You can now use the new online application for a residence permit to study. Here you can find an online tutorial for filling out the application (Password: Tzk7Nm6x).

Please do not send your documents via the Berlin Immigration Office contact form anymore!

A visa is a permit you need to get before entering a country for a specific reason, like studying or working.

A residence permit is like a visa, but you apply for it after entering the country where you want to stay.

• All citizens who are NOT from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
• Citizens from Switzerland: please send your documents via the online contact form with the subject "other enquiries"

PLEASE NOTE that citizens from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway must still register their new address (Anmeldung) at any Berlin Bürgeramt (registration office) within 14 days of arriving in Berlin.

Is your visa or residence permit about to expire?
You have entered the Schengen area without a visa and the 90-day period is about to expire?

Please apply for a residence permit for the purpose of studying at the earliest 8 weeks BEFORE your visa / residence permit / 90-day period expires. No applications will be processed before then. It is no longer possible to book an appointment online or on-site. Appointments will be allocated after you have uploaded your documents in the online application and paid the processing fee.

You can now use the new online application for a residence permit to study. Here you can find an online tutorial for filling out the application (Password: Tzk7Nm6x).

Please do not send your documents via the contact form anymore!  All applications sent to the Immigration Office (LEA) by contact form, letter, fax or e-mail will only be processed as a secondary priority.

Online application step-by-step:
1. Compile documents - The application is currently only available in German.
A study forecast is required for an extension.
A complete list of the required documents can be found here (section Documents required):  https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/305244/en/

2. Start the online application
Click on the following link, go to "Jetzt online erledigen" (section ‘Online processing’) and click on "Starten".

3. Enter personal details, upload required documents and pay fees
Before you can submit the application, you must pay the fees by credit card or PayPal.

4. Print out the confirmation of your online application and keep it in a safe place. The confirmation certifies that your residence permit is still valid until your appointment at the LEA. This means that you can continue to study or work until then. Exception: Students who have entered the country without a visa are not allowed to work until their appointment at the LEA.

5. Wait until the LEA contacts you and invites you for an appointment. The processing time can take up to 8 weeks. If you have not heard from them after 3 months, please contact us.

PLEASE NOTE:
You cannot travel abroad in the period between the expiry of your residence permit and your appointment at the LEA. If you urgently need to travel within the next four weeks, please use the contact form ("Urgent appointment/Emergency") and upload your tickets, invitation, etc. in order to receive a fast appointment or a Fiktionsbescheinigung:
https://www.berlin.de/einwanderung/en/about-us/contact/formular.1442964.en.php

You must register your new address at any Berlin Bürgeramt within 14 days after you moved in, if:

- you moved to Berlin from abroad,
- you moved to Berlin from another city in Germany or
- you moved to a new address within the city.
 
This is obligatory for all citizens, regardless of their nationality (Meldepflicht). There are various ways to register your home address:

• If you have an EU passport, you can carry out your Anmeldung directly online with a Bund-ID account
•  You can book an appointment online (see section "für Sie zuständig" at the bottom of the website).
•  If you cannot find an appointment, you can send an e-mail directly to your local Bürgeramt or go there early.

You have not yet registered your address and need a residence permit to study?

• Instead of an Anmeldung, you can upload your rentral contract and the landlord's confirmation of residence (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung der Vermieter*in) in the online residence permit application form (see the step-by-step instructions in the section above)

It is possible to study part-time at UdK Berlin. Here you can find further information.

Please note that a visa or residence permit for study under § 16b is granted only for full-time study. Part-time study will only be permitted by the Berlin Immigration Office (Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin) if you meet one of the following requirements:

•     Child care and education up to 10 years old,
•     caring for close relatives in accordance with the Caregiver Leave Act (Pflegezeitgesetz),
•     if a disability makes part-time study necessary,
•     during pregnancy,
•     during the exercise of a mandate of a body of the university, the student body or the StudierendenWERK Berlin,
•     for other serious personal reasons.

Are you planning a stay abroad (Erasmus+, internship, etc.) that lasts longer than 6 months?
-> Please apply for a re-entry visa at a German diplomatic mission (embassy, consulate) in your host country and present your current residence permit. Otherwise, your residence permit will no longer be valid for stays of more than 6 months.

Will you soon be graduating from UdK Berlin?
-> Here you will find an overview of your options for staying in Germany after your studies.

• Non-EU students may work 140 full or 280 half days per calendar year (full working day from 4.1 hours!).
• Self-employed (freelance) work is also permitted.
• As a student, you are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week during the semester. This rule also applies to students from the EU. You can work as much as you want during the semester break.
• Exceptions: The working hours of student assistants are not counted towards the 140 days. This also applies to compulsory internships.
• The detailed regulations can be found on the Berlin Immigration Office website.
• Advice on labour and social law issues is available from Students@Work