Preparing for your stay as a Practical Project Student

may enter Germany without a visa. Please find detailed information on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office.

either need to apply for a visa themselves, or obtain a confirmation of the German BAMF, which is provided by TUM. This is a EU directive. If you already have a permit related to this Directive 2016/801/EU, you can ignore the following part and enter Germany with this permit. Please check with your home university about this requirement.

Please contact the German Embassy in your country of study as soon as you begin to think about applying for an exchange at TUM, in order to determine if you need to apply for a visa or if TUM needs to apply for the BAMF confirmation.

• Visa application is necessary? Please follow the instructions from the local German Embassy.
• BAMF confirmation is necessary? Please follow the instructions you will receive from TUM G&A Office. 

Important advance information for students who need a BAMF confirmation
In order to apply for a BAMF confirmation, TUM needs several documents, among others: a valid residence permit for the purpose of studying (no long term, short term, family visas, etc.) in your country of study, a valid passport, health insurance for Germany, and proof of ability to pay living costs (at least € 934 / month). All documents must be issued in German or English.

• Check that these documents are valid as soon as you begin to think of applying for an exchange at TUM. Please also determine if you can afford living costs (scholarship, sponsor, blocked account statement, declaration of the earning capacity and financial circumstances of your parents and their commitment, educational loan). They must all be valid for the entire time you are at TUM.
• Should they expire before, immediately apply for new ones in advance of applying for your stay. Only with a new permit or passport (confirmation that you have applied for a new passport etc. will not be accepted), valid for the time you are at TUM, can we apply for your BAMF confirmation.
• Applying for a new ID can take a couple of months. In some countries, you can only apply for a new passport after the old one expires. E.g. if it expires in September, you can only apply for a new one in September and will receive the new one in November or December. Only then can TUM apply for the BAMF confirmation, which you would receive in January, as the entire BAMF process can take six or more weeks. However, winter semester begins in October and courses end no later than mid-February.
• Please consider application processing time when planning your exchange. Without the BAMF confirmation, you will not have legal permission to enter Germany for studying and will not be allowed to start studying at TUM.
• It is the responsibility of each student to obtain all necessary documents for the BAMF confirmation from TUM Global & Alumni Office. We will do our best to inform students about the status of their application and any necessary steps in mid-July for the winter term and mid-December for the summer term. If you do not receive the information by e-mail, please contact us immediately.
• For general questions, please check with your home university first. The EU directive mentioned above requires that your home university be kept up to date. 

require a visa from the diplomatic representation of the Federal Republic of Germany in their home country to enter Germany. Such a visa must be applied for at least two months in advance because students need the letter of admission from TUM, which you will receive one to two weeks after the application deadline.

• Do you need a visa? Overview of visa requirements / exemptions
• What is a Schengen visa, and who can apply? Information on the Schengen visa

1. Please wait for your TUM registration number (“Matrikelnummer”). You will receive it after your TUM admission letter. 
2. Make a copy of your insurance card, scan it and send it via e-mail to one of the statutory health insurance companies (contacts see below).
3. The insurance company will check the copy of your insurance card. 
4. If the document is correct and recognized for enrollment at TUM, the insurance company will send you an e-mail or letter confirming that everything is correct. The insurance company will then forward your data directly to TUM for enrollment. This service is free of charge.
5. After receipt of the above mentioned confirmation e-mail or letter, please forward it immediately to the TUM e-mail address that you can find in your TUM admission letter, stating your name and TUM registration number (“Matrikelnummer”). We will confirm the receipt.

If you need to see a doctor, please present your EHIC / own insurance. The doctor will invoice any treatment costs directly to the health insurance company if the treatment is covered. Please ask the doctor directly if the treatment is covered.

• If you live in a country with which Germany has a social security agreement (= successor states of the former Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Turkey): 

      Please send a copy of your insurance policy to one of the German national health insurance companies.

      Simply follow the description for EU/EWR citizens and replace the EHIC with your own insurance. 

• Travel insurance policies will not be accepted.

• With regard to other insurance in your home country, please note that practically no international health insurance policies are recognized in Germany for enrollment at an institute of higher education, as the level of coverage is too low.

If you want to discuss an exemption from mandatory health insurance – even though chances of success are very low: Please contact one of the statutory health insurance companies in order to clarify this. If the insurance from your home country cannot be accepted for enrollment – which is usually the case –, you need to obtain a statutory health insurance in Germany (see Students who are not insured in their home country).

Should you receive an exemption, it will be valid for the entire duration of the studies – and sometimes beyond – and cannot be revoked. As in the majority of cases the insurance coverage granted in the home country will not be the same as in Germany, an exemption can be disadvantageous. The application for exemption has to be made with one of the statutory health insurance companies at the place of residence/studies. An officially certified translation of the insurance policy issued in the home country must be submitted to the statutory insurance company.

If you receive an exemption, you will not be insured by a German health insurance company, which means that you will initially have to pay all the costs incurred in case of illness – which can be very expensive. Therefore, you have to prove to the Foreigners’ Office that the health insurance company in your home country will reimburse you or accept 100% of the medical service rates charged, which is seldom the case. Otherwise, it is possible that your visa will not be issued.

must obtain insurance from a statutory health insurance company of their choice in Germany.

1. Please wait for your TUM registration number (“Matrikelnummer”). You will receive it approximately shortly after the receipt of your admission letter. 
2. Arrange a health insurance with a German national health insurance company. You can find online forms for this on the health insurance companies’ websites (addresses see below).
3. If everything is fine and accepted for enrollment at TUM, the insurance company will send you an e-mail or letter confirming that everything is okay and that the company will forward your data directly to TUM for enrollment.
4. After you received the just mentioned confirmation e-mail, promptly forward it to the TUM e-mail address that you can find in your TUM admission letter, including your name and TUM registration number (“Matrikelnummer”). We will confirm the receipt.
5. In case you need an official proof of insurance coverage in Germany (e.g. for your visa application, the residence permit, etc.), please directly discuss this with the insurance company, as TUM does not get or issue these confirmations! 

Costs: The monthly student tariff is currently €110.  The contributions to national German health insurance companies are the same everywhere. However, it is worth comparing the payment options and the insurance coverage.

If you need to see a doctor, please present your German insurance card. The doctor will invoice any treatment costs directly to the health insurance company if the treatment is covered. Please ask the doctor directly in advance if the treatment is covered.

You can find the addresses of the statutory health insurance companies in the Yellow Pages and online. It is up to you which insurance company you choose. A selection of statutory health insurance companies including their contacts are listed below. Students will be offered a personal advisor. Please only contact one provider and await a response.

• Residence permit for EU citizens
  - First issue: free of charge
  - Extension: free of charge

• Residence permit for all others
  - First issue: 110 EUR
  - Extension: 80 EUR

• Health and long-term care insurance
  - EU citizens and countries with which Germany has a social security agreement:
  free of charge
  - All others: ca. € 120
   

• Rent
  - Dormitory: ca. € 280 - 350
  - Private housing market:
    ca. € 350 - 600

• Food 
  ca. € 300 

• License fee for public broadcasting
  €17,50 

• Additional costs for public transport, e.g. the "Deutschlandticket"
  Only if you subscribe for an additional "Deutschlandticket". 

Student Union fee:

• Semester fee
  For enrollment at TUM, all students (including exchange students) need to pay the semester fee which is no tuition fee but fee of the Student Union. 
  Students of campus Munich, Garching and Weihenstephan
  Students of campus Straubing
  Students of campus Heilbronn