From nding a suitable study program to enrolling at a German

8 Steps to Study

in Germany

From  nding a suitable study

program to enrolling at a German

university.

If you’re wondering about what you

need to do to study in Germany,

and you’re confused by the

amount of information available

on what steps you need to take,

you’re at the right place.

We have simplified the process of

studying in Germany as an

international student into 8 steps

you need to go through. Follow

these 8 steps one by one to keep

track of where you are right now

and what you need to do to make

your dream of studying in

Germany a reality.

The application process to study

in Germany:

Important: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Information for International

Students in Germany

Read more

1. Find a Study Program.

2. Meet All Requirements.

3. Learn The German Language.

4. Find Financial Resources.

5. Apply For Admission.

6. Get Your German Student Visa.

7. Find Accommodation.

8. Enroll At Your University.

1. Find a Study

Program

(Start researching at least 3

months before deciding)

Finding a university and choosing

a study program that suits your

interests is the first step to

planning your studies in Germany

.

This is not supposed to be a major

problem because there are many

universities and countless study

programs available – and their

quality is undoubtedly world-class.

Regardless of what direction you

want to go in life, there will

certainly be a study program that

will match your studying

aspirations and future plans.

But, finding a university and a

study program may take time if

you haven’t given much thought to

this matter before starting your

application process to study in

Germany. The high number of

available courses could be one of

the reasons you haven’t made a

decision yet.

We suggest you think about the

study program at least 3 months

before making a final decision.

This period of time is enough to

allow you to scan all German

universities that offer courses

related to your professional field.

Once you find those German

universities, you can focus on a

smaller list of universities that

seem ideal for you. You can either

decide to focus on just one

university or apply to several that

you like best to increase your

chances of securing admission.

Finding a university and study

program is very important because

it determines everything.

Here is the list of universities in

Germany

 and here is 

the list of

study programs available

 as of

2018.

2. Meet All

Requirements

(Two weeks before the application

is opened)

Now that you have decided what

university and what study program

you want to attend you must 

check

out all the requirements

. For this

purpose, you check the university

website and their admission

requirements section. If there are

things you don’t understand never

hesitate to contact the university

directly.

Entry requirements are different

depending on the university and

the type of course you choose, so

it’s recommended to read the

requirements section multiple

times.

Bad timing and missing

documents are the most common

issues that happen at this stage

and both can lead to delayed

admission or even rejected

applications. To avoid such

possibility you must prepare these

documents early enough.

For example, sitting for a 

German

language proficiency

 standardized

test you need to take a language

course for at least three months. If

you start learning German from

scratch it takes way longer than

this.

Further legalizations of your

documents may have a similar

processing time until they’re

issued to you. Taken any

occasional delay originating from

the nature of the process, you

must start preparing your

documents at least 4 months

before applying for your place at

the university.

3. Learn The

German Language

(Start learning it 6 months before

the application or the course

commencing)

Your success at university highly

depends on your skills in the

German language, even if your

program is in the English

language. Having a solid-rock

knowledge in the German

language guarantees you will

comprehend study materials,

understand what is taught in

lectures while being able to

express your thoughts properly.

In Germany, most undergraduate

courses are taught in the native

language, whereas many study

programs at higher academic

levels are taught entirely or

partially in the German language.

Other than at university, you will

often have to speak German with

locals.

Learning German from scratch can

be difficult, but if you start early, by

the time you come to Germany

you’ll be speaking German

perfectly. We recommend starting

at least 6 months ahead of the

commencing of your course (or

before the application if German

language proficiency is a

requirement) to gain a basic

comprehension of the German

language.

You can also check out our list of

the top language schools in

Germany

.

4. Find Financial

Resources

(at least two weeks before you

apply for a German student visa)

The next step is making sure you

have the required 

financial means

to live and study in Germany

.

Under the current law, every

foreign non-EU or non-EEA student

must have proper financial means

to finance their stay in Germany

during their studies.

An international student in

Germany must possess a

minimum of €10,236 which is

estimated to be enough for a

student to cover the cost of living

for the first year of his studies.

This amount of money needs to be

deposited into a 

German blocked

bank account

.

Important Tip: To Highly

Increase Your Chances of

Getting Your Student Visa

You Should Use a Blocked

Account as Proof of

Financial Resources.

A blocked account is a special

type of bank account for

international students in Germany,

to prove you have enough funds to

live in Germany for one year during

your studies.

As of 2020, it is estimated that a

foreign student in Germany will

spend an average of €853 euros

per month at a minimum. So, you

need to have €10,236 in your bank

account before applying for a

German student visa.

Click here to learn more about the

German Blocked Account

Naturally, for a student, this a large

amount of money and takes time

to collect. It’s highly recommended

you start saving money a long time

before you initiate your university

application, except when you’ve

been granted a scholarship and

use it as proof of your financial

means.

Normally, 6 months before your

application would be early enough

to start collecting this money and

two weeks before applying for

your student visa you must have

them deposited. 

Here are some

ways you can finance your studies

in Germany.

5. Apply For

Admission

(As soon as you complete

requirements)

After double-checking your

application documents, it’s time

for you to submit the application.

The application can be carried

online, but there may be

universities that receive only

applications in person or by post.

Contact your university to see you

which way you can submit your

application. Most German

universities are part of the national

university online application

platform known as UniAssist. In

addition to this, there are

universities that run their own

online admission platform on their

website.

Keep in mind that universities in

German are a hub for international

students and admission

committees are heavily loaded

with foreign applications. Going

through all the applications takes

time and you need to submit your

application as soon as possible to

take advantage.

You must submit your application

once the call for application is

opened and then wait for the

admission letter.

Depending on what level of studies

you’re pursuing in Germany, the

application procedures vary

slightly.

Here are our detailed guides on

how to apply for university in

Germany:

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

PhD Degree

6. Get Your

German Student

Visa

(As soon as you receive the

admission letter)

If you’re a student coming from a

non-EU and non-EEA country you

must get a German student visa.

For detailed guidance on how to

get your student visa, please read

our article “

German Student Visa

Requirements

“.

By the time you are collecting the

documents we suggest to contact

the German embassy/consulate in

person and make a visa

appointment.

Make sure you have secured

proper financial means for

studying in Germany. One of the

easiest and the best way to

convince the authorities that you

have enough money to cover your

study and living cost is by opening

a so called Blocked bank account.

We suggest to 

open a blocked

bank account with Fintiba

. Fintiba

is a German company and is

officially approved by the German

Federal Foreign Office.

Along with other documents, the

German embassy/consulate in

your home country will also require

you to get a health insurance

policy before granting you a

student visa.

Most international students in

Germany prefer to get health

insured with 

DR-WALTER

.

The health insurance tariff

EDUCARE24 by DR-WALTER

 is

suitable for the following groups

of people:

Foreign exchange students,

language students and students

participating in university

preparatory courses

(Studienkolleg)

University students

Participants in exchange

programmes (e.g. ERASMUS,

DAAD, SOKRATES)

Trainees

Accompanying family members

Still have questions about health

insurance? 

Learn more about

health insurance in Germany from

experts.

Get health insurance by DR-

WALTER online within a few

minutes

7. Find

Accommodation

(If possible two weeks before your

landing in Germany)

Now that you’re officially an

admitted student in Germany and

you have your student visa you

must think of a place to stay in.

Accommodation in Germany for

international students

 is not that

expensive, but is normal that as a

foreign student, you should strive

to find the most financially suitable

place for you.

We recommend you give the

deserved priority to this issue

because it may cost you a lot of

time which otherwise you would

use to study. With that in mind, you

can try to find an accommodation

online before landing in Germany.

In the end, if you don’t find

something that fits for you, at least

you have a list of resources to

contact to secure your

accommodation the day you land

in Germany. As with other steps

explained above, you must find

accommodation as soon as you

gain your student visa. Two weeks

before your landing in Germany

should be fine.

8. Enroll At Your

University

(First week after arriving in

Germany)

The final step to officially be given

a place at the university of your

choice is to enroll in the course at

which you have been admitted. In

this sense, the enrollment process

takes you from a successful

applicant to a registered student in

Germany.

The public higher education in

Germany is offered for free, but

you will still have to pay a

registration fee which ranges

somewhat between €150 and

€250. Additionally, you will have to

pay for your Semester ticket to use

public transportation free of

charge for 6 months.

To enroll at your university course

in Germany you need to personally

appear at the administration office

of your university and submit the

following documents:

Your valid passport

A passport photo

Your Visa or Residence Permit

Completed and signed Application

Form

Degree qualifications (original

documents or certified copies)

The Letter of Admission

Proof of health insurance in

Germany (

You can get your health

insurance here.

)

The payment fee receipt

Following your enrollment in the

university administration will issue

you a registration document (ID

card) which can later be used for

residence permit application and

attendance of your classes.

An important note: You need to re-

register each semester following

the completion of the previous one

and again you will have to cover

the same registration costs.

Make sure to also read our article

about 

the first things you need to

do after you arrive in Germany

.

For a more in-depth guide to

studying in Germany as an

international student and

everything you need to know check

out 

The Complete Guide to

Studying in Germany for Free

.

Last Updated on July 1st, 2019