Visa (if applicable)

Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the USA do not need a visa to study in Germany!

Exchange programme students coming from other countries need a student visa (Visum zu Studienzwecken). This visa can be issued by a diplomatic institution of the Federal Republic of Germany in the student's home country (embassy or consulate) and is entered directly into the passport.
Your student visa has to be transformed into a residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung) at the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde ) within 3 months of your arrival in Germany.

You are urgently advised not to enter the country as a tourist! A tourist visa cannot be transformed into a student visa or residence permit after your arrival in Germany.

Your passport must be valid for the duration of your entire stay in Germany. Otherwise you will have to go home in-between to renew it.

02.02.2010