Checklist for a German national visa - student

• Valid passport issued within the last 10 years; passports with observations regarding the front data page cannot be accepted) with at least two empty pages
• Application form & declaration (in accordance with Section 54 of the Residence Act) duly signed
• Declaration for additional contact and legal representation information
• Copy of your passport’s data page (A4 size copy)
• Statement of purpose / Motivation letter
• Certificate issued by the APS (Academic Evaluation Centre) – please consult www.aps-india.de for further information about application process.
  See below for exceptions.
• Proof of admittance to the study course/preparatory college (original and 2 copies) including information on the language of instruction
• Where not confirmed by the German University in the admission notification: Proof of the language skills in the language of instruction for the study course or the preparatory course (without a preparatory language course as a rule at least B2-level in the language of instructions) (original and 2 copies). Only certificates approved by German government will be accepted (such as Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, ÖSD, IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge Assessment English). Do NOT provide “exemption letters” or “Language of Instruction Certificates!”
• Certificates of all academic qualifications you have previously obtained (original and 2 copies)
• Curriculum vitae
• Proof of financial means to cover the costs for the time of your studies by one of the following documents:
  - confirmation of a German / EU scholarship / stipend or
  - “Verpflichtungserklärung” (formal obligation letter) by sponsor living in Germany or
  - blocked account for the first year of your stay, amounting to 11,904 euros

When applying for visa, you can provide evidence that you are able to meet your living costs by opening a blocked bank account. You have free choice of provider. Additional information on blocked accounts is available on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

In case you receive a stipend from public funds: please provide ONE of the following:
• Proof of a private German health insurance which fulfills the below mentioned requirements and starts at your tentative travel date
OR
• Proof of a public German health insurance, which consists of a letter from your German healthcare provider, and additionally a travel health insurance from your travel date up to the starting date of the public German health insurance.
OR
• Proof of a private foreign (including Indian) health insurance mentioning the specific policy you chose which fulfills the below mentioned requirements and starts at your tentative travel date

Info

Students who do not need to present an APS certificate:

• If you obtain a non-German degree
• If you have a foreign degree that is not Indian (e.g. British degree, Turkish degree, etc.)
• If you intend to do a PhD / PostDoc in Germany
• If you have an international Indian degree (e.g. International Baccalaureate)
• If you receive a stipend from public funds ( EU or German funds)

Please prepare two identical application sets with the above-mentioned documents and bring your original certificates along. Please DO NOT staple any documents.

Please note that the German Missions reserve the right to ask for additional documents or the verification of certificates, for which additional fees would be charged.

Submission of the above-mentioned documents does not guarantee that a visa is granted. Submission of incomplete documentation or refusal to appear for a visa interview may result in the rejection of your application.

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