Many students look for a job during their studies to earn a little extra money.
But students and their parents often ask: can you keep receiving child benefit (Kindergeld) as a working student?
This is indeed an important question, and we have looked into it.
Read on to find out whether a working student in Germany may receive child benefit while working and what the rules look like.

Child Benefit for Working Students and the Legal Rules in Germany

As a working student you enjoy some special privileges, because for the state, a job alongside your studies means that you are not only continuing your education in theory but also gaining practical experience at a company, which it is glad to support and encourage.
So a working student can receive child benefit and work at the same time.
How much you earn does not matter, as long as the working student has not yet turned 25.
If you spent part of that time in voluntary service or military service, that time is credited and the period during which you can receive child benefit is extended.
Of course, working students also have to follow certain rules in order to receive child benefit.

Which Rules Should a Working Student Follow When Receiving Child Benefit?

During the lecture period, working students may not work more than 20 hours a week. That is what the rules for receiving child benefit require, because only then is it ensured that the working student still has enough time to study.
When the semester break starts, there is of course nothing to stop you from
taking a job that exceeds these 20 hours.
If you exceed this limit as a working student, you lose the working student status and are treated as an ordinary employee, who in that case of course no longer has a claim to child benefit or an exemption from health insurance contributions.
In a case like this you not only have to pay your health insurance contributions but also the taxes that arise.

You Must Be Able to Prove That Your Education Is Genuine

Working students and trainees are only entitled to child benefit if they are genuinely and seriously pursuing their studies or training.
Of course, this must be provable to the point that no doubts arise.
Especially for training programs, universities or distance universities where attendance is not constantly checked, you are therefore required to provide regular
proof of academic progress.
Many students may know this proof as "Scheine" (course credit certificates), as is already the case when receiving BAföG (German student financial aid).
In special cases, the family benefits office (Familienkasse) may also request to see your coursework so that no doubt about its accuracy remains.

Length of Instruction Time

If the instruction time, or the theoretical part of the training, is 10 hours or more, the authorities clearly consider the training or studies to be genuine.
If the time is below that, it must be checked whether other activities take place that can be counted as instruction time. Otherwise you have to prove that your studies are genuine in another way.