How to Apply for the Germany Student Visa at the Immigration Office in Berlin
This page details exactly how, where and when to apply for the Germany Student Visa in Berlin. We not only take a look at all the application and document requirements for the visa but also look at how to book a visa appointment at the immigration office and what you should do at this appointment.
❗ 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 Berlin immigration authorities.
🎓 Ask anyone who has spent their student years in Berlin whether they would recommend studying in the city and the answer will almost certainly be yes. Whether you are looking to attend a world-class university, live in a truly multicultural city or revel in an electric party scene, Berlin offers everything a student might want and much much more.
But for non-EU citizens, being able to study in Germany relies on securing the appropriate Germany Student Visa. Below, we have outlined the application process for applying for the Germany Student Visa after arriving in Germany.
Before we take a closer look at how to apply for this visa, it is important to note that you can also work 120 full days or 240 half days per year on a Germany Student Visa.
Who is this page for?
This page is for applying for the Germany Student Visa at the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) in Berlin. Citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, South Korea, Japan or the United Kingdom can apply for the Germany Student Visa after arriving in Germany. If you are from these countries, you are permitted to enter Germany for 90 days without needing a visa and can then apply for the Student Visa during this period.
All other nationalities must apply for a Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate before entering Germany. To help you out, we have also put together a guide for applying for the Germany Student Visa at a German embassy or consulate.
Basic pre-requisites for applying for the Student Visa in Berlin
If applying for the Germany Student Visa after your arrival in Berlin, there are a number of prerequisites that you must fulfill:
✔️ University place – to be issued a Germany Student Visa, you must already have been enrolled or received conditional approval for a place at a German university.
✔️ You must submit your documentation via an in-person appointment at the immigration office in Berlin.
✔️ Your primary residence must be in Berlin. To prove this, you must officially register at an address in Berlin. For further details, see step 1 below.
How to Apply for a Student Visa for Germany at the Immigration Office in Berlin.
Pre-arrival – Enroll in or receive conditional approval for a place at a German university
1️⃣ Move to Berlin. Enter Germany visa-free for up to 90 days and officially register at an address (Anmeldung).
2️⃣ Apply for the Germany Student Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
1️⃣ Move to Berlin. Enter Germany visa-free for up to 90 days and officially register at an address (Anmeldung).
🏠 To apply for any form of visa at the immigration office in Berlin, including the Germany Student Visa, you must first officially register at an address in Berlin, a process that is known as Anmeldung. Without Anmeldung, the immigration office will not permit you to submit your application.
As a student, your university may well be able to offer some student accommodation that you can register at. If not, 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 officially registered at an address in Berlin, you can then move on to step 2 and apply for the Germany Student Visa at the immigration office in Berlin.
2️⃣ Apply for the Germany Student Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
Once you have enrolled in or received conditional approval for a place at a German university and registered your address in Berlin, you are ready to submit your application for a Germany Student Visa.
To do this, follow the application process below.
Essential documents for the Germany Student Visa
To be issued a 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)
As mentioned above, in order to apply for the 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 apply for a 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
There are four different ways you can show proof of funds for the Germany Student Visa. These include:
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 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. While Deutsche Bank/Sparkasse also offer blocked accounts, the process can take significantly longer.
See our guide on blocked accounts in Germany for further details.
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.
It is often easier to provide a letter of support/proof of income from your parents than to open an escrow account. While a letter of support is accepted by the immigration office in Berlin, we recommend you check this with your local German embassy or consulate 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 on an official form. 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
As part of proving that you have a secure livelihood while studying in Germany, you must also have sufficient health insurance coverage. German public health insurance or private health insurance may be used for this purpose.
Our favourite choice is German public health insurance as it is reasonably priced for students and is guaranteed to meet the health insurance requirements for the Germany Student Visa. For this, we like TK’s Student Policy. We like TK because:
They are accepted and approved by the immigration office in Berlin.
They meet all the requirements for the Germany Student Visa
They are consistently recognised as the no.1 public health insurer in Germany.
They provide English-speaking customer support and English policy documents.
You can quickly sign up for TK public health insurance here. For further details of why TK is a good option, see our top 6 reasons for choosing TK health insurance.
✅ 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.
How to book a Student Visa appointment at the immigration office in Berlin
🕓 The standard waiting time for a Germany Student Visa appointment in Berlin is 1–3 months. When applying for your visa, account for the waiting time to ensure you have enough time to obtain the visa prior to the start of your university course.
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 booked an appointment using the instructions above, you will receive a confirmation email specifying details of your appointment at the immigration office.
📅 For more detailed instructions, see our website guide or YouTube guide on how and when to book a Student Visa appointment at the immigration office in Berlin.
Where to Apply for the Germany Student Visa in Berlin
🧭 As mentioned, your appointment confirmation will detail when and where to apply for your 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. You just need to go down the short driveway and the entrance will be on your left. There will also be a security guard present to point you in the right direction.
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 Germany 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 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 Germany Student Visa at the machine located in the corridor using the plastic pay card you are provided with. The processing fee for the Germany Student Visa is €100.
🎉 Congratulations, you have now successfully applied for the Germany Student Visa!
If you have questions specific to the Student Visa, you can also message the relevant department at the immigration office. For the Germany Student Visa, you should email B1@lea.berlin.de or B2@lea.berlin.de.