The International Schools Review Forum

Hello All. Just a quick question. My wife might have an interview with a great school in Germany. She is a German citizen but we teach in the United States. If she were to be hired, would she still be considered a "foreign hire" since she would be hired from a foreign country but was nevertheless a citizen of Germany?

The school states that foreign hire faculty children would have a tuition waiver. Not to clear about what that means. We only have one child but it would be a really big downer if our child could not attend the school where she would be teaching because of tuition fees. Maybe someone out there can clear this up for me.

Thanks in advance for any information.

You really need to address this with the school. What we tell you here doesn't matter.
Be aware that as a German national, there are more implications than just tuition. Your wife may be subject to German taxes, even if overseas hires are not. On the flip side, your wife may be eligible for social and retirement benefits that overseas hires are not. I'm really no expert in German laws, just have heard a few bits from Germans and non-Germans who have worked there. It's a complicated question, and probably only the school or a local authority could answer it properly.

As I understand it, tuition counts as taxable income in Germany, and it can also count as a taxable benefit for your US taxes. My spouse is American and this has been the case, especially since in our current school, we pay the fees then they are reimbursed and show up on the payslip. You REALLY need to talk specifics with the school about every aspect of pay and tuition or you may be in for a few financial shocks. A good school should be very forthcoming about this as the relatively high taxes and low disposable income are a well known feature of working in Europe.

I understand that the tuition is taxable and that is not a problem. Here is what the details from the website says: "Foreign hire faculty children, for whom no other employer has primary financial responsibilities, are educated without charge by the school." Since my wife would be hired from the USA but is a German national, would she still be considered "foreign hire"?

Not a problem if no one knows. We will definitely ask the school about it if my wife is lucky enough to be hired. Thanks for the responses thus far.

Does your wife hold dual citizenship? If so, have her come on her US passport...

No, she just has a green card. Do you think this might make a difference?

Green card won't make a difference. Showing US citizenship would, I think.