Insurance

• Compulsory insurance
• Voluntary insurance
• Applying to enter the statutory pension insurance scheme and become subject to making compulsory contributions (Antragspflichtversicherung)

Compulsory insurance

The obligation to make compulsory insurance contributions during your time of employment in Germany is based primarily on the German legal regulations (the principle that insurance contributions are paid in the land where employment is performed). This remains true irrespective of your nationality or the address/location of your employer. Certain groups of self-employed persons are also bound to pay insurance contributions.

When employed or self-employed overseas you are in turn bound by the social security laws of the state in which you are working, meaning your obligation to pay insurance contributions must be checked against the law of that state.

Exceptions to the principle that insurance contributions are paid in the state where employment is performed include where it is planned that you will be employed/self-employed in the other state for a short time only (posting) or where an exception from the standard regulations has been agreed with a Member State of the EU/EEA or a Contracting State.

For more information on the insurance obligations of foreign nationals employed in Germany, the posting of employees abroad and the agreement of exceptions can be found on the Deutsche Krankenversicherung Ausland (health coordinating body for overseas) website.

Voluntary insurance

If you are over 16 years old and are not obligated to make compulsory contributions, you are entitled to make voluntary contributions if you are resident in Germany. This applies to all persons, irrespective of nationality.

Even if you are domiciled abroad, as a German national you are entitled to make voluntary contributions.

If you are a foreign national resident outside of Germany, you will only be allowed to make voluntary insurance contributions provided that certain conditions are fulfilled. This entitlement in these cases depends on your nationality and the state in which you are resident and you must have already paid before a certain amount of contributions in Germany.

Applying to enter the statutory pension insurance scheme and become subject to making compulsory contributions (Antragspflichtversicherung)

If you are self-employed in Germany and are not subject to making compulsory contributions, apart from making voluntary contributions you are entitled to apply to enter the statutory pension insurance scheme and become subject to making compulsory contributions in Germany.

This option is recommended to you if your pension claims can, in the given circumstances, only be maintained by paying compulsory contributions (a reduced earning capacity pension for example).

Employees who are employed abroad and are not subject to an obligation to pay compulsory contributions by reason of this employment can apply to join the system as just described. An appropriate application must be submitted to a competent domestic agency office. These include commercial enterprises or humanitarian organisations.