Setting up a practice in another country
Moving a freelance practice across a border means establishing how the destination recognises the business, obtaining permission to work there and adapting to its administrative and commercial environment. Existing clients may remain part of the practice while a local market develops.
Local registration and language
In 2014, a medical writer relocating from the Netherlands to the Azores, an autonomous part of Portugal, had already obtained Portuguese fiscal numbers and a bank account before moving; the fiscal numbers were needed to buy property. At registration, she chose a single-shareholder limited business rather than a straightforward single-person business. Its official name used her own name with the Portuguese designation; her preferred business name could be registered separately as a trade name for an additional fee.
Portugal's activity list had no medical-writer entry, and its writer categories fell under the arts, so she and her advisers selected a definition combining science, editing, research and consultation. A Portuguese-speaking friend was essential because the tax official and accountant did not speak English, although even the friend struggled with financial vocabulary. A solicitor registered the business online, but social-security registration involved repeated data entry and paper copies. Despite online invoicing, the writer had to print invoices and keep them for ten years, and sign a bound minute book recording how the business operated, to be amended by hand when arrangements such as her pay changed.
The same writer had required a working internet connection before arriving in February 2014 because work from her previous employer was already booked, but storms disrupted both internet and electricity during the first weeks.
A UK writer preparing to freelance in Germany sought advice from umbrella agencies, recruiters, tax advisers, colleagues and the German consulate; colleagues were invaluable, but no one could give her a clear sequence of steps.
Language could be manageable with clients yet difficult during business setup. A UK writer moving to Munich described in 2016 how German agencies translated contracts and colleagues switched to English on calls, while registration created more serious language barriers. Registering as a Freiberufler required a long German-language tax-office form, the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung, which even her German friend found difficult.
Business arrangements across two countries
A writer working entirely from Munich for UK and German agencies in 2016 paid her taxes in Germany and registered as a Freiberufler so she could invoice both directly using tax and VAT numbers, and hired a German tax adviser. She had needed year-round invoice processing, while the umbrella agencies she investigated generally required engagements of at least a couple of months. Her UK clients' policies created another constraint: some worked only with incorporated freelancers or those using an umbrella organisation, and only some accepted her German status after she explained it.
Her move also required adapting how she found work. Before leaving the UK she contacted recruiters and Munich agencies and arranged interviews; a portfolio covering both scientific and creative writing seemed valuable to interviewers who treated those skills separately. Positioning herself as a native English speaker for global accounts did not always provide the advantage she hoped for. Despite encouraging interviews, almost two months passed before the first German-agency assignment, with remote work from existing UK contacts supporting her during the wait. She widened her search beyond pharmaceuticals, including work for a Munich fitness brand; German work was mostly short-term and project-based, while remote work still provided most income.
Keeping clients through a move depends on time zones and accessibility: clients should notice little difference if they can still reach the writer, know when meetings are possible and receive good service. Financial arrangements should be discussed with an accountant or tax specialist.
Residence and work permission
A non-EU writer choosing Germany in 2015 had already lived in Cologne since late 2011 and valued its cosmopolitan environment, while considering learning German a practical step even if life without it was manageable.
In Germany in 2015, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens could start a business freely, while other nationals generally needed a residence permit for freelance work. The responsible authority was the local Ausländeramt, under the relevant state's interior ministry, rather than the federal foreign office; it could consult other bodies but made the final decision. The intended business location and its rationale had to be decided before applying at the office covering that city, although residence could change afterwards.
The 2015 application route depended on existing residence status.
- An applicant already in Germany with a valid residence permit submitted credentials, financial documents and a business plan explaining the proposed German venture to the local foreigners' office.
- Without an existing permit, the applicant generally applied at the nearest German mission in their country of citizenship. A temporary tourist or business visa did not permit an application for long-term residence from within Germany, except for nationals of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Israel.
- The mission forwarded the application to the foreigners' office covering the intended city, which reviewed it and could consult bodies such as the chamber of commerce and federal employment agency.
- After approval, the mission issued a three-month temporary visa. On arrival, the applicant attended the foreigners' office with further documents, including city registration, health insurance and a local bank statement, to apply for the residence permit.
One non-EU writer had to return to India to apply because his existing permit was nearing expiry. Research and conversations with other freelancers suggested six weeks to three months, but he applied in October and heard from the consulate the following April. No additional evidence had been requested, and the case officer offered no specific reason for the delay; preparation did not remove the uncertainty of waiting. Once residence paperwork and a tax identification number were in place, his consultancy opened.
For immigrants in Europe, a 2023 comparison identified a job contract as potentially helpful evidence of integration for work or residence applications, while low-income freelancing could make a permit harder to obtain; combining employment and freelancing was presented as a way to address that disadvantage.
Country-specific startup support
Newcomers to Germany should seek experienced setup advice early, particularly if their first language is not German. In 2017, the German founders' association VGSD described potential Gründungszuschuss funding of up to €19,000 and reimbursement of 50–70% of consulting costs, depending on the federal state, with good early advice improving the prospects of obtaining support.
A German writer starting in January 2018 assembled an accountant for tax identification and self-employed registration, an insurance adviser to review existing policies and required cover, and separate health insurance. Because she was unemployed, she could apply, subject to eligibility conditions, for a startup grant covering the initial months. The application required a business proposal and a three-year income-and-expense plan, which she found harder than the website, naming or equipment decisions because future income was uncertain. Her projections began with two committed observational medical-device studies of 50–100 patients each, including database work, analysis, reporting and possibly a manuscript; previous experience with that client let her estimate the work, while further projects were expectations.
Local credibility and market knowledge
A writer moving his established practice from Poland to South Korea in December 2015 found business registration smooth with his Korean wife's guidance, and retained Polish clients while entering the Korean market. His advice on adaptation was to understand and accept cultural differences rather than expect the new environment to reproduce familiar habits or accommodate the newcomer's expectations. After three years, he had adjusted well to living and working there.
For a scientist returning to Colombia in January 2017 after almost ten years in Germany, international credentials and local-language fluency did not remove gaps in local market knowledge. The expanding presence of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and CROs attracted him, but he had underestimated his lack of knowledge of Colombian health policy and the tradition of favouring physicians for pharmaceutical and clinical-research work. He explored potential niches among public bodies, including policymakers and regulators, academia, healthcare providers, patient associations and the healthy population, whose communication needs could use a scientific communicator. Further networking led to his first role, providing consultancy services on knowledge transfer towards personalised medicine.