Welcome to your Point of Single Contact for the Central Ruhr Region

Are you an entrepreneur in the services sector? Are you from one of the European Union member states? Are you interested in providing your services in our region or establishing a business here?

Then please contact us – we will be pleased to advise you!

We can provide you with all the official information covering the different stages of your company’s lifecycle. We can also help you with the paperwork you need to complete for the administrative procedures and give you the forms you need. We can then submit them to the relevant official agencies with all your application documents and keep you informed about the progress and results of your application. This can save you a lot of time usually spent looking for the right official agencies and then completing the bureaucratic procedures. But of course you can still contact the appropriate bodies direct if you prefer.

You can contact us by phone on +49 234 / 910-1033 or – 1096. You are also welcome to contact us by email (info@ea-mittleres-ruhrgebiet.de) or make an appointment to meet us in person. There is also a contact form in both English and German for you to use. Please note that any further communication with the Point of Single Contact for the Central Ruhr Region can only be carried out in German or English. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The European Services Directive states that so-called Points of Single Contact should be set up to assist with all the procedures and formalities which are necessary when establishing, carrying out and ending the provision of services. The aim of the services directive is to facilitate the rights to establish a business and the freedom to provide services across borders.

The European Commission provides further information about the services directive.

Flyer "Point of Single Contact - Central Ruhr Region"

The Central Ruhr Region PSC is responsible for the independent cities of Bochum, Bottrop, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen and Herne as well as the Ennepe-Ruhr District with its district towns of Breckerfeld, Ennepetal, Gevelsberg, Hattingen, Herdecke, Schwelm, Sprockhövel, Wetter/Ruhr and Witten. The headquarters are at the City of Bochum Office of Economic Development. You will find more detailed information about this association and a map of the region on our website on our general information page "Allgemeine Informationen - Regionale Informationen" (only available in German).

Any information you receive in electronic form by using the PSC internet portal or by other means (via email, fax, telephone) is free of charge if it takes less than 60 minutes. If you require further information please contact us.

Here are some practical tips for entrepreneurs from other states in the European Union:

The European Services Directive differentiates between, on the one hand, a company from one European Union member state establishing itself in another member state and, on the other, the providing of services across borders (freedom to establish a business and freedom to provide services across borders). The free provision of services is the exercise of a service activity in another member state on a temporary basis. The service provider is not established or does not have a branch in the member state where the service is provided. Establishment means the actual pursuit of an economic activity by a service provider for an indefinite period and through a stable infrastructure from where the business of providing services is actually carried out.

In the EU member states there is a fundamental right to "freedom of movement" and "freedom of trade". This means that EU citizens are permitted to have their place of residence and establish a company in all member states. They have a legal right to be granted a so-called "freedom of movement residency permit" and do not need any special work permit. It is not necessary to have a visa either.

Please note when setting up your company here that every company must be registered here before it is allowed to start any activities.

You can find more information in your language on the following pages on the internet:

Managing a business/Various issues

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise

http://www.bmwi.de/English

http://www.ea-nrw.de

http://www.gtai.de

http://www.germansite.de

http://www.ixpos.de

Professional associations/chambers

http://www.bochum.ihk.de