Work & employment
Pflichtpraktikum
A Pflichtpraktikum is a mandatory internship required by a study program's examination regulations. It is exempt from minimum wage and social-security contributions, and for non-EU students its days do not count toward the 140-day annual work limit.
A Pflichtpraktikum is an internship that your degree program's examination regulations (Prüfungsordnung) explicitly require, with a defined scope and duration. Because it is part of your education rather than ordinary employment, it sits outside minimum-wage law and is free of social-security contributions for its mandatory duration, regardless of how many hours you work.
The exemption only covers the required scope. If your program mandates three months and you stay six, the extra three months become a voluntary internship with minimum wage and normal contribution rules. Universities confirm the mandatory status with a certificate (Pflichtpraktikumsbescheinigung) that employers will ask for.
What it means for working students
For international students the Pflichtpraktikum has a powerful side effect: its working days do not consume your 140-day annual allowance, so you can do a full-time mandatory internship and still work the full quota as a Werkstudent in the same year. Financially, expect anything from unpaid to well paid; the law allows €0, so negotiate, and treat paid mandatory internships at strong companies as the best of both worlds.