Residence Permit

Please make sure that your living expenses are covered. It is assumed that this is the case if your income is at least (currently) € 861 per month (€ 10.332 per year).

How can you prove that your living expenses are covered?

• You show a Declaration of Commitment pursuant to § 68 Residence Act (that is, a German resident declares to cover your living expenses (>> further information) or
• you pay a security deposit (€ 10.332) into a blocked account or
• you provide a bank guarantee (€ 10.332), such a guarantee has to be renewed on a yearly basis, or an employment contract. If your income as shown in the employment contract is less than € 861 per month, only such lower amount is accepted as security and the difference must be provided for by different means. If your employment contract is for less than one year, the residence permit can only be extended for a shorter period of time).

A residence permit for study purposes is issued for a specific study subject. If you change your study subject, this is considered a change of the purpose of your stay in Germany. Changing your subject is permitted during the first three semesters, and you must inform the Immigration Office without delay of such change. Changing your study subject at a later point may affect your residence permit. Please consult the International Office in good time. Provided that your study and exam results can be transferred to the new subject to a sufficient extent, it may be possible to change the subject.

If you plan to study abroad, you must inform the Immigration Office in advance. If you then do not return to Germany within six months, your German residence permit becomes invalid, even if you are just one day late!

Postgraduate, additional and complementary studies

If, after completing your undergraduate studies (Bachelor or state exam), you want to add a postgraduate, additional or complementary studies course of no more than two years, your residence permit will have to be converted accordingly. Such conversion is generally granted provided that the overall duration of your stay in Germany does not exceed ten years.

• Master's studies that further develop your Bachelor's studies or that complement your chosen profession (e.g. economics for engineers)
• A second course of postgraduate studies (Zweitstudium), provided that the German diplomatic mission confirms that both degrees are necessary for you to take up your chosen profession in your home country (e.g. medicine + dental medicine for becoming an orthodontist)
• PhD studies, provided the university confirms that there is academic interest in the doctoral thesis, or that a PhD degree will improve the chances of finding employment, or that a PhD degree in addition to the studies is customary for certain study subjects

Provided that you have completed your studies within the 10-year period, you can apply for a change of your residence permit for the purposes of doing your PhD. In this case, the overall time of residence may not exceed 15 years as a rule.

If you are doing your doctorate at a research institution, i.e. you have an employment contract with the university or a research center, since March 1, 2020 you can also apply for a residence permit for research purposes in accordance with § 18d AufenthG. You must not be enrolled at the university as a doctoral student and your research work may not be carried out solely for the purpose of writing the dissertation.

You can get further information and advice from the Immigration Office and the International Office.

After you have successfully completed your studies, according to § 20 (1) AufenthG, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit by up to 18 months in order to find a job appropiate to your degree.

Once you have found a job matching your degree, you are entitled to a residence permit pursuant to §§ 18b (1) and (2) (blue card), 18c (3) and (21).

A job is considered matching your degree if it usually requires an academic degree, irrespective of the study subject, and if it necessitates the skills acquired during the university studies, at least partly or indirectly.

The desired employment is appropriate if the activity, regardless of the field of higher education, generally requires an academic degree and the knowledge acquired through higher education is at least partially or indirectly required.

For more information, please contact the immigration office here.

You will need to provide the following documents:

• 1 passport picture
• passport
• application for a residence permit
• proof that your living expenses are covered
• proof of health insurance
• proof of accommodation
• employment contract, or draft thereof, with a detailed job description and monthly salary
• form “job description“ (available from the Immigration Office) filled in by your employer

Changing the purpose of your stay in Germany without leaving the country first can only be considered if you are legally entitled to such change, for example by getting married to a German national.