Guide on How to get a German Student Visa?

Every year, there are tonnes of students who are choosing Germany as their study-abroad destination. Most overseas students would likely need to get a German student visa from a German consulate in their country before traveling to Germany for pursuing any degree.

Depending on your home country, you may or may not need a visa to study in Germany. If your term of study will run longer than 90 days after you arrive in Germany, you will still need to apply for a residence visa.

German Student Visa- How to Apply?

The process of applying for a student visa in Germany is a little complicated, according to many international students. Although the procedures differ from country to country, the essential steps you must take generally are described below.

The following steps must be followed in order to apply for a German student visa

Find The Nearest German Consulate or Embassy

Use Google to find a nearby embassy or consulate in your nation (or a neighboring nation) to learn more about the requirements and to make a visa appointment. Every single official German diplomatic post abroad has a webpage with its location and contact information.

Review the guidelines and requirements

After finding the German embassy website, you go to the section on a student visa to review all the unique requirements for your country and the procedures for making a visa appointment. Make sure you have read everything provided in detail before setting up a visa appointment (particularly the documents you need to have).

Make an appointment for a visa

When you are ready, you should book a visa appointment by adhering to the guidelines on the local German embassy's official website. In some nations, you should request your visa appointment a few weeks in advance because the embassy can be overrun with requests and it might take longer for your visa to arrive. Timing is essential; occasionally, there are no more seats available for student visa interviews, so be sure to act fast.

Prepare all the paperwork beforehand

Once the appointment date for your visa has been confirmed, double-check that all of your paperwork is in order. You can submit your application yourself; you are not required to hire any outside consultants or businesses to do it for you.

Get ready for the visa interview

At the time of your visa interview, you should have the payment confirmation and the visa application fee with you. This money is not returnable if your visa application is rejected. You must determine the local currency exchange rate and pay the exact amount.

Indian Students' Study Visa Requirements in Germany

The second-largest international student population in German universities is made up of people from India. The admission of Indian students increased by a record-breaking rate of 20.85 percent during the winter semester of 2019–20, setting a new high. In 2019, there were about 21,000 Indian students studying at German universities.

Let's examine each of the prerequisites for the Germany Study visa individually.

Full and Accurate documentation

In order to obtain a German student visa, Indian students must provide certain documentation. One of the primary prerequisites for a student visa in Germany is keeping the apt stack of documents. The following documents, in both their original form and two copies−

• Passport

• Form for requesting a visa

• A copy A4 sheet of the passport's information page

• Cover letter or a letter of admission from a German university

• German language proficiency score

• A record of your finances

• Certificates of education, colleges, and universities

• Receipt showing payment for the student visa

• passport-sized pictures

• evidence of a Schengen visa (if you had one before)

• Permit to reside in Germany (if you had one before)

• Personal statement outlining the purpose and length of stay

Evidence of Financial Resources

In German, a financing document is referred to as a "Finanzierungsnachweis." One of the most important prerequisites for a German student visa is updating this complicatedly named document. The following are the prerequisites for applicants in general

• A German bank's guarantee for a loan

• Certificate of Scholarship, if Available

• The scholarship should state how much money it will cover in total

• A "Verpflichtungserklärung" letter from a German resident,issued by the Alien's Registration Office. If a German citizen is paying for the course fees, then this is applicable.

• According to another term or requirement “Regelbedarf”, “Applicants need to prove that they have around 11.208 euros at their disposal for one year” to survive in Germany. For international students, there is a specific account. It demonstrates that they are able to pay for their stay for a full year. This covers their monthly living expenditures of €853.

• A promise in writing from the applicant's guardians to pay the application cost. This includes proof of their financial resources and tax returns.

Admission Letter from the University

A letter from the desired university is another prerequisite for the German study visa. This arrives in an email a few weeks after the application is submitted. You must print the email and present it as confirmation of your admission. When applying for a visa, you must present it to the German consulate in your native country.

Evidence of Prior Educational Background

Providing proof of schooling is one of the crucial conditions for an Indian student's study visa in Germany. The required paperwork is −

• sheet markings

• degree transcripts (for applicants of Ph.D. and Mastery courses)

• school-leaving diploma (original)

Proficiency in a Language

Language abilities are one of the prerequisites for a German student visa. The German or English language must be demonstrated as proficiency by Indian pupils. If a student is proficient in both languages, they may also present both certificates.

Language Proficiency Guidelines for German Students

The ability to speak basic German is required of international students. In addition, they can exhibit credentials from German language training programs.

Additionally, students may get a German study program diploma as proof of completion.

The ability to speak some basic German is beneficial for German foreign programs.

Visa Charges

One of the crucial conditions for obtaining a student visa for Germany is paying the visa fees. This is a necessary action. These are the payment costs −

• Over 18 applicants for national visas must pay a cost of €75.

• National visa applicants under the age of 18 must pay a cost of €37.50.

• The processing time for a national visa is 25 days. A total of 12 weeks may be allowed if there are additional papers.

• €110 is required of applicants for a German residency permit (approx). The process takes 8 to 12 weeks to finish.

Scholarships

For Indian students and other international students, Germany offers a variety of scholarships. This is permitted by several German institutions. Low-income individuals or interested candidates can apply for these scholarships offered by prestigious universities.

It is one of the prerequisites for a German study visa. When applying for a visa, scholarship recipients must provide documentation of their confirmation.

Conclusion

To obtain a visa, applicants who want to study in Germany must fulfill a variety of requirements. The majority of the requirements must be satisfied before applying for a visa.

Before applying, make sure you have everything on the German Study Visa Checklist. If you have any questions, you may get in touch with the team of visa professionals, who will walk you through the procedure and assist you with your application essays, cover letters, paperwork, and settling services in Germany. You can find such counselors easily online.