Germany Student Visa: How to Apply at a German Embassy or Consulate Overseas
This page looks at the process for applying for the Germany Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate overseas (i.e. outside of Germany). We look at how, when and where to apply as well as detail the documentation requirements for your Germany Student Visa application.
❗ Note: We endeavour to keep our visa information up to date. However, before applying, we recommend always cross-referencing our information with the official application information from the German embassy or consulate where you will be applying for the visa.
🎓 Germany is undoubtedly one of the best places in the world to study. With a host of world-class universities, a rich history of research and academia and fantastic cities to live and study in, Germany is a perfect setting for your student years.
But if you are a non-EU citizen, you need to secure a Germany Student Visa before you can move to Germany and start enjoying your new student life. This page aims to help you do just that!
Before we take a look at how to apply for the Germany Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate, it is important to note that the visa also allows you to also work 120 full days or 240 half days per year.
Who is this page for?
🌍 This page is for applying for the Germany Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate before arriving in Germany.
Citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom also have the option of applying for the Student Visa after arriving in Germany. If you are from one of the countries listed, you can enter Germany for up to 90 days without a visa and apply for the Germany Student Visa at an immigration office in Germany during this period. We have provided a detailed guide on how to do this at the immigration office in Berlin.
Citizens from all other countries must apply for a Germany Student Visa before entering Germany at their local German embassy or consulate.
Who is eligible to apply for the Germany Student Visa?
🎓 If you are applying for the Germany Student Visa at a German consulate or embassy overseas, you must first fulfil the following prerequisites:
✔️ University place – to be issued a Student Visa, you must already have been enrolled or received conditional approval for a place at a German university.
✔️ You must submit your visa documentation (see below) via an in-person appointment at the German embassy or consulate of the country you are resident in.
In general, you can only apply for the Germany Student Visa within 90 days of your intended arrival in Germany. As appointments at embassies and consulates can fill up months in advance, we recommend that you keep a close eye on the appointment booking window so that you secure an appointment in this 90-day time period.
How to apply for the Germany Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate
Pre-requisites – Enroll or receive conditional approval for a place at a German university
1️⃣ Apply for a temporary Student Visa at your local German embassy or consulate
2️⃣ Move to Germany. Register at an address (Anmeldung) and start studying on temporary Student Visa
3️⃣ Upgrade temporary Student Visa to a full Student Visa at an immigration office in Germany
1️⃣ Apply for a temporary Student Visa at your local German embassy or consulate
Making an appointment at your local German embassy or consulate
📅 Once you have enrolled or received conditional approval for a place at a German university, the first task is to book an appointment for a national/long-term visa at your local German embassy or consulate. You can find your local embassy or consulate here.
Once on the relevant Germany embassy/consulate website, navigate to the section for national visas (often called ‘National visa’, Long-term visas’ or ‘Visas for more than 90-day stays’).
Here you will be able to access the embassy/consulate appointment booking platform where you can schedule a national visa appointment. Once you have scheduled your appointment, you will receive a confirmation email that will provide you with details of where and when you must attend your visa appointment at the German embassy or consulate.
Once you have your visa appointment scheduled, it is time to start preparing your Germany Student Visa application. Read on for details about the documents you will need to submit at your appointment…
Essential documents for your Germany Student Visa application at the German consulate or embassy
As each German embassy/consulate requests slightly different documents for the Student Visa, it is not possible to provide a definitive list of what you are required to bring with you. You can find your local German Embassy/Consulate using this link. Before attending your appointment, you should also look up the specific requirements on the embassy/consulate website you will be applying at.
However, in general, you will be required to submit the following at your embassy/consulate appointment:
✅ A valid passport and photocopies of your passport data page
Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months longer than the intended stay, have at least 2 free pages, and not be older than 10 years old. You must also provide two photocopies of your passport data page.
✅ Two current biometric passport photos
Guidelines recommend a 35 mm x 45 mm frontal shot with a neutral facial expression, closed mouth, looking straight into the camera, with a light background. We recommend having these taken in a passport photo booth.
✅ Motivational letter
The motivational letter should outline the details of your stay in Berlin, why you want to study in Germany, what university you are studying at, the course you will be attending and the length of your stay.
✅ Two completed visa application forms (Antrag auf Erteilung eines nationalen Visums)
You can download a blank copy of the form here.
✅ Completed declaration of accuracy of information
This is downloadable from the German embassy website that you apply at and is often included as the final page of the visa application form.
✅ Conditional acceptance letter or enrollment letter at a German university
✅ Proof of funds
There are four different ways you can show proof of funds for the Germany Student Visa.
N.B! All of these may not be accepted at the specific embassy/consulate that you are applying at. Having spoken to a number of German embassies/consulates, they all have specified different proof of funds requirements, although a blocked account (escrow account) has generally been the preferred option. The four different options are:
Providing a bank statement of a blocked account (Sperrkonto) with a balance of at least €11,208. Note: this amount is a recent increase. For further details, see this article from the German foreign office.
To open a blocked account, we like Fintiba as it can be opened from overseas and is a quick online process with relatively low fees compared to the other banks that offer this type of account. The fee is €89 to open the account and €4.90 per month thereon.
For more details, check out our guide on blocked accounts in Germany.
Submitting a letter of support from your parents. The letter should be a typed, signed letter stating that they will support you financially during your time on the Germany Student Visa.
This letter of support from your parents must be notarised. Along with the letter of support, you must also show their proof of income in the last six months. A recent bank statement or their previous tax return is sufficient. While a letter of support is accepted by the immigration office in Berlin, we recommend you check this with your local German embassy if applying overseas.
Providing official confirmation of a scholarship you have received for your study stating the duration of the scholarship and the amount of the monthly allowances.
Submitting a declaration of commitment by a third party. Third parties living in Germany with sufficient creditworthiness (who agree to cover the applicant’s subsistence expenses) can submit a declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung). You can read more about this here.
✅ Proof of health insurance
The health insurance requirements vary between German embassies and consulates. Here we propose two different options:
As a minimum, most embassies or consulates require that you have at least 3 months of travel/expat insurance when applying for the Germany Student Visa (although insurance cover is sometimes needed for the full duration of your visa).
To meet this minimum requirement, our favourite option is Feather’s expat health insurance. Feather’s policy is well-priced and can be paid for and cancelled month to month. This policy will ensure you have sound coverage for your first months in Germany.
German public health insurance
As a student in Germany, it is mandatory that you take out German health insurance. Therefore, rather than opting for Feather’s expat coverage (which will need to eventually be cancelled and substituted for German health insurance once in Germany), you can actually go one step better and sign up for German public health insurance prior to applying for your visa at the embassy/consulate.
For this, we like TK’s Student Policy. TK is a leading German public health insurer and one of the only insurers that provide English customer support. For further details of why TK insurance is a good choice, see here.
Before applying, we recommend checking the specific insurance requirements set by the German embassy or consulate where you will be applying.
✅ Proof of language proficiency
If your study programme is in German, you will be required to prove your language proficiency. To do this, you can sit the Goethe-Zertifikat exams through the Goethe Institut, which have exams for German A1 / A2 / B1 /B2 / C1 / C2 depending on what level you are required to prove. Alternatively, many universities accept the TestDaf language test.
On the other hand, if your course is taught in English and you are not a native English speaker, you will be required to prove your English language proficiency. For this, you can complete a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (The International English Language Testing System) test.
If lectures will be conducted in English, confirmation of this will also be required from the university.
✅ Recognised entitlement to university admission
Usually, this is a high school diploma or graduation certificate. Also, bring any other documentation that proves you are entitled to study in Germany that you submitted when applying for German universities.
✅ Evidence of previous academic performance
Transcripts, diplomas, certificates, etc. This can include anything that shows proof of your previous academic performance.
✅ CV
An up-to-date copy of your CV either in German or English.
✅ Self-addressed prepaid courier envelope
Your passport and visa can usually be posted back to you once approved at the German embassy or consulate. This may be a good option if you do not live close to your local embassy or consulate.
Processing of the Germany Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate
📄 Two identical sets of documents have to be submitted at your visa appointment at the German embassy/consulate. Originals will be returned to you after they have been examined.
Once you have submitted all of the correct documents at your visa appointment, the German embassy/consulate will send your application to the relevant authorities in Germany for approval. Approval can take between 1 and 3 months so make sure you factor in this processing time when applying for the Germany Student Visa.
Germany Student Visa approval by the German embassy/consulate
If and when the German embassy/consulate receives approval from the German authorities that they can issue you a Student Visa, you will be notified and invited back to the embassy/consulate to collect your visa.
Note: if approved, you will likely only receive a temporary 90 or 180-day Student Visa that will need to be upgraded to a full Germany Student Visa once you are in Germany (see step 3 below).
However, you may receive a Germany Student Visa that is valid for the entirety of your stay, especially if you are only going to be studying in Germany for 1 year or less.
🎉 Congratulations, once you have made it this far you will have successfully applied for a temporary Student Visa and can start preparing for your move to Germany. Once in Germany, follow our instructions in steps 2 and 3 below to upgrade your temporary Student Visa to a full Student Visa.
2️⃣ Move to Germany. Register at an address (Anmeldung) and start studying on a temporary Student Visa
As mentioned above, if your Germany Student Visa is approved at the embassy/consulate, this will likely be a 90 or 180-day temporary Student Visa that entitles you to move to Germany and to start studying.
During this 90/180-day period, it is essential that you complete the following step in order to stay longer-term in Germany:
🏠 Complete your Anmeldung
To upgrade your temporary Student Visa at an immigration office in Germany, you must first have officially registered at an address in Germany, a process that is known as Anmeldung. Without an Anmeldung certificate, you won’t be able to upgrade to a full Student Visa (see step 3 below).
If you need to quickly register at an address in Berlin, then you may be interested in booking a furnished apartment with Smartments. Smartments provide well-located, studio accommodation and offer Anmeldung so long as you book for at least 14 nights. By opting for Smartments, you can get registered within days of arriving in Berlin.
Once you have completed your Anmeldung, you’re ready to move on to step 3 and upgrade your temporary 90/180-day Student Visa to a full Germany Student Visa at an immigration office in Germany.
3️⃣ Upgrade temporary Student Visa to full Student Visa in Germany
As a Berlin-based relocation company, we have provided full details below of how to upgrade to a full Student Visa at the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) in Berlin. If you are moving to another part of Germany, the process will likely be similar but we recommend that you also check the application requirements at your local immigration office.
How to make an appointment at the immigration office in Berlin
📅 To upgrade to a full Student Visa in Berlin, you first need to schedule an appointment at the immigration office in Berlin:
Follow the link to book a Student Visa appointment on the immigration office's online booking platform.
Once on the booking platform, click on the ‘Book Appointment’ button to start the process.
Select the visa you wish to apply for. You will then be shown a calendar with available appointments:
Available appointments show up in blue. Select an available appointment from the calendar and enter your personal details in the appointment booking form to complete the booking.
If there are no appointments currently available, you will be shown the following message:
If you are shown this message, you need to wait for the next batch of appointments to be released by the immigration office. Visa appointments are released sporadically throughout the week so we recommend checking the appointment booking platform multiple times a day from around 7 a.m.
Once you have successfully scheduled a Germany Student Visa appointment, you will be emailed an appointment confirmation with details of when and where you must go to apply for the visa:
For more detailed instructions, see our guide on how and when to book a Student Visa appointment at the immigration office in Berlin.
Where to upgrade your temporary Student Visa to a full Germany Student Visa in Berlin
🧭 Once you have scheduled a visa appointment, your visa appointment confirmation will detail when and where to upgrade your temporary Germany Student Visa.
In all cases, the Germany Student Visa is processed at the immigration office at Keplerstraße 2, Charlottenburg, 10589 Berlin.
Here is a picture of the immigration office so that you know you are in the right place when you map to the address. When arriving at the address, go down the short driveway and the entrance will be on the left. There will also be a security guard to point you in the right direction.
Essential documents for upgrading to a full Student Visa in Berlin
To be issued a full Germany Student Visa, you must submit the following documents at your appointment at the immigration office in Berlin:
✅ A valid passport
Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months longer than the intended stay, have at least 2 free pages, and not be older than 10 years old.
✅ One current biometric passport photo
Guidelines recommend a 35mm x 45mm frontal shot with neutral facial expression and closed mouth, looking straight into the camera with a light background.
You can obtain a biometric photo from the silver photo booths at the main train stations in Berlin. There are three photo booths located at Alexanderplatz train station. Here is a useful map of all places you can obtain passport photos in Berlin.
✅ Proof of main residence in Berlin (address registration certificate)
In order to upgrade to a full Germany Student Visa in Berlin, you must first be officially registered at an address in Berlin, a process that is known as Anmeldung. See our Anmeldung guide for details about how to register your address and receive your address registration certificate (Anmeldebestätigung or Meldebescheinigung).
Registering at an address in Berlin is currently not as straightforward as it sounds – the reason for this is that there is currently a shortage of available apartments that allow address registration. Without registration, you are unable to upgrade your temporary Student Visa and your whole relocation can be put in jeopardy.
If you need to quickly register at an address in Berlin, then you may be interested in booking a furnished apartment with Smartments. Smartments provide well-located, studio accommodation and offer Anmeldung so long as you book for at least 14 nights. By opting for Smartments, you can get registered within days of arriving in Berlin.
✅ Proof of funds
As with your overseas application, there are four different ways you can show proof of funds when upgrading to a full Germany Student Visa. These include:
Providing a bank statement of an escrow account (Sperrkonto) with a balance of at least €11,208.
To open a Sperrkonto, we like Fintiba as it can be opened from overseas and is a quick online process with relatively low fees compared to the other banks that offer this type of account. The fee is €89 to open the account and €4.90 per month thereon.
Submitting a letter of support from your parents. The letter should be a typed signed letter stating that they will support you financially during your time on the Germany Student Visa. This letter of support must be notarised. Along with the letter of support, you must also show their proof of income in the last six months. A recent bank statement or their previous tax return is sufficient.
Providing official confirmation of a scholarship you have received for your study stating the duration of the scholarship and the amount of the monthly allowances.
Submitting a declaration of commitment by a third party. Third parties living in Germany with sufficient creditworthiness (who agree to cover the applicant's subsistence expenses) can submit a declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung). You can read more about this here.
✅ Health insurance
If you initially applied for TK German public health insurance when you applied for the temporary Student Visa at the German embassy or consulate overseas (step 1 above), then you will already be covered by the policy you used. You can just show the same TK policy documents to the immigration office in Berlin to show that you are covered.
If you initially opted just for expat insurance (with Feather), a good option is to upgrade to TK’s Student Policy prior to your visa appointment at the immigration office in Berlin.
✅ Certificate of enrollment or conditional approval for studying at a German university
✅ Completed 'Application for Issuance of a Residence Permit' form (Antrag auf Erteilung eines Aufenthaltstitels)
You can download the form here.
What to do at your appointment at the immigration office in Berlin
🏛️ On the date of your appointment, go to the immigration office and head to the floor and waiting room specified on your visa appointment confirmation. On your visa appointment confirmation, your Waiting Number (Vorgangsnummer) will also be specified:
When your Waiting Number is displayed on the screen, it will be accompanied by a room number, which is where your Student Visa will be processed.
All you are required to do is go to the designated room and hand over all of the essential documents (outlined above) to the immigration office staff member. The staff member will then assess your application and process the visa.
Your full Student Visa will either be:
issued on the spot at the immigration office
or
ordered by the immigration office and you will be requested to collect your Student Visa card from the immigration office after approximately 6 weeks. In certain circumstances, this card may be mailed to your registered address.
Finally, you must pay for the Student Visa at the machine located in the corridor using the plastic pay card you are provided with. The processing fee for the Student Visa is €100.
🎉 Congratulations, this marks the completion of your visa process – for further tips on living in Germany, check out our other free resources and guides!