Public Universities in Germany are amongst the best ranked in the world with great infrastructure, research opportunities and with no or very low-tuition fees. Germany is known for its cultural diversity, beautiful festivals like Oktoberfest and strong economy offering umpteen internship and employment opportunities to deserving candidates.

Additionally, Germany offers great traveling experience to students with beautiful castles, museums, lakes and mountains.

German Public Universities offer thousands of courses at Bachelors and Masters levels which are taught completely in German language. In order to attract good quality international students, Germany has launched various programs at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels in English language also

Yes, there are sufficient number of Degree Courses available in English language at both bachelor’s and Master’s degree levels in German Public and Private universities. Admissions to these courses are possible if you have excellent academic scores and a valid IELTS score. German language is not mandatory to get admissions but learning atleast the basic levels A1/A2 is highly advisable for better understanding of German education system and cultural assimilation.

Both, TOEFL and IELTS are recognised in Germany for getting admissions in public universities in Germany. The score requirements would vary from university to university.

German universities are divided into two parts i.e. Public Universities and Private Universities.

German Public Universities offer multiple advantages and benefits to the international students. Many advantages of Public Universities Vs Private Universities in Germany:--

• Better Quality of Education
• Degrees are more Respected
• Zero tuition Fees / Affordable Fees
• Better infrastructure
• Better Placement Opportunities
• Better opportunities for R&D and internships
• Better Visa Success rate

German universities have a unique tuition fee system in the world. Through a legislation in 2014, German public universities stopped charging tuition fees, however in 2017 some states like Baden-Württemberg started charging a nominal tuition fees of €1500 per semester for non-EU/EEA students. At this point in 2024, Some popular public universities in Germany like TU Munich and Deggendorf Institute of Technology have also started charging tuition fees from students for specific courses. For more details on the fees part, you can also visit individual university websites.

Both Public and private universities in Germany charge small amount of semester contribution or administration fee per semester ranging from €75 to €350

Germany takes care of its students really well. The small amount of semester contribution you pay will give end up giving you benefits with a lot more value in terms of a semester ticket for free travel in public transport, library memberships and university cafeterias.

The Deutschland-Semester ticket, which is also known as "Studi-Ticket" or "Semtix", is a travel pass facility for students with a validity of one semester. It allows you to use local transport throughout Germany which includes underground and suburban railways, buses, trams, ferries and regional trains.

Germany is one of the most affordable countries for International students. Currently, the average monthly living expense for a student in Germany is around €750 - €950 depending upon the city and individual spending pattern. The mentioned cost includes rent, food, transportation, and other essentialities like health insurance etc. Accommodation is the biggest head among your expenses, which can be minimized by going for sharing option instead of taking the individual option. Though the official monthly expenditure sighted by the authorities are generally 15-20% above the actual expenditure incurred by the students. Currently as of Oct’2024, the official figure stands at €992 for each month of stay in Germany and is used to calculate the amount you are required to bring into the Germany in the form of a blocked account.

A blocked account (Sperrkonto), is a bank account that international students are required to open and fund it with the requisite amount equivalent to 1 year of living expenses in Germany. Blocked Account is a mandatory requirement for Germany study visa applicants from India and other countries. The account is called as “Blocked” as the money in the account is "blocked" for 1 year and only a limited amount can be withdrawn every month.

List of Top online blocked account providers for international students in Germany

FINTIBA

EXPATRIO

CORACLE

CARE CONCEPT

ICICI BANK INDIA

KOTAK BANK INDIA

REMITX INDIA

EDUBAO

DDKONTO CHINA

All the students coming from Non-EU/EEA countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China etc would require a student visa to enter Germany to start their studies in German Universities.

On the other hand, students coming from EU/EEA countries like Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Malta etc do not need a visa to study in Germany.

The processing time for study visa varies from 10 days to 90 days after the submission of your visa file. Students from India must apply 2-3 months of the batch commencement date to get the visa on time. Though its easier said than done considering various hurdles like timelines involved for getting offer letters and lack of visa appointment slots. To understand the pitfalls better, Please contact our visa team @ AbroadUp on +91-9205803555 or write an email to germanvisa@abroadup.in.

Germany Student Visa Application process varies from country to country. For Indian students the following processes apply based on their admission letters :--

1. Students with offer letters from Public Universities in Germany - If you are looking to join your bachelor’s or master’s degree from public universities in Germany, then submit your visa files at the VFS Germany centre in your city.
2. Students with offer letters from Private Universities in Germany offering German degrees - If you are looking to join your bachelor’s or master’s degree from private universities in Germany offering German degree, then submit your visa files at the VFS Germany centre in your city.
3. Students with offer letters from Private Universities in Germany offering Non-German Degree - If you are looking to join your bachelor’s or master’s degree from private universities in Germany offering non-German degrees, then submit your visa files at the German Consulate directly and you may have to appear for an interview as well for greater scrutiny.

Yes, all full-time international students pursuing degree courses in Germany are allowed to work part-time for the entire duration of the course. Students can work for 20 hrs a week or 80 hrs a month as per the currently applicable rules

The German language requirement for English taught degree courses in Germany is not a fixed thing. Many public universities in Germany will not ask for any German language skills or certificate when you are applying for an English taught degree courses. But this is not a rule. Some universities may ask for atleast A1 or A2 level of German language skills even if you are applying to completely English taught degree programs in Germany.

As of 2024, the current rule allows you to stay for 1.5 years or 18 months after the completion of your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Germany. You can utilize this post study stayback period to search for a suitable job in Germany. However, as a student you have to apply in person to extend your residence permit in Germany. There is no restriction on the kind of job you pursue to support your expenses during these 18 months. However, it’s important to find the job in your own professional field within this period to be eligible to apply for a much coveted EU Blue Card.

The German EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte) is a German residence permit for work permit for non-EU citizens who have a university bachelor’s or master’s degree or professional experience and want to work and stay in Germany for a considerable duration. The Blue Card entitles immigrants and their families with many special benefits. For more details click here for the official information on EU blue card in Germany.

• You are eligible for a Blue Card if your salary is higher than the national annual average salary, which is €45,300 (as of 2024).
• For some bootleneck (critical or high in demand) professions would allow you to get the EU blue card at lesser salary thresh holds of €41,042 (as of 2024). Some of the professions which allow you to get blue card at lower salary structure are STEM professionals, Academic professionals in architecture, spatial planning and transport planning, Medical doctors, Veterinarians, Dentists, IT professionals etc. You can download the complete list of bottleneck professions by clicking here.

 Here is the detailed video to understand the EU Germany blue card. https://youtu.be/EpQCGfZvBU8

Yes, valid health insurance is a mandatory requirement to study in Germany. Most International students are required to buy public health insurance policies instead of private ones. Some of the most popular public health insurance companies are given below :--

List of Top 10 Public Health Insurance Companies

Below is the list of the best public health insurance companies in Germany in terms of customer feedback and satisfaction and wider presence:

• Barmer
• Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)
• AOK (Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse)
• KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse
• hkk Krankenkasse
• DAK-Gesundheit
• BIG direkt gesund
• IKK Classic
• HEK – Hanseatische Krankenkasse
• Novitas BKK

To Learn more about health insurance for international students in Germany please click here.

For Bachelor’s in Germany – Germany has 13 years of school education system. Therefore, International students must present a proof of 13^th year completion before they become eligible to apply for Bachelor’s degree programs in Germany.

The detailed eligibility criteria for admission to Bachelor’s in Germany is explained below :--

Step 1 : Complete 13^th year of education after 12^th in one of the two ways. One way is to enrol in a Bachelor’s degree in India and complete your first year.  Second way is to learn German Language, get certified and apply for a Studienkolleg program in Germany Universities. Once you complete the Studienkolleg or first year of Bachelor’s in India, you are eligible for a direct entry into Bachelor’s degree courses in Germany.

There are certain exceptions where you can skip this 13^th year requirement. For detailed information,

You can contact AbroadUp – Study Free in Germany consultancy in Delhi for genuine guidance about free education in German Public Universities, Call AbroadUp @ 9205803555.

Studienkolleg in Germany is a 1 Year preparatory course for international students looking to become eligible to apply for bachelor’s degree courses in Germany.

Most studienkolleg programs are available in German language only. Which means that students need to first learn German and get certified to apply for Studienkolleg in Germany.

There are several Studienkollegs available in Germany depending upon the field of education you want to pursue:

T-course: for mathematical, science or technical degrees

M-course: for medical, biological and pharmaceutical degrees

W-course:for business, economics and social science degrees

G-course: for humanity degrees or German studies

S-course: for language degrees

For complete details about studienkolleg in Germany, Please https://studienkollegs.de/home.html

Abitur is a kind of certificate obtained after clearing a final examination offered by preparatory schools in Germany, which ultimately make the student eligible to enter university for bachelor degree programs

As an Internation student in Germany, it can be a herculean task finding a suitable accommodation in Germany. With more and more students opting for Germany for their higher education, it is getting quite challenging to find accommodations. The best one can do is to apply as early as possible.

There are several accommodation options for students in Germany, like German halls of residence, dormitories, private apartments, as well as shared flats.

Every university town or city in Germany has many dormitories and private lodgings, but it can still be hard to find anything available at the time of your need. One should try finding the accommodation options in Germany well in advance. Search online, Contact your university (Studentenwerk) for nearby and most importantly reliable options to avoid getting scammed. You need to be beware of ongoing accommodation scams: It is not advisable that you pay any advance rent before arriving or seeing the flat in person, until it’s through some reliable contact you can be sure of.

For official details for Accommodation in Germany, Please visit https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/plan-your-studies/preparation/accomodation/

Studentenwerk is a state-run non-profit organization that has become a lifeline for students coming to Germany. Studentenwerk work tirelessly throughout to help with students handle various issues like accommodation, city registration, immigration issues etc. Studentenwerk main responsibility is to take care of the interest of students, from organizing and running cafeterias, restaurants, accommodation, to finance studies with scholarship grants and loans.