Documents required for Study Visa for GERMANY

The law of Germany states that it is necessary for every international student excluding those from European countries and the countries who are in an agreement with the Europe Union, to enter the country only if they have a permanent visa. The embassy of your country or the German embassy in your country is responsible for providing visa to foreign students. The visa application is accepted only if you have been admitted to a German university. If you have applied to a German university and have yet to get a acceptance letter, and yet wish to apply for a visa; then you can apply for a student applicant visa. You will need a valid passport in order to apply for any category of visa. Read further to know about the visa process.

Student Visa Process:

• The visa application along with the necessary documents should be submitted atleast 8 weeks in advance.
• Two types of visa categories are available

Student applicant visa – You can apply for this type of visa if you do have an admission certificate or application confirmation from the German university. You can later change the student applicant visa to student visa if you get the acceptance letter from the university.

Student visa – You can apply for this type of visa if you have an admission certificate from a German university. You’ll need to submit various documents that state you acceptance at the time of application for visa.

Schengen visa are also issued to people who wish to travel to various European countries while on their trip to Germany.

Documents required:

Applying for a German visa can be challenging, if you are unaware of the documents that need to be submitted. You will need the following documents for German national visa:

Valid passport

You must have a valid passport issued within the last 10 years and with at least 12 months validity after the scheduled return. Passports with at least two empty pages are accepted.

Letter of admission from German university

At the time of visa application, produce the letter from the German academic institution/university (in German language) confirming the admission.

Proof of language proficiency

As an international student, you may be asked to produce proof of language proficiency in English (TOEFL/IELTS) and/or German language proficiency, depending on the language in which your course will be taught. These are very important documents for German national visa as some of the universities would need both English and German language certificates, if the course is partially in German.

Application form & declarations duly signed

Submit your fully-filled and signed visa application form.

Passport’s data page

An A4 size copy of your passport’s data page needs to be submitted.

Personal cover letter

Explain the exact purpose and duration of your stay in the cover letter.

Proof of payment of study fees, if applicable

Proof of financial means to cover the educational & other costs for the duration of your studies in Germany, by one of the following documents:

• confirmation of scholarship/stipend
• “Verpflichtungserklärung”, which is the formal obligation letter by a sponsor living in Germany
• Sanctioned loan and document of the collateral, including contacts of bank providing the loan, if applicable
• Income Tax Return of last 3 years of co-borrower of financial loan, or sponsor, if any
• Financial guarantee letter from parents/other relatives, if applicable
• “Sperrkonto”, which is a blocked account in your name in Germany showing a minimum balance of around eight thousand Euros and the remark that the account holder stating that the bank can dispose a monthly amount of 659 Euros.

Certificates of Educational Qualifications:

Submit your mark sheets & other certificates of educational qualifications for Matriculation, HSSC, Graduation, Post-Graduation & others, as applicable.

Proof of work experience, if any

3 passport size photographs

The photos should be taken according to biometric specifications, not older than 6 months.

Health Insurance for initial period

Two identical application sets with the above-mentioned documents for German national visa should be submitted during the application. It is mandatory to bring your original certificates along with you, which will be returned to you later after verification.