According to German law, a "mini-job" is any job in which the monthly gross income does not exceed €556. If you work a mini-job, then your employer is not required to pay toward your insurance contributions.
Non-EU mini-jobber
If you are working a mini-job and you're not from the EU, then you have two options for getting health insurance:
Expat health insurance (€72/mo). If you're young and healthy, this is our recommendation. You can think of this type of insurance as "accident-only" insurance. It will protect you against something catastrophic, but it won't cover regular check-ups. Once you find a full-time job, you'll be able to easily switch to public coverage. Get expat health insurance.
Coverage as a dependent under someone else's public health insurance policy. If you have a spouse or parent with public insurance coverage then it may possible to get coverage through them.
EU mini-jobber
If you're from the EU and working a mini-job, then here are your options:
Join public insurance as a voluntary member (~€250/mo). Since most employers aren't required to pay for your healthcare contributions, you'll have to pay for them yourself. You will need to sign up for public insurance as a voluntary member. To get covered go through our public insurance sign-up.
Coverage as a dependent under someone else's public health insurance policy. If you have a spouse or parent with public insurance coverage then it may possible to get coverage through them.
Expat health insurance (72€/mo). You can think of this type of insurance as "accident-only" insurance. It will protect you against something catastrophic, but it won't cover regular check-ups. Once you find a full-time job, you'll be able to easily switch to public coverage. Get expat health insurance.
Use your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to get health coverage. If you're working a seasonal mini-job such as harvesting Germany does not require German health insurance. Your employer needs to pay into work accident insurance but apart from that you can remain on your EHIC as long as your home insurance provider allows. Keep in mind that this is only valid for seasonal jobs which are pre-determined to last max 3 months. Regular mini-jobs do not fall into this category.