German visa types

There are three different kinds of visa in Germany:

1. Schengen visa (for short stay visits)

If your country does not have a visa exemption agreement with Germany and you are
coming to Germany for a short stay, for instance for a business trip, holiday or to visit
relatives, you will need to apply for a Schengen visa. This short stay visa (category C visa) is
valid for up to 90 days within a 180 day period in Germany and the entire Schengen area.
The day you enter Germany or another Schengen country marks the start of the 180 day
period.

Which countries are in the Schengen area?

The Schengen area is an area comprised of 26 European states that have abolished passport
control at their shared borders and have adopted a common visa policy.

Countries in the Schengen Area

Austria Liechtenstein
Belgium Lithuania
Czech Republic Luxembourg
Denmark Malta
Estonia The Netherlands
Finland Norway
France Poland
Germany Portugal
Greece Slovakia
Hungary Slovenia
Iceland Spain
Italy Sweden
Latvia Switzerland

Single, double or multiple entry

The Schengen visa comes in three different forms, depending on the holder’s reason for
travel: it can be used for one, two or multiple entries to the Schengen area. You can,
therefore, use it for one, unbroken 90-day stay, or for two or more stays not exceeding 90
days within 180 days. For frequent travellers, it is also possible to extend the validity to 90
days within one, three or five years.
 If you will be leaving and re-entering the Schengen area during your visit (e.g. if you want to
travel to the UK, which is not part of the Schengen area), you will need to apply for a double
or even multiple-entry visa. The Schengen visa application form asks you to specify which
type you are applying for.

If you stay for the whole 90 days, you will need to exit the Schengen area for another 90
days before you will be eligible for another Schengen visa.

2. Airport transit visa

You will need an airport transit visa (category A visa) if you are making a stopover at an
airport in Germany and your final destination is a country outside the Schengen area.

The airport transit visa does not permit you to leave the airport. If you need to exit the
airport to pick up your baggage, check-in again or continue your journey via another means
of transport, you will need to apply for a Schengen visa.

3. National visa (for long stay visits)

If you want to stay in Germany for longer than 90 days, and your nationality requires you to
obtain a Schengen visa, you will need to apply for a national visa (category D visa) before
you travel.

The national visa (nationalesVisum) grants entry to Germany on the basis that you will be
applying for a residence permit. It enables you to enter Germany as a potential resident and
stay while you apply for residency. You will need to convert your visa into a residence
permit within three months of arriving in Germany.

Types of national visa

The German national visa is most commonly granted for the following purposes:

 To join a spouse, partner or family member in Germany.

 To take up a job as an employee or become a freelancer.
 To conduct academic or scientific research.
 To look for a job.
 To study at a Germany university or other higher education institute.
 To attend training.
 To work as an au pair.
 To start a business as an entrepreneur.
 To seek refuge or asylum.
Visa application fees

Type of Visa Fee

Schengen visa single entry (90 days) 60 euros
Schengen visa multiple entry (90 days) 60 euros
Schengen visa children 6-12 (90 days) 35 euros
Schengen visa children 0-6 (90 days) 0 euros
Transit visa (ages 12 and above) 60 euros
Transit visa children (6-12 years) 35 euros
Transit visa children (0-6 years) 0 euros
National visa (aged 17 and above) 75 euros
National visa minors (0-17 years) 37,50 euros
Note: Services such as legalisation of documents may incur extra costs.

Top 10 Universities in Germany

1. Technische Universität München
Location: 80333 Arcisstrasse 21 Munchen
Current ranking (QS)- 55
Status: Public
Total students (current): 39,759
Academic faculty staff (current): 6,105

QS World University Ranking

 Down four places to rank 64th in the world, Technische Universität München (TUM)
nonetheless retains its position as the best in Germany for the third time in a
row.Around 24% of TUM’s 40,124 students are international.

TUM leads a good example and a high standard for other universities to follow in all
study programs – Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD. With over 209 inventions and
winners of many acclaimed prizes – 13 Nobel Laureates, 17 Liebniz prizes and many
similar awards, it is a very attractive university to attend for students all over the
world.

Founded in 1868, TUM evolved very fast, covering a broad range of courses in as
many as 13 faculties as well as its own University Clinic established since 1967.

511 world-known professors lecture in TUM, attracting a great number of students,

around 37.343 during year 2014/2015.

2. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Location:Geschwister-Scholl Platz 1 München
Current ranking (QS)- 63
Status: Public
Total students (current): 35,041
Academic faculty staff (current): 3,738

QS World University Ranking

 Ranked 66th in the world (up two places from last year), Ludwig-Maximilians -
Universität München retains its position of the second highest-ranked university in
Germany. Also located in Munich, the university is one of the oldest in the country,
having been founded in 1472 with only four faculties.
6.000 employees work to keep this University in the leading category, of which 746
are professors, 3.074 are other academic staff and the rest is non-academic staff. It
includes 18 faculties in total and the number of students attending courses in
Ludwig-Maximilians University is 50.327, of which 7.367 are international
students.Elected ‘University of Excellence’ in year 2012, it continues to support and
prepare students towards great success in the future.

3. Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Location:Grabengasse 1 Heidelberg
Current ranking (QS)- 66
Status: Public
Total students (current): 20,020
Academic faculty staff (current): 4,001

QS World University Ranking

Also known as Heidelberg University, is up four places to rank 68th in the world in
2018. Germany’s oldest university (established in 1386), the university has 30,898
students enrolled of whom 17.5% international in Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate
and Habilitation programs.
 450 professors out of 5.000 researchers and scientists cover courses in Natural
Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Sciences, Liberal Arts, Law, Economics, Social
Sciences, Medicine, etc.Heidelberg University has played a very important part in the
shaping of science and the society of Germany ever since established.

4. Kit, KarlsruherInstitutFürTechnologie

Location:76344 Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen

Current ranking (QS)- 124
Status: Public
Total students (current): 24,458
Academic faculty staff (current): 2,018

QS World University Ranking

Ranked 107th in the world, KarlsruherInstitutfürTechnologie, usually shortened

to KIT, is located in the south-west city of Karlsruhe and considered particularly
prestigious for its engineering and technology programs.

KarlsruherInstitutFürTechnologie is a university created in 2009 by the merging of

two older institutions of great tradition in research and education –
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 50 years old and Universtät Karlsruhe, 181 year old.

It employs 9.491 staff-members, of which 6.035 are researchers, 355 professors and
1.002 guest scientists. The total number of students in
 KarlsruherInstitutFürTechnologie reaches 24.778, many of whom are Nobel
Laureates, honorary senators and awarded researchers.

KIT is very supportive of online course programs and start-up company ideas for the
benefit of its students.

5. Humboldt Universität Zu Berlin

Location:10099 Unter den Linden 6 Berlin

Current ranking (QS)- 120
Status: Public
Total students (current): 33,681
Academic faculty staff (current):1,953

QS World University Ranking

Consistently Berlin’s highest-ranked university, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is

ranked 120th in the world and is considered particularly prestigious for arts and
humanities subjects, achieving 35th place in the QS World University Rankings by
Subject 2017 for this subject area.

Was founded in Berlin in 1810 by the concept of Wilhelm von Humboldt. In the
beginning there were only the four well-known classical faculties offered: Law,
Medicine, Philosophy and Theology with very few students and academics.Now, as
one of Germany’s top 10 universities, all major academic disciplines in the Arts and
Humanities, Social Sciences, Cultural Science, Human Medicine, Agricultural Science,
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences are covered in 9 faculties by over 400
 professors in research and teaching. The number of students attending these
courses is 31.098 excluding the ones in Charité – the collaborative hospital with Freie
Universität.

Humboldt Universitat was awarded the ‘University of Excellence’ in 2012, providing

10 collaborative research centers, 13 research training groups, 1.984 academic staff,
29 nobel-prize winners.

6. Freie Universität Berlin

Location:14195 Kaiserswerther Str. 16-18 Berlin

Current ranking (QS)- 130
Status: Public
Total students (current): 34,425
Academic faculty staff (current):1,388

QS World University Ranking

Also in the capital, Freie Universität Berlin is ranked joint 125th this year alongside
Belgium’s University of Ghent. The university was founded in 1948 with an idea to
create a university similar to Oxford and now enrolls around 31,500 students, of
which 20% are international.

In the beginning not much was offered by Freie Universität because of the hard
conditions. By donations from USA to help in the foundation and construction of
building complexes, FreieUniverstät grew and extended so much as to now offer 15
departments and central institutes including veterinary studies. It also offers the
 Dahlem Research Campus, a strong international research campus and one of the
best botanical gardens in Germany.
It also has the largest University Clinic in Europe known as Charité – a joint medical
department with Humboldt Universität, employing over 4.230 academic and non-
academic staff in total.

7. RWTH Aachen University or Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnische Hochschule Aachen

Location:52062 Templergraben 55 Aachen

Current ranking (QS)- 138
Status: Public
Total students (current):45,256
Academic faculty staff (current):1,954

QS World University Ranking

Up five places to rank 141st in 2018, Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnische Hochschule

Aachen is Germany’s largest technical university, with around 44,500 students
enrolled. RWTH Aachen maintains close links to industry and is also the largest
employer in the region.The number of people working for the university’s best
interest is: 5.230 academic staff, 538 professors, 701 trainees and interns and 2.722
non-academic staff.
There are more than 144 courses of study being taught in Rheinisch-
WestfalischeTechnische Hochschule Aachen’s 10 faculties and 260 institutes.

8. Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin)

Location:10623 Strasse des 17. Juni 135 Berlin

 Current ranking (QS)- 147
Status: Public
Total students (current): 22,505
Academic faculty staff (current):2,288

QS World University Ranking

Also improving this year is Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), which climbs 20
places to rank 144th. Considered particularly strong for engineering subjects, TU
Berlin is a member of the TU9, an alliance of the leading German Institutes of
Technology.
The Technical University of Berlin (German: Technische Universität Berlin, known as
TU Berlin) is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1879
and became one of the most prestigious education institutions in Europe. It has one
of the highest proportions of international students in Germany, almost 20% were
enrolled in 2016.
The university is known for its highly ranked engineering programmes, especially in
mechanical engineering and engineering management.

9. Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Location:72074 Wilhelmstr. 7 Tübingen

Current ranking (QS)- 169
Status: Public
Total students (current): 28,042
Academic faculty staff (current):4,322
QS World University Ranking

Ranked joint 164th in the world, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen is one of the
oldest German universities, founded in 1477. Today it has around 28,500 students
with 450 professors and is considered particularly prestigious for subjects such as
theology, German studies and medicine.
The number of academic staff reaches 4000, while the non-academic staff is 12.000,
including the university’s hospitals – 17 hospitals with 12 specialist centers.

Winner of the ‘University of Excellence’ prize and many other similar prizes
throughout the years, Eberhard Karls Universität Tüblingen houses 173 buildings, 45
departmental libraries with more than 6.3 million books allowing for a great number
of students to become Nobel Laureates and winners of many other prestigious
awards in Germany and abroad.

10. Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg

Location:79085 Fahnenbergplatz Freiburg

Current ranking (QS)- 169
Status: Public
Total students (current): 21,805
Academic faculty staff (current): 2,016

QS World University Ranking

 Officially called Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Universität Freiburg is ranked
171st in the world in 2018. Established in 1457, the university has more than 24,000
students from over 100 countries, and has been associated with 19 Nobel laureates.
This is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-
Württemberg, Germany.The university is made up of 11 faculties and attracts
students from across Germany as well as from over 120 other countries. Foreign
students constitute about 16% of total student numbers.

Named as one of elite universities of Germany by academics, political

representatives and the media, the University of Freiburg stands amongst Europe’s
top research and teaching institutions.

Top 10 Universities in Germany 2019 by QS Ranking

1. Technische Universität München (Rank 61st)

2. Ludwig-Maximilians - Universität München (Rank 62nd)
3. Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Rank 64th)
4. KIT, KarlsruherInstitutfürTechnologie (Rank 116th)
5. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Ranked 121st)
6. Freie Universität Berlin (Ranked 130th)
7. Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnische Hochschule Aachen (Ranked 144th)
8. Technische Universität Berlin (Ranked 147th)
9. Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Ranked 168th)
10. Universität Freiburg (Ranked 186th)