Obtain a visa for your German Course in Berlin

Your German course with a visa

Below you will find general information on entering Germany:

Citizens of the European Union (EU)

EU citizens only need a valid identity card to enter Germany. Members of the EU are:

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Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus (the Greek part), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.

Citizens from countries without a visa requirement

Citizens from all non-EU countries need a visa to enter Germany. Only for stays of up to three months per half-year do citizens of countries for which the EU has lifted the visa requirement not require a visa. You can visit the website of the Federal Foreign Office to see whether the visa requirement applies to your country.

Citizens from countries with a visa requirement

Citizens from all other countries must apply for a visa before entering Germany even if their stay is shorter than three months (see also Federal Foreign Office in Berlin). All foreigners require a visa for stays of more than three months.

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The visa must always be applied for at the German embassy or consulate in your country.

Exceptions are nationals of the EU and EEA states as well as Switzerland, Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. Citizens of these countries can enter Germany as a tourist and obtain a residence permit from the Foreigners’ Registration Office (Ausländerbehörde) in Berlin.

Application for a Visa

The visa application must be submitted in person to the diplomatic mission or consulate in your place of residence together with all necessary documents. The German missions abroad provide comprehensive information on their websites about the application procedure and all required documents. We recommend that you contact the German embassy or consulate in your home country as early as possible and find out how long it will take to process your visa before receiving it. In many countries, a processing time of two to four months can be expected.

Language learning Visa

If you are staying in Germany for more than three months, you can apply for the so-called national visa. This visa is always linked to a ‘purpose of stay’ and this pertains to taking a language course. The language-learning visa must be applied for at the diplomatic mission or consulate in your country before entering Germany. It will also require the approval of the Foreigners’ Registration Office (Ausländerbehörde) in Germany.

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European Union citizens, EEA nationals and Swiss nationals are exempt from this rule. In addition, citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the South Korea and the USA may obtain a required residence permit even after entry. To apply for a national language learning visa, please register for one of our German Intensive Courses. After DIE NEUE SCHULE has received your registration and the deposit (see conditions of participation), you will receive the official confirmation for your registration (admission to the language course) which you will then use to complete the visa application. The original document must be submitted to the embassy. Furthermore, you must prove that you have the financial means for your stay in Germany. In some cases, applicants must set up a special bank account for this purpose. The Federal Foreign Office offers helpful information about these special bank accounts on its website.

Health insurance

DIE NEUE SCHULE cooperates with Care Concept, which offers special health, accident and liability insurance for language students and students from abroad at a reasonable price. Insurance plans can be booked directly on Care Concept’s website (www.care-concept.de).

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