First Steps in Germany for International Students

First of all congratulations on clearing the difficult admission and visa processes for Germany. You
might think that the difficulties are all behind you now but thats not entirely true. You are going to start
a completely new and different life now and its better to prepare for it.
The most important thing is to get in touch with senior Pakistani students at your future university or
the city. Some cities have organized Pakistani Students Associations (PSAs) while others may have
no such organized group. In any case, you can contact students using the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/doc/521151337902134/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/doc/377270705623532/
The key to understand here is that the seniors are helping you voluntarily and are not paid to do so. So
be respectful and grateful in your conversations. Also, everyone here is quite busy. Try to figure out
some things on your own rather than asking seniors for every small step. This might annoy some
people and they might stop responding! The important information you can get from seniors is about
accommodation and city/uni specific information. In some cities, PSAs arrange airport pickup and
temporary accommodation for new students.
Accommodation
There are 58 Studentenwerk organizations in Germany. These offer the best accommodation
possibility for a student in terms of price and facilities. However, since the number of rooms is far less
than the number of students, not all students can get a room there - most of them have a waiting list.
Its best to register at the Studentenwerk in your city and then visit their offices on arrival. Many
students get a room this way. To find the website of the Studentenwerk in your city, use the following
map:
http://www.studentenwerke.de/main/default.asp?id=10100
Other than Studentenwerk, one can look for a room in a shared apartment (called Wohngemeinschaft
or WG) or a single room private apartment. These are generally more expensive and difficult to get for
international students. The idea of renting a 2-3 room flat and sharing it among new students is very
unlikely to realize (especially in big cities). Nobody wants to give away their apartment to a group of
new students who have no steady source of income. So its recommended to try more for individual
rooms/apartments. Be careful while searching on websites for private accommodations; there are also
fraudsters out there. Use the following links to search:
http://www.wg-gesucht.de/
http://www.immobilienscout24.de
Arrival at airport (Flughafen) and reaching your accommodation
Although everything is marked clearly in Germany, it can still be confusing for new students to
understand the transportation system here if they have never seen a well-developed one before. If
some senior student agrees to pick you up from the airport and drop you at your accommodation, that
can help you a lot. If this isnt possible, then you have to find your own way.
Each city has its own transportation network. For example, a student is coming to Munich, he/she can
search for public transport Munich and one of the first links in the results is:
www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/homepage/index.html
Similarly, websites for other cities transportation companies can be found. From these websites, you
can plan your route by entering origin and destination and also check for ticket prices, network maps

etc. Depending on the city, there will be an underground (U) or suburban (S) train or tram (Tram) or
bus (Bus) connection from the airport towards the city center. The symbols in brackets are what you
should look out for at the airport. Somewhere nearby, you will also find ticket machines. Keep some
cash with you. In most cities, tickets need to be validated/stamped before entering the platform for
trains or inside buses and trams. If you dont understand something or are unable to find
something/someplace, ask people around you. Many people (specially young ones) do understand
some English and even if they dont, they try to help out. There are also information centers at airports
marked with a small i symbol.
If you need to travel to some other city, then you will have to use Deutsche Bahn. Use their website:
https://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml
Deutsche Bahn tickets are available from the red ticket machines at airports or railway stations. You
will probably need to reach the central station (Hauptbahnhof) first from the airport in order to continue
your journey to your final destination.
City Registration
Within the first few days of your arrival in Germany, you should register yourself at the local city
authorities. For this, you will need your passport and may also need to show proof of accommodation
(rental contract). This step is called Anmeldung and you will be issued a document called the
Meldebescheinigung. Whenever you change your address in Germany, you have to repeat this
procedure. This document is very important and is needed for everything else.
Bank Account Activation
Next, find a Deutsche Bank branch near your accommodation or university. Deutsche Bank is the bank
having the largest number of branches in Germany and to find one near you shouldnt be so difficult.
To activate your account, you will need your passport and Anmeldung/Meldebescheinigung. You can
withdraw cash from your account at the bank but for using ATM, you have to wait till you receive your
EC Card by post and its PIN. PIN for online banking and a TAN list for online transactions will also be
sent to your postal address within the next few weeks.
Health Insurance
Health insurance is a requirement for enrollment. For this, you will need Anmeldung, university
admission letter and bank details. They will issue you a letter at the same time which can be used for
enrollment. The insurance card will follow within a couple of weeks via post.
Enrollment
If you have already paid your semester fees/semester contribution, you can go to the Enrollment
(Immatrikulation) Office of your university; if not, then pay your fees first. There you need to show proof
of insurance and your original documents. You will then be issued enrollment documents. These are
required for example, by Studentenwerk after each semester and may also be required for issuance of
a semester ticket (for transportation).
Applying for a residence permit
The student visa issued from Pakistan is for 90 days and it is recommended to apply for a residence
permit (Aufenthaltstitel) as soon as you can. For this, you will need enrollment, bank statement, health
insurance, Anmeldung, photo etc. Residence permit is also required for any work you might want to
do.
Important Notes: All offices are closed on weekends (Sat and Sun). Stores and shops are open till
8:00 pm only (except some near central station) and mostly everything is closed on Sunday. So if you

are arriving on a weekend and dont have any contacts, take care about shopping limitations. It is good
to bring some passport photos with you from Pakistan for the above procedures but even if your forgot
them, you can get new ones using Fotoautomats at some train stations etc.
Adjusting to your new environment
Now you have taken care of all important things. The first few days are usually quite hectic; running
around the city for taking care of the above mentioned steps. After completing them, you can relax a
little and observe your environment better, make some new friends and get used to your university and
surrounding areas. If you made it so far, its quite certain you can deal with all this too and then get
started with your new study life.
International Office and Student Groups
All universities have a student office or international office to help out students. If you have any
problems regarding the above procedures or other matters, contact them. Some student groups also
arrange for groups to do the above activities guided by a tutor. Make yourself aware of these
possibilities and benefit yourself from them.

Author: Farish Kagalwala

Date: 16.07.2013
This guide has been written keeping in view new Pakistani students in Germany. The information
contained in the document is based on the personal experiences and observations of the author. It
may not apply exactly to your case and is subject to change. It is the responsibility of the student to
check recent information and act accordingly.

Steps To-do after arrival in Germany (Personal Reviews)

By Lucky Ali on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 6:24pm

1.

University Enrolment / Immatrikulation: First thing first, in the working hours go directly to the university
academic/student service and activate your student status (or registration at the university). After a successful
process they will provide you the information about the following steps to proceed.

2.

Grab a Residence Contract / Mietvertrag: Your residence address is very important in Germany for any
future entries. You should have confirmed your residency before arrival to Germany. Otherwise, find a place to
stay and sign your residence contract (doesnt matter if it is in the campus hostels, a place in the student
apartments or a private flat or whatever).

3.

City Registration / Meldebescheinigung: Same like Union Councils in Pakistan. For legally living in
Germany, you need to be registered with the city administration office. On the residency contract is written your
'from now onward' Home Address in Germany. Take this contract along with your passport and go to the city
registration office called Brgersamt or Stadverwaltung or Rathaus.

4.

Unfreeze the Bank Account / Bank Konto: Once you have those above mentioned 3 things, you can go
directly to your Bank to unfreeze your account. As the bank card takes a while to arrive, you can also get cash
for living expenses, University fee, hostel fee etc. etc.

5.

Biometric Photo: Your will need them for the health insurance card and the residence permit card.

6.

Apply for Health Insurance / Krankenversicherung: At the university student service center you will find a lot
of information about different insurance companies in Germany. Choose the one of your choice and look for

their office timings or take an appointment via phone call or email. Take your matriculation, photo, passport and
other required documents
7.

Apply for Residence Permit / Aufenthaltstitel: The Visa that you get on your passport from Pakistan is just
for entry to Germany and valid only for 3 months, it needs to be extended (converted to a residence
permit).The above documents fulfill the requirement for your extension of visa and get a proper long time
residence permit. Contact the foreign office (Auslndersamt/Auslnderbehrde) in your city and take an
appointment for the visa extension.

8.

Enjoy your Stay in Germany / EUROPE: Stay Happy, make friends, except boiling eggs and frying potato
chips learn how to cook, enjoy your every day life and dont worry if Winter is coming, you will get used to it.
Believe me its still better then Serbia, Norway and Canada and you will easily survive.