Visa for International Degree-Seeking Students

Whether you need a visa as an international degree-seeking student depends on your country of origin. You can obtain binding information on visa requirements from the German embassy or consulate in your home country.

If you come from a country that requires a visa, you must apply for your visa at the German embassy or consulate responsible for you.

If you are already in Germany and have a valid residence permit, please contact the immigration office responsible for you and ask about the possibility of converting your existing residence permit into a residence permit to study at Heilbronn University.

If you come from a country with a visa requirement, you must apply for a study visa (so-called D visa or national visa). Please do NOT apply for a Schengen visa (C visa)! 

The study visa is usually valid for 6 or 12 months and must be converted into a permanent residence permit after arrival in Germany. International Student Support will be happy to advise you on how to apply for a residence permit.

You can find detailed information on applying for a residence permit in the International Student Support ILIAS course.

For data protection reasons, Heilbronn University is unfortunately unable to arrange appointments for students with foreign representations.

Proof of funding is a requirement of the German diplomatic mission abroad for visa applications. Heilbronn University is therefore unable to issue such a document. 

Please use the information from the website of the Federal Foreign Office or the information from the German embassy or consulate in your country as proof of living expenses.

Please enter the contact details of your degree programme coordinator. You can find the relevant contact details on the website of your degree programme or here.

You can find the dates in the academic calendar on this website. 

If you require an official document with all the study periods for your degree programme, please contact your degree programme coordinator. You can find the relevant contact details on the website of your degree programme or here.

Tip: All programme-related documents can be requested from your programme coordinator.

You can find information about the language of instruction on the website of your study programme. 

If you require an official document with the duration of your studies, please contact your study programme coordinator. You can find the relevant contact details on the website of your degree programme or here.

Tip: All programme-related documents can be requested from your programme coordinator.

Students often have to apply for a visa before they receive a confirmation for an accommodation. In such cases, the German embassies abroad usually allow you to provide the address of the university. You may be asked to show proof (e.g. screenshots or emails) that you have applied for an accommodation. Please contact the German diplomatic mission abroad for binding information. 

On this website you will find information on finding accommodation.

For data protection reasons, Heilbronn University is unfortunately unable to enquire about the current status of your visa application. Furthermore, we have no influence on the processing times of your visa application.

On this page you will find the academic calendar with the lecture times. 

In exceptional cases, some degree programmes may tolerate students arriving after the start of lectures. You can find out whether this is possible and when you can arrive at the latest from your degree programme coordinator. You can find the relevant contact details on the website of your degree programme or here.

If it is not possible to arrive later, you can apply for a semester of leave for the first semester. Please note that the modules of the second semester are often based on the modules of the first semester. Please consult the coordinator of your degree programme in this regard. You can find the relevant contact details on the website of your degree programme or here.