Visa for the purpose of applying for a course of study at a German university

You have to obtain the necessary visa prior to entry (current exceptions: AUS, CAN, ISR, JAP, NZL, KOR, USA) into Germany from the German mission/visa office at your usual place of residence.

If you are seriously interested and prepared for studies in Germany and you meet the requirements for university studies but have not yet received a formal admission letter from a German university you can apply for a study-applicant visa. Such type of visa allows a maximum permissible duration of residence of nine months for the purpose of applying for a course of study (at university level) including the participation in formal admission procedures/suitability tests (e.g. in music/dance/fine arts) or attending preparatory measures for a course of study (e.g preparatory intensive German language course for a proficiency level higher than B1). You must have sufficient own funds for the whole duration of your stay and adequate health insurance coverage. Unlike a student visa, a study-applicant visa (or temporary residence permit for this purpose) does not allow working/employment in Germany.

Please note that we need to involve the relevant authorities in Germany in the processing of these visa applications and can only issue a visa after they have informed us about their approval of your case. We issue study-applicant visas with an initial validity of 90 days only. Later in Germany, the local alien authority (“Ausländerbehörde”) may extend the visa in the form of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of applying for a course of study for a combined maximum duration of nine months. When your visa application is lodged at our office it must be feasible and likely that you will begin your university studies in Germany within nine months of your arrival. After successful university admission you can change your study-applicant visa into temporary residence permit for students. If your study application is not successful you must leave Germany before the expiry of your visa/ temporary residence permit.

If you have already received your formal admission letter from a German university and plan to enroll in this course of study please do not apply for a study-applicant visa but directly for a visa for studying at a university in Germany (“Checklist for National German Visa - Study at German universities”).

In case you have applied for a admission at more than one university in Germany and, at the time of lodging of your visa application, have not yet decided which of the multiple university admission offers you will pursue you can also apply for a study-applicant visa. Please specify in your visa application the university and study course you will most likely study as we need this information for the processing and approval of your visa from Germany. Once issued, a study-applicant visa is not limited to a specific location/university/ course. Thus, you could wait until receiving also other admission letters before making a final decision. After enrolment at your chosen university in Germany you can present your university enrolment certificate at the local alien authority at your place of residence in Germany to apply for a temporary residence permit (“Aufenthaltserlaubnis”) for students.

Checklist
Before filling-in the application form and booking an appointment, please prepare the following documentation for your visa application:

(Please make sure to submit all documents listed below as we cannot process incomplete applications. If you fail to submit a complete application at your appointment, the visa process will be severely delayed and the visa may be denied.)

o Valid passport (issued within the last 10 years, signed personally, with at least 2 blank pages);
o Completely filled out and signed application form,
o Copy of the data page of your passport,
o 2 current, identical and biometric passport pictures (not older than 3 months);
o For non-Taiwanese: ARC/APRC, original plus 1 copy
o Previous university degree / high school diploma / vocational training diploma or other formal qualification relevant for your studies – original plus 1 copy
- in case you are already studying at university level: Certification of Enrolment and Transcript of Academic Record (in English)
- in case you are not yet studying at university level: high school diploma and result of university entrance qualification (e.g. Taiwan GSAT with at least 53 Points)
o Proof of proficiency in the course/study language, original + 1 copy
for studies in German: level B1 or higher is recommended! DSH, Goethe-Zertifikat, TestDaF, Telc; for studies in English: IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC;
o if applicable: booking confirmation for a German intensive language course in preparation for studies (min. 18 hours /week) - original plus 1 copy; e.g. booking confirmation, receipts paid course fees for the first 2-3 months
o Motivation letter,
In German or English language, please describe your reasons for your intended studies, your intended study/course, your preparations so far and other plans;
o Proof of purpose of stay in Germany
- university study place reservation (“Studienplatzvormerkung”) from one or more universities in Germany,
- or formal confirmation of your application for admission (“Bewerberbestätigung”) issued by one (or more) universities in Germany,
- or “endgültige Mitteilung” issued by uni-assist,
- or at least proof of contact with German universities where you intend to study.
The correspondence must clearly document that are fully informed about the detailed admissions requirements and study course and that you fulfill the basic academic and other requirements for the planned study course. We apply a strict standard for this and expect that you have informed yourself thoroughly.

o Proof of finance,
- blocked account (“Sperrkonto”) in Germany in your name with a minimum account balance of 12.324,- € (= 12 x 1027 €) and confirmation that the account holder can only dispose of max. 1027,- € per month;
o On request, shortly before the visa is issued:
- intended date of entry
- Proof of travel health-insurance coverage for Germany

Please do NOT staple any documents!
In case documents cannot be presented in English or German, a relevant translation has to be enclosed.

Please make sure to submit all documents listed above as we cannot process incomplete applications. If you fail to submit a complete application at your appointment, the visa process will be severely delayed and the visa may be denied. Each visa application will be checked individually. You may be required to provide additional documents and/or information at any stage of the processing. Incomplete documents/information may result in rejection of the application. Submitting all documents and information does not, however, guarantee that your visa application will be approved.

Proof of finance: When applying for a student visa, you need to provide evidence that you are able to meet your living costs in Germany by opening a blocked account. You have free choice of a provider. A list of providers in Germany that offer this service is available here.

As you need your passport for applying for a blocked account you should complete this step prior to your visa interview at our office. To ensure quick processing of your visa application, you should submit the proof of your blocked account during your visa interview.

The visa processing fee is 75,- € payable in NT$ at the time of your visa interview. After receiving an application, we cannot refund any visa processing fees irrespective of the decision taken on your visa application.

The processing time for a complete student visa application is usually about five weeks; in individual cases the processing may take longer. We cannot influence the processing time at the local alien authority (“Ausländerbehörde”) in Germany and cannot speed-up the process in any way. Thus, please refrain from status inquiries, they do not help your case in any way. We will inform you promptly when a decision on your visa application has been made.

Everyone staying short-term or long-term in Germany must have sufficient health insurance coverage. Unlike university students, study-applicants cannot be a member of a German statutory health insurance provider (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) and cannot benefit from their special student rates; this is only possible after formal university enrolment. You should preferably obtain a so-called Incoming-Health Insurance Package that covers you in case of illness from the moment you arrive in Germany and offers the possibility to later on change, without interruption, into a long-term student health insurance with a statutory or private health insurance provider. As an alternative to such package you can submit to us – after we have informed you that your visa application has been approved and that we are able to issue your study-applicant visa – proof of a travel health insurance package valid for the Schengen states for 90 days from the date of your entry. In this case you will, however, still need to obtain a long-term student health insurance in Germany later on.

After arrival in Germany: Anyone who lives in Germany is required to register with the local authorities (“Bürgeramt/Einwohnermeldeamt”). You should do this no later than two weeks after moving into accommodation. When changing accommodation you need to re-register. As soon as you realize that your initial 90 day study-applicant visa will expire before you can obtain formal university admission you should apply at the local alien authority for the issuing of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of applying for a course of study. Please check if you need to book an appointment (online or by phone) before actually going to that office. Your health insurance coverage must be valid throughout the whole duration of your extended stay. The decision on your application rests with the local alien authority.

Disclaimer: Although the information in this check list has been prepared with utmost care, we cannot accept any responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein. The applicable laws and regulations may change at any time.