Entry and Insurance
The entry requirements for the Federal Republic of Germany vary depending on the country of origin. Please inquire about visa regulations concerning your country of origin as soon as possible, however, at the latest after completing the online application in Mobility Online.
You will find important information about this and about your insurance in Germany on this page.
Please note: Whether you need a visa or not, depends on your nationality and not on the country of your home institution. If you study in a different country than your country of origin and have a residence permit for this country, you still need to apply for a student visa for Germany. Please inquire about visa regulations concerning your country of origin as soon as possible.
Students from countries requiring visa
Depending on your country of origin, the entry requirements for the Federal Republic of Germany differ. Exchange students are responsible for applying for a visa.
Students from countries requiring visa (indicated by a “Yes”/”No” without an additional number next to your nationality) have to apply for a student visa in their country of origin, or the country of their home institution, before entering Germany.
You are not allowed to study in Germany on a tourist visa. It is not possible to exchange a tourist visa for a student visa once you have entered Germany. That means that you would have to go back to your home country to apply for a student visa.
Your visa application will require your official letter of admission by the University of Mannheim. Please contact the responsible German embassy or consulate in your country of origin or the country of your home institution and apply for a student visa immediately after receiving your letter of admission.
You can find more information on visa on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.
Students who don’t need visa/
residence permits EU citizens and EFTA citizens (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) do not need a student visa. After enrollment, they need to register at the residents' registration office.
Citizens from the following countries do not need a student visa either , they need to apply for a German residence permit at the respective foreigners’ office in Germany:
Australia Israel Japan Canada New Zealand South Korea USA United Kingdom If they do not intend to be employed before and after the stay for study purposes, nationals of the following countries do not require a visa. However, they must also apply for a residence permit at the competent foreigner’s office in Germany (if a [4] is next to your nationality):
Andorra
Brazil
El Salvador Honduras
Monaco
San Marino Your country is not listed? Then you need a visa.
Disclaimer: We are continuously checking the contents of the information materials published by the International Office. However, we do not assume liability for these contents. All materials are for general information purposes only and cannot be binding for every individual case. The information provided is not necessarily complete, comprehensive or up-to-date. We do not give legal advice nor legally binding information. Neither can we substitute for information given by experts in individual cases.
Non-EU citizens enrolled at a university in the EU
If you are a non-EU citizen enrolled at a university in an EU country except Ireland and Denmark and are planning a stay of less than 360 days in Germany for study purposes, please observe the following: Researchers and students no longer have to apply for a German residence permit if their residence permit of the first EU country has been issued for study purposes (under the EU Directive 2016/
801, the so-called REST Directive).
Still, the visa procedure is open to you.After the application deadline, the International Office of the University of Mannheim will contact you by e-mail to check whether your residence permit entitles you to participate in the REST Directive.
If this is the case, we as your host university must submit a mobility application to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) on your behalf. You will need to send us some documents for this. The application to the BAMF must be approved before your arrival and the processing time is at least 30 days.If you are planning a stay of more than 360 days for the purpose of studying, you must always apply for a student visa.
Proof of health insurance with a statutory health insurance provider or an exemption from compulsory insurance from a statutory health insurance provider is mandatory for all students to enroll. An exemption is possible on the basis of an EHIC, GHIC, AT-11 or private health insurance.
Please make an appointment with a statutory health insurance provideras soon as possible after receiving the “Enrollment Preparations” e-mail to obtain statutory insurance or apply for an exemption. It is not sufficient to submit your health insurance card (EHIC/GHIC) or a written membership certificate to the International Office. Without proof from a statutory health insurance provider, it is not possible to be enrolled.
Important: Getting health insurance
We strongly recommend that students from non-EU and non-EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) take out statutory health insurance in Germany. Otherwise, you will have to pay medical and hospital bills yourself first. These can be very large sums (depending on the illness/
injury, treatments can cost several thousand euros!) It usually takes some time until you are reimbursed by your home health insurance provider, leaving you with the risk of running into financial problems. We would like to inform you that insurance companies in your home country often do not have the same coverage as (statutory) health insurance companies in Germany.
The following benefits are often excluded with health insurance policies taken out in the home country:
- Outpatient and inpatient treatment of chronic diseases
- Accidents occurring under the influence of alcohol or caused by the driver
- Dental treatments
- Prenatal care
Would you like to take out statutory insurance in Germany?
- Please make an appointment with a statutory health insurance provider to take out insurance.
- At the appointment, please request that your statutory health insurance provider reports your insurance status via the reporting reason M10 for the University of Mannheim (“Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim”). This information is electronically forwarded to us by the statutory health insurance provider of your choice. With this confirmation, the health insurance provider confirms to the university that you are insured with the health insurance provider.
- The exclamation mark symbol in the top right-hand corner of Portal² indicates whether we have received your reporting reason M10 from the statutory health insurance provider you have contacted. The transmission of your M10 may take a few days.
Additional information
- Please note that, once you have decided against taking out a German statutory health insurance policy, this decision cannot be reversed. This means that, as long as you are a student in Germany, you can no longer switch to the student rate of a German statutory health insurance provider.
- All German statutory health insurance providers offer student health insurance for around EUR 135 per month. Insurance coverage will begin with enrollment. For the spring/
summer semester, however, insurance coverage does not begin until 1 February (official start of the semester for administrative purposes). If you enter Mannheim/ Germany earlier, we strongly recommend that you take out travel health insurance for the time until the semester starts. - When you turn 30, it is no longer possible to take out student health insurance. In this case, you have to take out private health insurance.
Do you have an EHIC/
GHIC, AT-11 or private health insurance? - Please make an appointment with a statutory health insurance provider to apply for an exemption.
- If you have been previously insured under a statutory health insurance scheme, please contact your previous health insurance provider. Otherwise, you may contact a statutory health insurance provider of your choice.
- At the appointment, please request that your statutory health insurance provider reports your insurance status via the reporting reason M10 for the University of Mannheim (“Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim”). The M10 is electronically forwarded to us by the statutory health insurance provider of your choice. With this confirmation, the health insurance provider confirms to the university that you are insured with the health insurance provider.
- The exclamation mark symbol in the top right-hand corner of Portal² indicates whether we have received your reporting reason M10 from the statutory health insurance provider you have contacted. The transmission of your M10 may take a few days.
Do you have statutory health insurance coverage in Germany?
- Please request that your statutory health insurance provider reports your insurance status via the reporting reason M10 for the University of Mannheim (“Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim”). With this confirmation, the health insurance provider confirms to the university that you are insured with the health insurance provider.
- The exclamation mark symbol in the top right-hand corner of Portal² indicates whether we have received your reporting reason M10 from the statutory health insurance provider you have contacted. The transmission of your M10 may take a few days.
Information for students with a blocked account
If you are opening a blocked account to provide proof of financial resources for studying, please check whether the package includes membership in a German statutory health insurance scheme. If this is the case, please contact the relevant health insurance provider to request the transmission of your M10.
Other insurances
Travel insurance
Private liability insurance
We strongly advise international students to take out private liability insurance. Private liability insurance covers typical everyday damages to other people's property (for example damages to a car caused by a bicycle accident or damages caused when practicing sports etc.). When taking out private liability insurance in your home country, please check in advance whether the insurance provider will answer for damages caused during your stay abroad.
Arrival and departure dates
Our fall semester begins on 1 August and ends on 31 January.
Our spring semester begins on 1 February and ends on 31 July.
Yet, you don’t need to arrive until the Welcome Week or, if you are participating, before the International Summer or Winter Academy starts.
Our Welcome Week serves to ease you into your new environment here in Mannheim. During a variety of events, you will get to know other students. You have to arrive in Mannheim in time for enrollment.
The examination period ends before Christmas (fall semester) or by the middle of June (spring semester), respectively. After your last examination, you may return to your home institution. The following list contains the official semester details, the lecture period, and the regular and alternate examination dates.
