Visa & Entry Requirements
I. General information
Students
from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway do not need a
visa or residence permit for Germany. They receive a
“Freizügigkeitsbescheinigung” (i.e., freedom of movement certificate)
upon registering with the local authorities.
Students from Andorra,
Australia (including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island,
Christmas Island), Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Honduras, Israel, Japan,
Monaco, New Zealand (including the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau),
San Marino, Republic of South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States
of America (including the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam,
Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands) do not need a visa to
enter Germany. You will be required to apply for a residence permit
upon enrollment.
All other students require a German student visa
(issued by a German Embassy or Consulate) before entering Germany.
Please note that even if you come from a country (apart from those
already mentioned) whose citizens can enter Germany with a simple travel
visa, you must possess a German student visa in order to apply for the
residence permit. If you don’t have it, you will be required to return
to your home country. This regulation applies both to holders of a
residence permit from another EU country and to persons who entered
Germany with a visitor’s visa. There is no exception to this regulation.
II. The process
You can apply for your VISA at the
nearest German mission, your find your mission here.
A student visa (if applicable) is
required in order to officially enroll at Path 2 University College and
the International University of Bad Honnef.
According to German
law, the VISA officer is to examine the sincerity of the wish to study.
Therefore the applicant needs to prove this sincerity by documents and
appearance.
Visa processing will usually take up to 3 months,
depending on the quality of your preparation. Your visa will be valid
for up to 90 days, after which you need get the prolongation (We assists
you in this process). Some embassies issue a visa whose validity starts
on the day it is picked up. In such a case, if the visa is picked up in
May, for instance, it will have expired before you actually arrive in
Germany. Please clearify this with the German embassy in your country.
Language
requirements
If you enter the IUBH directly, you need to show
an IELTS Score of 6.0 in English language. If you attend the foundation
year, generally an IELTS score of 4.5 is sufficient as you learn
English within the programme.
According to the law, no German is
required as the language of instruction in all IUBH programmes is
English. However, some knowledge of German facilitates your daily life
in Germany and also the VISA process as it underlines your sincerity to
study in Germany.
Financial information
As stated
above, the VISA officer is to make sure that the student has the sincere
wish and the means to study in Germany. Therefore international
students in Germany are required to provide confirmation of funding
(covering tuition and living expenses) in order to obtain a visa and/or
residence permit.
Students participating in the Foundation year:
The price of the first year covers tuition, accommodation, lunch and
further acitivities.
Students in IUBH programs: Tuition covers
the cost of studying, further expenses need to covered by student´s
funds – and therefore the embassy needs a proof for this funding.
The
German embassy calculates 8.000,-€ per year for student´s cost of
living. This means that you need to shows funds for tuition plus
8.000,-€ for the first year and a plausible explanation for the funding
of the following years.
Application and documents needed
You
can apply for a student visa at the nearest German Embassy or
consulate.
You will normally be required to submit the documents
listed below. The embassy, however, can ask for additional documents or
further clarifications. Please check your local embassy or consulate for
details – these are valid for your application.
- Visa
application form (available at the embassy)
- A valid passport
- Admission
Letter and Registrar’s Office Letter
(available upon admission to
P2UC or IUBH) - Proof of sufficient funding (see above)
- Two
passport photos (special regulations):
- Size of photo: 35mm x
45mm
- Size of head from hairline to chin: between 32 and 36 mm
- The face has to be centered and clear
- The light should be
smooth and even on the face – no shadows,
reflexions, or red
eyes.
- The background should be single-colored and there
should be
contrast betwen face and background
- The
photo should have a good quality and display colors realistically
- You should look into the camera with a closed mouth and
a
neutral face expression
- Your eyes have to be visible
-
Headdress is only allowed for religious reasons. If you wear a
headdress
make sure that the face is clearly visible from
hairline to chin