No, the situation is different in Germany. You are not allowed to work under a visa waiver. The permit is something you personally apply for and not the company. Some time ago the permits regulating work and stay were unified so you only get issued one thing that contains everything. Some residence titles give you access to the whole labour market, some are coupled to a specific job, some don't allow you to work at all.
There is a special exemption for US citizens (and some others) which allows them to apply for a residence permit after entering Germany on a waiver. Until it is granted, no work is allowed.
The question though is whether "visiting clients" actually constitutes work. Just negotiating contracts does not, actually performing work there is (duh).
Re:Denied Entry
by the_mitsuhiko on Thursday June 29, 2017 @06:53PM
(#14667497)
Ah. Interesting. That was decoupled in Austria and since we steal all the things from Germany I assumed it was the same there.
That can't be right. You are definitely allowed to work on a visa waiver in Austria and as far as I know it's the same in Germany if the company you work for applies for a permit. That is independently of the purpose of the visa.
In Austria at least all visas do not permit you to seek employment ("labor market access") where as permits (usually called "titles") give you labor market access. The border crossing is then usually decoupled from the permit.
For instance if you need a visa to enter Schengen you will need a Visa to cross and a title/permit to work. If you are visa exempt you only need the title/permit.
A quick googling also suggests that is the case for Germany.