Miscellaneous

If you are employed in two or more EU member states*), the relevant social insurance provider must be informed. They will determine which social security regulations should be applied to your case. Taking this step is essential if you

• want to avoid paying double contributions or sliding into arrears with your tax payments
• if you want your entitlements with regard to pension insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, nursing care insurance and accident insurance clarified early on in the process
•  if you want to avoid back payments.

On request, the Deutsche Verbindungsstelle Krankenversicherung – Ausland (DVKA, statutory health insurers’ umbrella organisation) can make a decision about which social security law to apply if you live in Germany and work in several EU members states. Please visit the DVKA pages to find the correct questionnaire for your situation.

On request, the DVKA can provide you with an “A1-Bescheinigung” (A1 certificate) stating the social security law that should be applied for the duration of your employment. Please pass your A1 certificate on to us at the SSV as soon as you have it. We will make sure that the information is correct and complete and forward a copy to the LBV and to your human resources officer here at the university. We will also check whether further measures are required to safeguard your social security. If this should prove to be the case, we will contact you to discuss your situation and to arrange for the necessary steps to be taken.

If you reside abroad, the social insurance provider of your country of residence / of the country where your centre of life is, is responsible (see “zuständige EU-/EWR/CH-Träger” (in German)).

If your A1 certificate indicates that German social security law applies, the salary you receive from the University of Konstanz will be calculated in accordance with German social security law for the period of time stated in the certificate. If, before you took up employment in several EU member states, you only worked in Germany and were subject to German social security law, submitting the A1 certificate will not affect your social security status in Germany.

If the A1 certificate indicates that other EU law applies, your salary will be calculated in line with the relevant national social security legislation for the period of time in question.

All of this may sound terribly complicated, but it does in fact follow clear rules set out in the EU regulation on social security law. You will not suffer any disadvantages if this regulation is observed in full. Determining which social security law applies helps clarify the issue and ensures that the official decision is implemented.

You may ask yourself how a salary you previously paid taxes on in Germany is processed if the A1 certificate indicates that the social security law of another EU country should be applied. This does require some administrative effort, but it can definitely be done. A descriptionof how the applicable foreign EU/EEA social security law is handledis available here.

*) As per EC regulation 883/04, these encompass the EU member states, the EEA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland

If, besides the University of Konstanz, you have or are about to enter into another employment relationship with a foreign employer and if you move your place of residence to another country because of this, we recommend that you get in touch with the SSV when you give notice of departure to your local authority.

This is because, once you cease to be registered in Germany, you will no longer have a tax ID. As a result, there will be no electronic tax information (ELStAM) for you and the LBV will have no choice but to calculate your salary on the basis of tax category VI.

Please get in touch with us at the SSV so that we can submit an “Antrag für beschränkt einkommenssteuerpflichtige Arbeitnehmer” (request for employees with limited income tax liability) on your behalf.

If you maintain your place of residence in Germany while you work both here and abroad, your German tax ID will remain valid.

Depending on the countries you are going to work in during your “Mehrfachbeschäftigung” (multiple employment) (if you are based at the University of Konstanz, this will mostly be Switzerland), you must first request an “Entsendebescheinigung” (confirmation of secondment).

The “Entsendebescheinigung” for the EU/EEA zone as well as Switzerland is called “A1”.

Why do you need an A1 for “Mehrfachbeschäftigung” if the University of Konstanz as your employer remains unaffected?

In terms of social security law, the so-called “Beschäftigungslandprinzip” or “Territorialprinzip” (country of employment principle or territorial principle) applies. This means that the social security law of the country applies that you actually work in. If you work in two countries , you are liable to pay social security obligations both in your country of residence and in the other country of employment. However, you may not be entitled to claim social security benefits in both countries.

The social security agreement EU 883/04 has been passed to ensure that you do not have to pay twice. The A1 certificate determines which country’s social security law should be applied to your case.

The Deutsche Verbindungsstelle Krankenversicherung Ausland in Bonn (DVKA, statutory health insurers’ umbrella organisation) is responsible for issuing A1s for persons in multiple employment relationships who reside in Germany.

Please get in touch with us well in advance of the start of your multiple employment. We are happy to discuss your social security status and to assist you with individual measures.

If your main place of residence is in Germany and you are independently employed in another country in addition to your position as a civil servant and professor at the University of Konstanz, the Deutsche Verbindungsstelle Krankenversicherung Ausland (DVKA, statutory health insurance providers’ umbrella organisation) in Bonn is also responsible for your A1 application.

Further information is available here. You can find the GME4 questionnaire required for your application for an A1 certificate at the very bottom of that page.

If you have questions or problems, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are happy to discuss your questions and to support you during the application process.

Bei Wohnsitz im Ausland mit Dienstverhältnis als Beamtin bzw. Beamter an der Universität Konstanz ist für die Bescheinigung A1 der ausländische Sozialversicherungsträger zuständig. Eine Liste der zuständigen Stellen finden Sie auf den Seiten der DVKA unter Zuständige Stellen.

Bei Wohnsitz in der Schweiz ist die AHV Ihre zuständige Ansprechpartnerin - wobei diese (der bisherigen Erfahrung nach) an die SVA weiter verweist.
Die AHV bietet Merkblätter und Formulare unter der Rubrik Internationales.

Sofern Sie in der Schweiz leben und neben Ihrem Dienstverhältnis als Beamtin bzw. Beamter der Universität Konstanz (bzw. des Landesd BW) einer weiteren Erwerbstätigkeit in der Schweiz nachgehen möchten, wäre auch für Ihre Erwerbstätigkeit in der Schweiz die Anwendung deutscher SV-Rechtsvorschriften ein probates Ziel. MIt dem Formular "Bescheinigung über die Rechtsvorschriften der sozialen Sicherheit" können Sie bei Ihrer AHV dann das für Ihre berufliche Situation anzuwendende SV-Recht feststellen lassen.