I am a non-EU citizen studying in Germany. According to my visa I am allowed to work 120 days or 240 half-days per year. How is the permitted hours amount calculated if I plan to take freelancing contract work instead of being employed? My clients will be primarily from EU countries but not Germany.
If I bill my clients from my home country, am I also limited by the conditions on my student visa?
In Germany you would need to be at least a self-employee. Go to your local city hall and tell them you want to register a business. The procedure is pretty straight forward - It just takes a couple of minutes to register your business.
After you registered your business you will also get a tax-id from the tax authorities. But: It would be better to talk to an accountant, to avoid some serious problems.
You can't just bill your clients from your home country - Because your tax residence is in Germany. Of course you also need to pay taxes in Germany. If you don't do it, you can get in serious trouble because of tax evasion.
If you have a juristic company in your home country, you would need to form a branch in Germany, so your company will be taxed like any other local company.
