Yes, please make sure that you have a valid entry visa or residence permit. If you have a visa, apply for a residence permit six to four weeks before your visa expires; our Residence Permit Service will be happy to advise you.

Unfortunately, there is hardly any information available on the websites of German embassies for students who want to take their family with them. It is best to enquire there directly, as the requirements can vary from country to country.
Sometimes you can also enter family members travelling with you on the application for a study visa for yourself.

In any case, you will need various documents from your family members, e.g. passports, passport photos, possibly birth certificates of your children, marriage certificates and the like. In most cases you will need the original, a certified copy and an official translation into German; sometimes an English translation is sufficient, please enquire about this.

It is important that you can prove that you have enough money for each person travelling with you to ensure that you are financially secure. The easiest way to do this is to pay an appropriate amount into the blocked account.

If you later apply for a residence permit to study in Germany, you will need to apply for a residence permit for your family members at the same time. Again, you will need a German translation of all the documents for each family member. These are usually the same documents that you submitted for the visa. You will also need new documents, see our information on residence permits.

It is usually 90 or 180 days, so three to six months. This depends, for example, on what kind of health insurance you bring with you when you apply for the visa. If you already have health insurance from Germany, you will usually be granted a visa for six months, sometimes even for a year.

Regardless of how long your visa is valid for, you will then apply for a residence permit around six to four weeks before your entry visa for study purposes expires.

Some students, especially exchange/study abroad students, often receive a visa for study purposes for up to 12 months. If you leave within this period, you do not need to apply for a residence permit. If you want to stay longer than originally planned, i.e. two semesters instead of one, you will unfortunately have to apply for a residence permit.

If you do not need an entry visa for Germany, e.g. because you have South Korean or British citizenship, apply for a residence permit within the first 90 days of your arrival in Germany. Please check the stamp in your passport to see when your visa expires and make a note in your diary to submit the relevant documents to the relevant office six to four weeks before your entry visa expires. Via the following link you can find information on applying for a residence permit.

All students who apply for a visa for study purposes must prove that they can finance their life and studies in Germany. Unfortunately, a letter from a sponsor, e.g. your parents, is not sufficient. You can find the details on the website of the German embassy to which you are applying.

Typically, the following documents are usually accepted without any problems:

• Proof of income or assets from your parents (=> this is not the case everywhere, please note the information provided by the embassy)
• Guarantor with permanent residence in Germany
• Security payment to a blocked account
• Bank guarantee
• Scholarship certificate from a recognised scholarship provider, e.g. DAAD, Fulbright

As already mentioned, visa regulations of the German embassies can differ from country to country when it comes to financial proof. In many countries, a blocked account is often the only financial proof permitted. Please contact the German embassy in your home country or country of study as early as possible if you have any questions.

We explain this here in more detail. This is an account into which you pay money, but which you cannot dispose of freely; for example, you can only have a certain amount of money transferred to a current account once a month. It therefore serves as security for third parties, for example for the German embassy when you apply for a visa, or for the foreigners authority in Germany where you later apply for a residence permit.

So before you can apply for a visa or a residence permit for the first time, you transfer a certain amount to the blocked account to show that you can finance your life and studies in Germany. The German state wants to prevent students from getting into financial difficulties and having to apply for state support.

This is why you pay the full amount for one year when you apply for a visa for study purposes, or less if you already know that you will be staying in Germany for less than twelve months.

If you later apply for a residence permit, you should top up the blocked account so that it covers at least one year, i.e. contains at least XY euros. Currently, this is at least 11,208 euros for one year; you may then withdraw or debit a maximum of 934 euros per month. If you pay more than the minimum amount into the blocked account, you can dispose of it freely. If you leave Germany earlier and you still have money in the blocked account, you will receive the remaining balance back.

There are many banks that offer this service in Germany and certainly also in your current home country. Not all banks are accepted by the German authorities, but you will certainly find a list of accepted banks on the website of the German embassies. Important: these lists are not a recommendation from the German embassy as to which bank is the best, but an alphabetical list.

Important: be sure to check whether the blocked account is offered in a package with other services, e.g. travel health insurance or health insurance. If you do not want this in the package, then make sure to unselect these services.

Yes, the state office should be informed when the time comes. If you changed your degree programme in the 1st or 2nd semester, then it is relatively easy to explain it to the LEA. However, if you decide to change your degree programme in the higher semesters, then it becomes more complicated to justify the change. The change of university should be made as soon as you are enrolled at your new university. However, the change of degree programme does not have to be reported until your residence document expires.

Please go directly to the nearest federal police office and report it. They will give you a loss report. If you have lost your passport, you must go to the embassy to apply for a new one. You can then apply for your visa/residence permit. If you have only lost your residence permit, then bring a copy of this loss report, your passport and a biometric photo of yourself to the SRH University Residence Permit Service.

You may work up to 120 full days (full day = 8 hours per day) or 240 half days (half day = 4 hours) during the calendar year. Self-employed work is not permitted.

For a total stay of up to 90 days within a period of 180 days. This regulation only applies to visits for tourism purposes. Please note: In order to study or complete an internship in another country of the European Union, you may have to apply for a study or internship visa. Please enquire at the respective embassy about the requirements.

This may be relevant if you would like to complete an exchange semester or an internship abroad.

You are welcome to bring your family with you. We advise you to apply for a family visa directly and enter the country together. You can find more information about this on the website of your embassy. Family reunification is also possible, but the process is more complicated. You can find more information on the website of the state office in your city.

You are allowed to change your degree programme, but it is recommended that you do this in the 1st or 2nd semester. You should also be able to prove that credits can be recognised for the new degree programme. You must also be able to show that you have been exmatriculated from the old degree programme and enrolled on the new programme. The exception is that you are not allowed to change from a Master's to a Bachelor's programme.

In Berlin it is not so easy to get an appointment for registration, but you can search on the website or call directly to 030-115. It's best to call in the late afternoon, as there are often appointments for the next day.

In general, you may only take one semester off or extension. For the second semester of leave or extension, you must apply for it and then your situation will be analysed by the State Office to see whether you have been studying properly and making adequate progress.

Yes, the state office should be informed when the time comes. If you changed your degree programme in the 1st or 2nd semester, then it is relatively easy to explain it to the LEA. However, if you decide to change your degree programme in the higher semesters, then it becomes more complicated to justify the change. The change of university should be made as soon as you are enrolled at your new university. However, the change of degree programme does not have to be reported until your residence document expires.

Should I present my old registration or wait until my new one arrives and then apply for my residence permit? Always apply 6 weeks before your document expires. If you do not yet have the new registration, then present the old one and submit the new one later by e-mail or bring it with you to the appointment at the State Office. It is important that the state office has the current registration by the appointment, as this is where your new document will be sent.

If you are not a citizen of the EU or an EEA state (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway), you have applied for a study visa at the German embassy in your home country. You must now apply for a residence permit in Germany (this is not an extension of your visa).

If you come from Andorra, Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, the United Kingdom, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Canada, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA, you do not need to apply for a student visa, but you will receive a stamp in your passport when you enter Germany – this is your German entry visa.

The foreigners authority will inform you of the reasons and you can try again to apply for a residence permit or a new visa (be better prepared).

We recommend that you submit the application as soon as you have all the necessary application documents, but no later than 6-8 years before your residence permit expires.

You must carry your passport and residence permit with you wherever you travel. However, you can also take a copy of your passport with you.

You can either go there yourself, get an appointment online, or you can hand in your documents to the Residence Permit Service and we may be able to apply for an accelerated procedure (approx. 2 weeks).

In various drugstores (dm), at photo booths or in professional photo studios.

You should submit a certificate of a blocked account at a German bank with EUR 11,208 (submit the document even if your amount is less) OR the submission of a declaration of commitment from a third party in Germany on an official form OR a scholarship OR a notarised declaration from your parents for the duration of your studies with their last six months' bank statements and their colour passport copies. The documents must be in German or English.

You should provide bank statements for the last 6 months, ideally with a monthly income of EUR 934. A lower income is also acceptable.

Yes.

A blocked account is an account that is subject to foreign exchange controls in a country that restricts the amount of its currency that can be transferred to other countries or exchanged for other currencies. In short, it is an account that the account holder cannot freely dispose of and a blocked account is often required to prove adequate funds.

To apply for your residence permit, you should "top up" your blocked account for the period you are spending in Germany.

Yes, but a letter of confirmation from your health insurance company (not older than three months) can also be helpful.

Yes, 120 full days and 240 half days in a calendar year. In addition, foreign students have the opportunity to take up part-time student employment at the university or at another academic institution without any time limit. Part-time student employment also includes employment that is limited to university-related activities in connection with studies in university-related institutions (e.g. tutors in student residences, activities in the counselling work of the university communities, the Asten and the World University Service). The university must be consulted in the event of difficulties in delimitation (16b.3.1.2. Secondary student employment).

With your residence permit, you may stay outside Germany for up to six months (180 days) without losing the status of your residence permit. In addition, you must enquire at the embassy of your host country whether you need to apply for an additional work visa.

If it is a compulsory internship, this is not a problem. If it is a voluntary internship, you are only allowed to work 20 hours for 240 days or 40 A: If it is a compulsory internship, this is not a problem. If it is a voluntary internship, you are only allowed to work 20 hours for 240 days or 40 hours for 120 days.

You need a permit to look for work or a work permit/blue card.

No, but it can be helpful. Attach proof of a job interview, etc.

The work permit for jobseekers is valid for 18 months, and you have 18 months to find a job in your field.

As soon as you have a job offer that matches your qualifications, you can choose whether you want to apply for a German residence permit or an EU Blue Card for the next part of your stay. There are various conditions attached to both residence permits. Depending on what you plan to do in the future, either the German residence permit or the EU Blue Card may be advantageous for you. If you intend to live and work in another EU country later on, the EU Blue Card may be more favourable for you than the German residence permit. As the choice of residence permit depends heavily on your personal situation, seek advice from your local immigration office when applying.

You have six months to arrange a transfer. During this time, you should always carry both passports with you if you want to identify yourself. It is important that you remain in possession of the "old" passport because the current residence title is noted in it. The procedure is similar everywhere in Germany, but to be on the safe side, you should check how it is handled in the city where you are registered. In Berlin, re-registration can be handled by the city administration or as an application via the university service. This means that if you are registered in Berlin, you can submit your documents to our Residence Permit Service at the Berlin campus. You can find information from the Berlin Immigration Office here:

www.berlin.de/einwanderung/

At the Dresden Campus you will receive counselling, but you will have to submit the documents to the State Office yourself. Here you can find more information from the Landesamt Dresden:

www.dresden.de/index_de.php

At the Hamburg campus, you will also receive counselling, but you will have to submit the documents to the State Office yourself. Here you can find more information from the Landesamt Hamburg:

welcome.hamburg.de/auslaenderbehoerden-kundenzentren/

In general, you have to leave Germany if you cannot find work, but this will change following the amendments to the Immigration Act in Germany from November 2023.

You can change your degree programme, but it is recommended that you do so in the first or second semester. You should also be able to prove that you can have academic achievements recognised for the new degree programme. You must also be able to prove that you have exmatriculated from the old degree programme and enrolled on the new degree programme. However, it is not possible to change from a Master's to a Bachelor's degree programme. You must inform the Immigration Office as soon as you change university or degree programme.