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Visa for Studying in Germany

German Student Visa Without the Guesswork

A German student visa lets you come to Germany for a full degree once a university has admitted you. You must show €11,904 for your first year, health insurance and your admission letter. The rules are clear, but the waiting time is not. Germany publishes no official processing time, and some embassies quote more than two years.

Reviewed by Dennis Maaß, immigration expert at Caselink · Last reviewed

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Key points

  • You need an admission, €11,904 for your first year and health insurance. Documents from India, China or Vietnam also need an APS certificate.
  • A blocked account is common but not required. A German public scholarship or a sponsor’s formal obligation letter also count.
  • Germany publishes no official waiting time. Missions quote anything from two days to more than 27 months.
  • Refused visas are no longer re-examined on request since 1 July 2025, so a complete first application matters more than ever.
  • Since 1 June 2024 the local immigration office no longer has to approve a standard student visa.

Sources: Make it in Germany: Visa for studying (as of January 2026); Bundestag Drucksache 21/1914 (federal government answer on student visas); Bundestag Drucksache 21/5935 (federal government answer on visa waiting times); Federal Foreign Office: End of the remonstration procedure (press release)

Requirements

What You Need for the Visa

The legal basis for a full degree is § 16b of the Residence Act. Each mission adds its own checklist, so the details below are the national rules, not the full list for your embassy.

Requirements for a German student visa
RequirementWhat the mission expectsWatch out for
AdmissionAn admission letter from a state or state-recognised university, or an acceptance to a Studienkolleg.Every condition must be written in the letter. Some conditional admissions qualify only at the mission’s discretion.
Proof of funds€992 a month, so €11,904 for the first year. Usually shown with a blocked account.Tuition fees come on top. Study applicants without an admission need €1,091 a month.
Health insuranceCover for the visa, as your mission’s checklist specifies.After enrolling you need German insurance. The choice to opt out of the statutory scheme cannot be reversed.
LanguageProof in the language of instruction, unless the university already checked it during admission.APS India does not accept medium-of-instruction letters as language proof.
APS certificateNeeded if your academic documents were issued in India, China or Vietnam.Your own school or university must answer APS. Tell them in advance.
Visa fee€75, paid at the mission.After arrival, the residence permit costs another €100.

Sources: § 16b Residence Act (AufenthG); Federal Foreign Office: Guidance for universities on student visas (as of April 2025); Make it in Germany: Visa for studying (as of January 2026); Make it in Germany: Visa to look for a study place (as of January 2026); § 8 Social Code Book V (SGB V); APS India: FAQs; § 46 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); § 45 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV)

No admission yet?

A study-applicant visa lets you look for a place in Germany for up to nine months. It is granted at the authority’s discretion and needs €1,091 a month. The residence permit you then receive in Germany allows work of up to 20 hours a week. Once admitted, you can switch to a student permit without leaving Germany.

Sources: § 17 Residence Act (AufenthG); Make it in Germany: Visa to look for a study place (as of January 2026); Federal Foreign Office: Guidance for universities on student visas (as of April 2025)

Not covered on this page

Language courses without a study place, school attendance and vocational training follow other rules. Students who want to bring a spouse or children can read our guide to family reunion. Graduates moving into a job can continue with our work visa service.

The Reality

Where Student Visa Applications Stall

Most delays are not about eligibility. They come from queues, document checks and files that are not complete. Here is what goes wrong, and what you can do about it.

The appointment queue is the longest step

Germany records no average waiting time, so each mission quotes its own. Dhaka reports more than 27 months, Vietnam two days. In Yaoundé a scholarship holder waits up to a month, a self-funded student up to a year.

What helps

Register once, with your own email address, and never book twice. Some missions delete duplicate bookings or restart the wait when the email changes. Nobody can buy a better place in the queue.

Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/5935 (federal government answer on visa waiting times); German Embassy Dhaka: Waiting list for national visas; German Embassy Yaoundé: Appointment booking (read 7 November 2026); German Embassy Yaoundé: Rules for appointment registration; German Embassy Dhaka: Registration for the waiting list; Federal Foreign Office: Questions on visa appointments

The wording of your admission letter matters

A direct admission gives you a legal right to the visa. Many conditional admissions qualify only at the mission’s discretion. A common example is a language course condition without the course’s own acceptance letter.

What helps

Ask the university to write every condition into the admission letter. Add the acceptance for any preparatory course or Studienkolleg before you apply.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office: Visa Handbook (Visumhandbuch); Federal Foreign Office: Guidance for universities on student visas (as of April 2025); German Missions in India: Student visa

APS runs on its own clock

APS checks academic documents from India, China and Vietnam, and no APS office publishes a processing time. The most common hold-up is the applicant’s own school or university not answering APS.

What helps

Tell your school in advance that APS will write, and that the reply must come from an official email address. Indian master’s applicants should check whether the new dMAT test applies to them.

Sources: APS India: FAQs; APS India: Leaflet for graduates (valid as of June 2026); Bundestag Drucksache 21/1914 (federal government answer on student visas)

The money must match your route

A student needs €992 a month, a study applicant €1,091. Tuition fees come on top. Providers carry risk too: in 2021 the regulator BaFin shut down one that held student money in its own account.

What helps

Budget for the rate of your route before choosing a provider. A German public scholarship or a sponsor’s formal obligation letter can replace the blocked account.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office: Visa Handbook (Visumhandbuch); Make it in Germany: Visa to look for a study place (as of January 2026); BaFin: Order against BAM Bundesweites Anlagenmanagement; § 68 Residence Act (AufenthG)

A refusal now means starting over

Since 1 July 2025 missions no longer re-examine refusals through remonstration. What remains is a new application in the queue, or a lawsuit in Berlin that took 8.7 months on average in 2025.

What helps

Prepare against the Federal Foreign Office’s own list of warning signs. It includes not knowing the content of your programme and costs that do not match your family’s income.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office: End of the remonstration procedure (press release); German missions: Leaflet on the abolition of remonstration (December 2025); Administrative Court of Berlin: Annual report 2025; Federal Foreign Office: Visa Handbook (Visumhandbuch)

One insurance choice cannot be undone

After enrolling, students under 30 can opt out of statutory insurance within three months. The decision cannot be reversed during the degree. Since 2026 insurers check private policies much more strictly.

What helps

Compare both options before the three months run out. Most incoming travel policies are unlikely to qualify for the opt-out.

Sources: § 8 Social Code Book V (SGB V); § 5 Social Code Book V (SGB V); Deutsches Studierendenwerk: Health insurance for international students

What nobody can speed up

No consultant can shorten an embassy queue, buy an appointment or speed up APS. Missions give out appointments strictly in the order of registration, and agencies get no special access. What we can do is make the waiting time count. Your file is complete and consistent when the appointment comes, so it does not go back to the end of the queue.

Source: Federal Foreign Office: Questions on visa appointments

Official Figures

How Long the Embassy Queue Is

The federal government records no average or median waiting time for any visa. Some German missions publish their own estimates for student visas. These are the only official figures, and they differ widely.

Waiting time for a student visa appointment, as published by German missions
German missionPublished wait
Dhaka, BangladeshSelf-funded bachelor’s and master’s applicantsMore than 27 months
Yaoundé, CameroonScholarship holders and researchers: up to one month. The page calls these rough, non-binding guide values.Up to one year
Antananarivo, MadagascarUp to three months
Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, TürkiyeOne to four months
VietnamThe decision then takes about twelve weeks.Appointment within two days
India (all five missions)Mumbai reports a long waiting list for student visas.No figure published

Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/5935 (federal government answer on visa waiting times); German Embassy Dhaka: Waiting list for national visas; German Embassy Yaoundé: Appointment booking (read 7 November 2026); German Embassy Antananarivo: Visa (read 7 November 2026); German Missions in Türkiye: National visas (read 7 November 2026); German Missions in Vietnam: National visas (read 7 November 2026); German Consulate General Mumbai: Waiting list for student visas

In 2025 German missions processed 99,388 national visas for study, against 98,574 in 2024. The five missions in India handled 28,715 of them, about 29%. These totals include study applicants and preparatory courses. Germany publishes no refusal rate for student visas.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office: National visas processed in 2025; Federal Foreign Office: National visas processed in 2024; Bundestag Drucksache 21/1914 (federal government answer on student visas)

The Process

How We Get You to Your Semester

One consultant and one plan, with every document checked before it reaches the embassy.

  1. 1

    Eligibility check and timeline

    We check your admission letter, your route and whether you need APS. Then we plan every step back from your semester start.

  2. 2

    Documents and APS

    You get the checklist for your mission. Our AI flags issues like name mismatches, and your consultant reviews every document before it is used.

  3. 3

    Funds and insurance

    We confirm the right amount for your route and the insurance your mission asks for, before you pay for either.

  4. 4

    Registration and appointment

    You register once, correctly, and submit a complete application. We prepare you for the appointment with the official review criteria in mind.

  5. Arrival and residence permit

    After arrival you register your address and apply for the residence permit before the visa expires. We prepare that step and the insurance decision with you.

Sources: § 81 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 8 Social Code Book V (SGB V)

What It Costs

Official fees are fixed and paid to the authorities. Our flat fee covers the support around them.

Official fees

Official fees for a German student visa
FeeAmount
National (D) visa at the German mission€75
Residence permit after arrival€100
APS certificate, IndiaINR 18,000
APS certificate, China (interview procedure)RMB 2,500
APS certificate, VietnamUSD 150 to 250
uni-assist, first programme (each further one €30)€75

Sources: § 46 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); § 45 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); APS India: Leaflet for graduates (valid as of June 2026); APS China: Leaflet on the procedure (as of September 2026); German Missions in Vietnam: APS; uni-assist: Fees

Not included: the money you show as proof of funds, insurance premiums, translations and tuition.

Student Visa Application

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  • Eligibility check and personal timeline
  • Mission-specific document checklist
  • AI + expert review of every document
  • APS preparation for India, China and Vietnam
  • Proof of funds and insurance guidance
  • Motivation letter review and interview preparation
  • Deadline and dependency tracking dashboard
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  • Support until visa approval
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Frequently Asked Questions

How much money do I need for a German student visa?

In 2026 you must show €992 a month, which is €11,904 for the first year. The amount follows the federal student grant (BAföG) rate. Tuition fees, where a university charges them, come on top. If you have no admission yet and apply as a study applicant, the rate is €1,091 a month.

Sources: Make it in Germany: Visa for studying (as of January 2026); Make it in Germany: Visa to look for a study place (as of January 2026); § 2 Residence Act (AufenthG)

Do I have to open a blocked account?

No. The federal government states that there is no blocked-account obligation, because other proof can secure your living costs. A scholarship from a German public body or a formal obligation letter from a sponsor in Germany also count. A blocked account is the most common proof, and no provider is officially recommended.

Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/1914 (federal government answer on student visas); German Embassy Tbilisi: Leaflet on financing a stay; Federal Foreign Office: Blocked account

Do I need an APS certificate?

You need one if your school or university documents were issued in India, China or Vietnam. Your nationality does not decide it. No APS office publishes a processing time. From the summer semester 2027, some Indian master’s applicants also need the dMAT test as part of their APS documents.

Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/1914 (federal government answer on student visas); APS India: FAQs; APS India: Leaflet for graduates (valid as of June 2026)

How long does a German student visa take?

There is no official answer, because Germany records no average waiting or processing time. The wait depends on the mission. Dhaka reported more than 27 months in June 2026, while Vietnam offers an appointment within two days. The decision after the appointment is usually much faster than the queue before it.

Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/5935 (federal government answer on visa waiting times); German Embassy Dhaka: Waiting list for national visas; German Missions in Vietnam: National visas (read 7 November 2026)

Which health insurance do I need?

You need two kinds. The mission asks for cover for the visa, and the rules vary by mission. After enrolling, students under 30 are normally insured in the statutory scheme. You can opt out within three months, but that choice cannot be reversed while you study. The old 14-semester limit was abolished in 2020.

Sources: Make it in Germany: Visa for studying (as of January 2026); § 5 Social Code Book V (SGB V); § 8 Social Code Book V (SGB V); Deutsches Studierendenwerk: Health insurance for international students

Can I work while studying in Germany?

Yes. You can work 140 full working days a year. During the semester, a week with up to 20 hours counts as only two and a half days. Jobs as a student assistant at your university do not count at all. After graduating, you can stay up to 18 months to find a job.

Sources: § 16b Residence Act (AufenthG); § 20 Residence Act (AufenthG); Federal Foreign Office: Visa Handbook (Visumhandbuch)

What can I do if my student visa is refused?

Since 1 July 2025 German missions no longer re-examine refusals through remonstration. You can apply again, which puts you back in the queue. Or you can sue at the Administrative Court of Berlin within one month. In 2025 a visa lawsuit there took 8.7 months on average.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office: End of the remonstration procedure (press release); German missions: Leaflet on the abolition of remonstration (December 2025); § 74 Code of Administrative Court Procedure (VwGO); Administrative Court of Berlin: Leaflet on visa lawsuits; Administrative Court of Berlin: Annual report 2025

Does the immigration office in Germany have to approve my student visa?

Normally not. Since 1 June 2024 the local immigration office no longer takes part in a standard student visa decision. Where its consent is still needed, the waiting period was cut to ten days. A stalled student visa therefore usually waits at the mission, not in Germany.

Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/1914 (federal government answer on student visas); Federal Foreign Office: Visa Handbook (Visumhandbuch)

Sources and method

Every rule on this page is checked against the current Residence Act, Residence Ordinance and Social Code. Figures come from German missions, the Federal Foreign Office and the federal government’s answers to the Bundestag. We use no blogs, agencies or blocked-account providers as sources for figures. Some mission pages still show outdated amounts, so always compare with your own mission’s current checklist. This page was last reviewed on 7 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice for your individual case.

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