EU/ EEA nationals

As an EU/ EEA national, you do not need a work permit in order to acquire a part-time job. However, you need to request an income tax card (Lohnsteuerkarte) at the local resident registration office (Bürgeramt/ Meldestelle) – the same office where you registered with the town authorities at the beginning of your stay. Special regulations in relation to the limit of working days per year may apply for citizens of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary. If you come from one of these countries you need to seek authorisation from the Federal Employment Agency.

Non EU/ EEA nationals

A student visa usually allows you to work for 120 whole days or 240 half-days during a year without a work permit. In addition, you can be employed as a student assistant (studentische/ wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft) in the University of Duisburg-Essen.

If you want to work within the limits described above and/ or as a student assistant, you need to obtain permission (ausländerrechtliche Genehmigung) from the Foreigners Registration Office. If you want to work more you also need to apply for a work permit (Arbeitserlaubnis) at the Foreigners Registration Office including an additional permission of the Federal Employment Agency (Arbeitsagentur). Please enquire about details at the Foreigners Registration Office.

Job offers for students are announced on job boards at the offices of Student Counselling and Academic Career Services (ABZ) and the Student Council (AStA) (for contact details see below). In addition, you can find job offers on the public information boards in the university restaurants, cafeterias, institutes, libraries, etc.

On the search for a student job, it is also worthwhile to regularly check the web pages of the university departments and central services for job offers (usually under links for “job offers” or “news”).

Students in language courses or preparatory colleges

Students who attend a language course or study at a preparatory course face stricter rules than other students. You can only work during lecture-free time and need to seek approval of the Foreigners Registration Office and the Employment Agency (even if you work less than 90 days per year).

Industrial internships

For students who do not come from the EU or the EEA, an industrial internship counts as normal work, even if the internship is unpaid. Consequently, the days you spend in an internship are subtracted from the 90 days you are eligible to each year and you need to seek authorisation from the Foreigners Registration Office and the Federal Employment Agency in case you exceed 90 days by doing an internship.
The only exceptions are industrial internships that are a compulsory part of your studies. All degree courses in engineering include a compulsory internship. You can check the examination regulations for details on duration.

More information:
http://www.internationale-studierende.de/en/prepare_your_studies/financing/jobbing/