How to get a student visa for Germany
Things to be aware of:
- You will have to make an appointment at a German mission abroad to submit your visa application. Appointments have to be booked many weeks / several months in advance.
- The relevant authorities sometimes take three to four months to process a visa application. In rare cases, it can take even longer.
Please apply early so that your visa can be issued in time for the start of the semester.
Germany's Federal Foreign Office has produced an interactive Visa Navigator tool. You can use this to check whether you need a visa. If you do need one, it'll help you figure out which type of visa you need.
Studying in Germany requires a long-term stay.
To obtain a visa to study in Germany, you should follow these steps:
- Visit the website of the Federal Foreign Office - Consular Service Portal and select your country of residence in the selection window.
- Then select your responsible German mission and click on ‘APPLY ONLINE NOW’. Follow the further instructions on the Consular Service Portal.
Not sure which visa is right for you? Then visit the Federal Foreign Office's Visa Navigator to find out which visa is the best solution for you.
You will be applying for a national visa (aka a D-visa). More specifically, you’ll apply for a study visa.
In some exceptional cases, the following types of visas may also be considered:
- Study visa with a prior language course or internship - You can apply for this visa if you have been offered a place of study at a Studienkolleg or if you plan to attend a preparatory language course before your university studies in Germany.
- Study visa without admission (a.k.a. applicant visa) - You can apply for this visa after you have applied for a place of study, but before you have received an offer. This type of visa limits your stay in Germany to 90 days. You must secure a place of study within that time and apply for a residence permit once you have enrolled at the university.
You must visit the website of the German mission that serves your home country to find out what evidence they need from you.
The list on this page is indicative and might not be comprehensive. That said, you will likely need to bring along some or all of the documents below:
- The completed visa application form.
- Your valid passport (please make sure the validity of your passport is sufficient to cover your entire stay in Germany).
- All prior school and university education certificates (e.g. final report card/certificate from your secondary school giving you access to university education in your home country as well as any university degree certificates and transcripts from previous university studies) which you submitted in support of your application to the University of Passau.
- Your curriculum vitae.
- Proof that you meet the German language requirements for your chosen degree programme (e.g. a German language certificate) or evidence that shows you are planning to attend an intensive German language course in Germany. NB: This is not required at this stage if you are applying for one of these English-taught degree programmes: M.Sc. Artificial Intelligence Engineering, M.Sc. Computational Mathematics, M.Sc. Computer Science or M.A. Development Studies.
- Proof of sufficient funds for your stay, such as one of the following:
- A scholarship or bursary with a stipend of at least €992 per month (as of January 2026).
- A guarantee ("Verpflichtungserklärung") given by a company, organisation or private individual, that the they will pay for any expenses incurred during your stay in Germany, as well as bank account statements showing that the amounts have actually been paid into the account. The guarantee has to be certified by the immigration office if the guarantors are based in Germany, or, after a credit check, by the relevant German embassy if the guarantors are based abroad.
- A blocked savings account ("Sparbuch mit Sperrvermerk") held in a German bank, with a monthly withdrawal limit of €992 (as of January 2026). The limit can only be removed with the approval of the foreigners registration office. The minimum deposit must be €992 times the number of months required for your visa application. Most embassies will ask for the first 12 months of your stay to be financed in advance, i.e. 11,904 euros.
- For the most up-to-date information, please visit the German government's page about proof of financing for international students.
- A health insurance certificate that covers you for your initial arrival and stay in Germany. To obtain a visa, it is usually sufficient to have travel insurance, but you will have to take out (or provide evidence of) a comprehensive health insurance before you enrol at the university.
- Depending on the type of visa you are applying for:
- If you are applying for a Studentenvisum (student visa/study visa with admission to a German university): the offer letter ("Zulassungsbescheid") from the University.
- If you are applying for a Studienbewerbervisum (applicant visa/study visa without admission): the confirmation of receipt of your university application from the University of Passau or Uni-assist, as the case may be. This is proof that you are applying for a place on a degree programme in Germany.
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