Wages, self-employment, assets and a partner's income

Not every euro in an account is freely available income. For naturalisation, it must be clear where the funds come from, who is entitled to them and how reliably they finance living costs. Wages, self-employed profits, assets and family maintenance can contribute in different ways. What matters is their actual and legal availability, not just the amount of a single bank transfer.

Ordinary naturalisation by entitlement under § 10 StAG generally requires the ability to support yourself without benefits under SGB II or SGB XII. The law does not impose a general requirement to have a job of your own. A person without their own occupation can meet the condition if another sustainable and legally sound source of support exists.

Sufficient income from a spouse can therefore be relevant. The same applies to pensions, suitable assets or enforceable maintenance entitlements. Conversely, having your own full-time job is not automatically sufficient under the ordinary assessment if the income does not cover the needs of the family members to be included. In that case, however, the special statutory full-time employment exception may need to be examined.

Before assessing your income, we establish the household's needs. Only then is it possible to determine what share a particular source of income actually covers. This article addresses the types of funds available. Their stability over time and possible changes are additionally examined in the income forecast.

We examine the employment contract for the agreed remuneration and working hours. The payslip shows how the entitlement for a particular month was calculated. Finally, the bank statement can prove that the payment was actually received. These documents answer different questions and complement one another. A contract alone does not prove that the employer is already paying wages regularly.

The income calculation under social welfare law also has its own rules. § 11 SGB II and § 11b SGB II govern, in particular, the treatment of income and deductible amounts. A full legal assessment may therefore differ from simply adding together net amounts. This difference is particularly important where finances are tight.

Regular shift allowances may form part of actual income. For the future, however, it is relevant whether the corresponding work will continue. An exceptional one-off month of overtime must not be presented without explanation as a permanent norm. For variable components, a longer, representative overview helps show normal fluctuations.

We assess Christmas pay, holiday pay and performance bonuses according to their contractual basis and regularity. A binding recurring payment is assessed differently from a voluntary one-off reward. For arrears, we also explain which period of work they relate to. Otherwise, one month appears artificially strong in income and another unusually weak. This explanation of the employment history does not replace the statutory rules determining the month in which income must be counted under social welfare law. In particular, the rules on receipt and allocation in § 11 SGB II govern this.

Several jobs can together support a person's livelihood. It is not necessary for all income to come from one employer. However, the working hours, the work actually performed and its continuation must be plausible. For the special full-time employment exception, it must also be clarified how the periods of work and the extent of the activity are assessed legally; the total amount earned alone does not answer that question.

For self-employment, the first distinction is between business receipts and the result after business expenditure. Someone with high turnover may also have to pay for goods, staff, rent or external services. These amounts are not fully available for personal living costs. A business website or business registration proves the activity, but not its financial return.

Taxable profits are an important starting point, but do not automatically reflect current monthly cash flow. A tax assessment relates to a specific past assessment period. Depreciation, investments, outstanding receivables and advance payments may explain why profit and account transactions differ. We disclose these differences rather than selecting whichever figure is most favourable.

After business costs are deducted, personal taxes and health and long-term care insurance contributions generally still have to be paid. Depending on the circumstances, pension and other provision costs and further obligations may also arise. An amount withdrawn for personal use is not sustainably earned income merely because it has been transferred from the business account to the personal account. Drawings may also come from reserves or loans.

For your self-employment income, we examine tax assessments, profit statements or annual accounts and current business analyses. An ongoing overview can bridge the period between the last completed financial year and the current decision. Existing orders, recurring customer contracts and payments received can supplement the picture. Not every self-employed activity requires the same combination of documents.

For expert certificates, we check the figures on which they are based and the period they describe. Saying that a business is financially healthy does not replace a clear account of the amount available for personal living costs. Nor is a purely prospective turnover plan sufficient where the activity has been carried on for some time and current figures are available.

Where income fluctuates, it also matters whether the period chosen is representative. Seasonal downturns, a large order or an interruption to business must be explained in context. The detailed article Fluctuating income and evidence for self-employed applicants discusses useful documents and their connection with the forward-looking assessment.

For income in foreign currency, we clarify conversion and actual availability in Germany. A nominally high payment helps the household only insofar as it is lawfully received and can be used. Transfer costs and substantial exchange-rate fluctuations may affect practical financial support. This does not imply a blanket exclusion of foreign income. What is required instead is an account connecting its source, payment and the amount actually available.

Holding shares in a company does not in itself make the company's entire bank balance your personal property. Depending on the legal form, a managing director's salary, a distribution of profits, a profit share and repayment of a loan may represent different types of receipts. Conditions for distributions and restrictions under company law can also affect availability. Personal financial support must therefore be distinguished from the company's financial position.

A shareholder loan also requires separate assessment. Repayment may make existing assets available again, but it is not automatically new earned profit. Conversely, an obligation to provide further funds to the company can tie up personal liquidity. A high company valuation says little about the amount currently available each month for the family.

Where personal and business accounts are closely connected, clear allocations help. We classify payments as remuneration, drawings, distributions or repayments. Unexplained mixing can prompt further enquiries even where finances are healthy, because a person's financial sustainability cannot be inferred from the account total.

Bank balances, securities or other assets can help secure subsistence. The first question is who owns them. Access, encumbrances, realisability and how long they can cover needs also matter. A restricted contract paying out only many years later is assessed differently from a balance available at short notice.

Naturalisation has no general formula under which a particular account balance is always sufficient. Existing funds may bridge a small monthly shortfall differently from a complete absence of ongoing income. The expected duration of the bridging period matters too. Where a start date for employment has already been agreed, the question differs from a situation in which future financial support is entirely unresolved.

Where substantial obligations exist, we assess asset evidence alongside those liabilities rather than considering a single daily balance. Taxes falling due, loans or funds tied up in a business can limit free availability. For joint accounts or co-ownership, the applicant's own share must be explained. Foreign assets may require additional evidence of ownership, access and transfer options.

Rental income may provide ongoing funds, but must be assessed alongside the associated financial burdens. Gross rent does not yet show what amount remains after ongoing costs and obligations. Vacancy, a fixed-term letting or larger expenses already foreseeable may also be relevant to the forecast. The property itself and the income it generates are separate aspects of the assessment.

For investments, ongoing returns must be distinguished from sales. Interest or distributions may represent recurring income. Selling a securities portfolio, by contrast, initially turns existing assets into liquid funds. The sale proceeds and the asset value that existed before the sale must not be counted alongside one another as two different sources of financial support.

Price fluctuations do not justify arbitrarily writing down all investments. They do, however, argue against treating an uncertain future gain as money already available. A clear presentation must distinguish existing values, current returns and mere expectations. The same applies to a property sale that is only planned, with no binding agreement.

A spouse can help finance the other spouse's living costs. For this purpose, the financial capacity of the shared household as a whole must be clear. Merely stating a high salary in isolation is not sufficient if it must also cover the partner's own needs, the children's needs and further obligations. The relevant contribution is the amount available after this overall assessment.

A family does not have to show artificially that every adult has an income of their own covering their individual needs. An actual, legally protected maintenance arrangement within the family can enable joint financial support. The evidence then also concerns the partner obliged to provide maintenance: for example, their employment contract, payslips and insurance documents. Their employment situation may also be decisive for the sustainability forecast.

In the event of separation or a foreseeable change in the shared living arrangement, the existing financial support must be reassessed. A continuing maintenance entitlement may be relevant, but its amount, the payer's financial capacity and enforceability must be clarified. The previous shared household calculation cannot be continued unchanged if there are now two homes and altered maintenance obligations.

An unmarried partner's income cannot be treated in every respect like spousal maintenance. A partnership involving mutual responsibility and support may be relevant under social welfare law. However, this does not automatically establish a comprehensive maintenance entitlement under family law. The particular legal and practical reliability of the support must therefore be assessed separately.

The same applies to transfers from parents, siblings or friends. Where a statutory maintenance entitlement is relied on, it must be checked whether it exists and whether the person obliged to pay can meet it. Voluntary help with no assured continuation can bridge current hardship, but does not necessarily provide the same basis for lasting support. A friendly promise of support does not replace an assessment of its binding nature and sustainability.

A loan must not be described as a gift if repayment is owed. Money made available only briefly to obtain proof of an account balance does not establish sustainable subsistence. The actual circumstances are decisive. A transparent account can distinguish whether family funds provide lasting support, merely supplement other resources or finance a limited transitional period.

This makes mixed sources of support understandable, for example a combination of part-time wages, a partner's income and child benefit.

The housing, insurance and maintenance costs are then set against these without double counting. If the calculation shows a shortfall, statutory exceptions or the classification of benefits received may become decisive. If it balances, stability over time must still be examined. The two steps belong together, but answer different questions.