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Visa Questions

Voluntary paid internship help!

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Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
7/29/15 6:37 PM
I'm in America that was hired for a voluntary paid internship in Berlin for 3 months This internship isn't tied to my past studies and is in fact unrelated since I've decided to pursue a new field; one that actually doesn't require a degree but mostly just experience and networking.

I don't think the company has much experience in a hiring non-eu applicants and there's some confusion about obtaining the correct permits. They said when they contacted the office and they were informed that the chances of my application getting approved were slim and that I had to be enrolled in a university with a mandatory internship scheme or be apart of an EU funded program, excetera excetera. However these requirements to me sound more like those of a mandatory internship (plifchtpraktikum), which don't need approval from the ZAV, as opposed to a voluntary internship (freiwilliges praktikum) which does need approval before I can apply for a permit. We're they misguided?

Ive just become very disheartened by the prospect of not being able to participate in an internship I've tried very hard to get in a city I really want to live in.
0 (0 Votes)

RE: Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
7/29/15 10:59 PM as a reply to Lauren Elizabeth Ackkey.
Indeed those are the requirements for Pflichtpraktikum, and the company either doesn't know or doesn't want to bother with obtaining a permit from ZAV. You don't have to be enrolled in a university or a EU funded program, however if you want to get money during your internship, tou'll need approval from ZAV, which shouldn't be a big problem to get. there may be some ways around ZAV permit that I don't know. Maybe you can find a place in a more experienced or more helpful company?
-1 (1 Vote)

RE: Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
7/30/15 12:18 AM as a reply to Arnhem.
Thank you, Arnem! You've given me at least a small glimmer of hope. The company seems quite willing to help me so I think maybe (hopefully) they were misinformed.

Are you familiar with the requirements for a voluntary internship? Do you think I could be denied because I have a bachelors in anthropology and now here I am trying to get a music supervision internship? I do have related hobbies and the company is officially an English speaking company.
0 (0 Votes)

RE: Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
7/30/15 11:50 PM as a reply to Arnhem.
arnhem:
You don't have to be enrolled in a university or a EU funded program,
I don't suppose you have a source for this claim?

According to the info provided by  the ZAV:
1. Wer kann ein Praktikum im Sinne des § 15 Nr. 5 BeschV machen?
• Studierende mit ausländischer Staatsbürgerschaft,
bei denen das Praktikum in einem unmittelbaren Zusammenhang
mit dem Fachstudium steht
,
• die an einer ausländischen Hochschule immatrikuliert sind.
• Als Hochschule gilt dabei eine Bildungseinrichtung, die einen vergleichbaren
Studienabschluss ermöglicht, wie er in Deutschland erworben werden könnte. Hierbei muss sich die Bundesagentur für Arbeit nach den Bewertungsvorschlägen der Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen bei der Kultusministerkonferenz, die im Internet unter anabin.de zugänglich sind, richten.
• Mindestens 4 Fachsemester müssen vor Praktikumsbeginn absolviert
sein.
0 (0 Votes)

RE: Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
7/30/15 11:59 PM as a reply to Lauren Elizabeth Ackkey.
lozz:
Do you think I could be denied because I have a bachelors in anthropology and now here I am trying to get a music supervision internship?

Of course you can (and probably will) be refused an internship permit in order to take up a short-term job here. Just because a position has the title "internship", does not mean that the applicant is eligible for an internship permit. I think it is a huge stretch to try and classify your job offer as an internship.

Ein studienfachbezogenes Praktikum dient dazu, praktische berufliche Kenntnisse,
Fertigkeiten und Erfahrungen zu den im Studienfach erworbenen theoretischen
Inhalten zu erwerben.

Ein Praktikum hat den Zweck einer beruflichen Qualifizierung und nicht der Erbringung einer Arbeitsleistung oder eines Arbeitsergebnisses wie eine vollwertige Beschäftigung.

Für die Fachbezogenheit des Praktikums ist entscheidend, inwieweit die zu erwerbenden Fertigkeiten zu dem Studienfach passen und eine praktische Fortbildung darstellen.
Source
0 (0 Votes)

RE: Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
7/31/15 10:11 AM as a reply to Arianne.
I wouldn't go so far as saying that it is a 'huge stretch'  to call this an internship, as the position offers temporary, on-the-job training in a professional setting. Though I guess it's not a matter of what I think but what they will think. It was suggested to try and seek a temporary work permit instead. However, I worry about the likelihood of a permit getting granted if I'm only receiving minimum wage, even though I have sufficient savings to support myself. Another option was a freelance work permit. 

In a career where a degrees rarely exist and are considered unnecessary, I'm just trying to find an opportunity to get my foot in the door.
0 (0 Votes)

RE: Voluntary paid internship help!
Answer
8/1/15 10:12 AM as a reply to Lauren Elizabeth Ackkey.
If you want a temporary work permit, you and your employer need to demonstrate that you have skills that cannot be found on the EU labor market and you need to be adequately compensated for the position (more than the minimum wage required for unskilled applicants). 

Considering that there are more than enough locals already trying to make ends meet in the music industry here, I really don't see any reason why you should be issed a work permit.

Furthermore, freelancing for one employer is considered Scheinselbstständigkeit. 

If the career in which you are interested in only requires experience and a large network, why are you looking into a market where you don't even have the right to work?
0 (0 Votes)

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