This is by definition of the law so. See above.

Because of that, through your current permit on your passport

- you cannot apply for a NE,
- you cannot apply for a EG (you are a student, you cannot found a company, no self-employment!)
- you cannot apply for a BE (you cannot apply for a job, because your residence permit does not permit it).

If you want to have NE, your registration in university must be cancelled. Then your residence permit w.r.t §16 will be cancelled. This can be in 2 ways:

1. you finish the university (PhD title)
2. you cancel your registration university (abort academical education)

Only after that then you must apply for a job, with which you have chances to have NE.

Don't expect long answers like this. I had time.

If you feel that you have not understood anything above, I recommend you to read all postings in the forums of this website.

Klenze17.