Your First Few Days
International Relations Office
Residence Permit and Registration with the City
Arranging Health Care Coverage
Banking and Financial Considerations
International Relations Office
After you have moved into your room, please come and see your exchange coordinator in the Akademisches Auslandsamt (International Relations Office)! For office hours of the exchange coordinators, please see:
http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/studium/kontakt/auslandsamt/aaa.html#721
Our office is located in the center of the Altstadt near Universitätsplatz in the so-called "Carolinum". At our Serviceportal (resource center for international students (room # 33) you can find a variety of services, including assistance with admissions and enrolment. Registration for excursions offered throughout the semester takes place there, too. We also offer a private accommodation service (room # 32) and couselling services on academic, health insurance and visa issues.
We hope that our resources and expertise will help contribute to the success of your stay in Heidelberg.
Opening hours the Serviceportal for international students in room 33:
Mo - Th 10:00 - 16:00
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 14:00
Residence Permit and Registration with the City
In order to study in Germany, foreign students (except citizens of EU-countries) need a valid residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung zu Studienzwecken). Citizens of the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and EFTA countries may apply for their residence permit after arriving in Germany. Citizens of all other countries must apply for a visa with the German consulate or embassy prior to their departure.
After your arrival to Heidelberg, you have to receive a residence permit within the first three months of your stay. This is a two-stage process. Within the first seven days after your arrival, you will have to register with the City of Heidelberg/Einwohnermeldeamt at one of the city's Bürgerämter. You will have to present your passport and proof of your current address in Heidelberg (i.e. a copy of your lease) and fill out a form called Anmeldung (‘Registration’).
In addition to stamping your registration form, the staff member of the Einwohnermeldeamt can give you a second form (Antrag auf Ausstellung der Aufenthaltserlaubnis) which you will eventually have to present to the Ausländerbehörde (local foreigners registration office) when you apply for a residence permit.
Amt für Öffentliche Ordnung/ Ausländerbehörde
Bergheimerstr. 69
telephone: +49 (0)6221/58-17 000 or 58-17 010
fax: +49 (0)6221/58-17900
e-mail: AmtfueroeffentlicheOrdnung@heidelberg.de
Opening hours:
Mo, Thu, Fr: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Wed: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 – 5:30 pm
Please note: You need to make an appointment with the Ausländerbehörde to apply for a residence permit.
You can direct any questions you may have about your residence permit to a representative of the Ausländerbehörde without an appointment at their Service Point: via e-mail (AmtfueroeffentlicheOrdnung@heidelberg.de), telephone (06221) 58-17520 or in person, Mo. – Fr. from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in room 101 of the “Amt für Öffentliche Ordnung (see above for address).
You must present the following to the Ausländerbehörde:
- form Antrag auf Ausstellung der Aufenthaltserlaubnis
- your passport
- certificate of enrolment from the University of Heidelberg
- statement of financial support (e.g. bank statement, notarized parental letter, confirmation of scholarship)
- proof of health insurance
- proof of residence (housing contract or lease)
- 1 passport-sized photo (biometric)
- 100 € fee
Students who had to receive a visa prior to their arrival in Germany must also register with the Einwohnermeldeamt. Since visas are generally only valid for three months, you must also apply for a residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde (see above) by presenting your certificate of university enrolment (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung).
Arranging Health Care Coverage
All Heidelberg University students must have sufficient health insurance coverage.
Exchange students may either bring health insurance coverage from home or have to purchase German student health insurance.
If you have health coverage from home, you can apply for an exemption certificate at any German state health insurance provider, e.g. the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse (AOK) in Heidelberg (Friedrich-Ebert-Platz 3). You will need to present your insurance card and the policy description to the effect that your health costs in Germany are completely covered (i.e., doctor‘s visits, hospital stay, emergency operations, etc.). If your health coverage is sufficient you will receive a certificate of exemption which must be handed in at the Akademisches Auslandsamt upon registration.
Students who cannot be exempted will need to make health insurance arrangements either with one of the state health insurance providers or with a private health insurance company. State health insurance costs about € 468 per semester (6 months) and includes visits to the doctor and dentist, prescription medicine (excluding a small basic charge), hospital treatment (excluding a small basic charge) and some therapeutic treatments.
In order to be able to register with the University you must present either proof of health insurance in Germany or the certificate of exemption. In order to receive a residence permit, you must present documentation on your health insurance coverage.
Banking and Financial Considerations
You will need to open a bank account in Heidelberg because monthly bills such as rent and health insurance are paid by standing order from a bank account rather than by check. There are different types of account such as a Girokonto (similar to a checking (US)/current (UK) account) and a Sparkonto (a savings account). A checking account is most convenient because it allows you to use cash machines and to make payments to other bank accounts (Überweisung). Although bank cards received upon opening an account can be used at cash machines, they cannot be used as a debit card in a shop. Inprinciple, you can open an account with any bank. However, you should be aware that some banks may charge a maintenance fee.
Because of growing international cooperation, many large banks have partners abroad now. If you have an account with such a bank, it might be possible to withdraw money at the German partner bank without having to pay fees. Please contact your bank for further information on this topic.
The most convenient form in which to make an initial bank deposit on your German account is with travellers checks, as such funds are immediately at your disposal. Most banks do not charge fees for cashing Euro travellers checks when paid into a bank account with the same bank. Please note that banks do not have the same opening hours as shops. They usually have a lunch break and close around 4:00 pm in the afternoon most days of the week. They are not open on Saturdays and Sundays.
While travellers checks are a convenient way to bring money into Germany in order to open a bank account, do not rely on them in shops. Shops that do take travellers checks will usually only take Euro travellers checks. Foreign currency travellers checks will need to be cashed at a bank.
It is also possible to wire money to a German bank but it may take between 5 and 7 days for the funds to arrive and transaction fees are often charged at both ends. Wire transfers are best sent from a large bank with an international department.