Guidebook for International Interns and Short-Term Students

The regulations concerning entry into Germany differ depending on your country of origin. Please inform yourself about the specific requirements for your home country and apply for an entry visa (if required) as soon as possible! Preferably do so when you have received your letter of admission via email.

Countries which do not require a visa:
Citizens of the European Union and members of the EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) do not require an entry visa or a student visa.

Members of the following countries also do not require an entry visa or student visa, but must apply for a residence permit at the respective Foreign Registration Office (“Ausländerbehörde”) after their enrollment at the University in Germany:

• Andorra
• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Israel
• Japan
• Monaco
• New Zealand
• San Marino
• South Korea
• USA

Please note: your nationality, not the country of your home university, determines your visa requirements.
For example: If you study in a European country and have a residence permit for that country, you are still required to apply for a student visa for Germany. If this is the case for you, contact the German embassy in the country where you are currently studying or in your home country.

Countries requiring a visa:
Students from all other countries must apply for a visa in their home country. In this case, a tourist visa is not accepted for entry into Germany. Students from most countries, therefore, require an entry visa for Germany. More information about this can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office (“Auswärtiges Amt”).

Please apply for your entry/student/applicant visa as soon as possible at the responsible German embassy or consulate in your country. Provide your letter of admission from the University of Mannheim at the time of application. For students requiring an entry/student/applicant visa, you must also upload your entry/student/applicant visa to your Mobility Online workflow prior to your enrollment.

The entry visa will be converted into a student residence permit once you have been enrolled at the university. In order to convert the visa, you must schedule an appointment with an employee from the Foreign Registration Office (“Ausländerbehörde”). A tourist visa cannot be converted into a student residence permit after entry into Germany. 

Proof of health insurance coverage with a statutory health insurance provider or exemption from compulsory insurance is mandatory for students. Your insurance status will then be transmitted to us electronically by the statutory health insurance provider.

You can make an appointment with a representative of a statutory health insurance provider on this website to take out insurance or to request an exemption.

Do you have or plan to take out German statutory health insurance coverage?

• Then please request the “Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim” from your statutory health insurance provider. Please inform the statutory health insurace about University of Mannheim's ID number H0002079. With this confirmation, the health insurance provider reports to the university that you are insured with the health insurance provider.

Do you have a European/Global Health Insurance Card (EHIC/GHIC)
OR AT-11
OR have you taken out private health insurance?

• Then you have to request to be exempted from compulsory insurance by a statutory health insurance provider and also request the “Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim”. Please inform the statutory health insurace about University of Mannheim's ID number H0002079. If you were previously insured with a statutory health insurance provider, please contact this health insurance provider, otherwise contact any statutory health insurance provider of your choice.

Please request the “Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim” as soon as possible after receiving our enrollment preparation email, so that we receive your proof of health insurance coverage as early as possible. Without this proof, enrollment is not possible.

Please note:

•  Submission of your health insurance card/EHIC or certificate of membership is not sufficient.
• We strongly recommend international students from non-EU countries to take out statutory health insurance. Otherwise you may have to advance all payments for a doctor's visit/hospital stay or treatment. The invoices can amount to big sums easliy (depending on the illness and on the scope and duration of treatment, it can be several thousand euros!).
• If you have international/private insurance, you will be responsible for all treatment costs up front and reimbursement by your insurance company may take several weeks. This might result in financial problems. We want to inform you that international/private insurances do not have the same coverage as German statutory insurances. The following benefits are often not included with international/private insurances:
  • Inpatient and outpatient treatment in a foreign country for chronic illnesses
  • Accidents that occur under the influence of alcohol, or are otherwise caused by negligence
  • Dental procedures
  • Routine prenatal care
• Your decision against a membership with a German statutory health insurance is irrevocable. As long as you are a student in Germany you cannot enter a German statutory insurance paying the reduced student rate if you have not done so from the beginning.
• Statutory health insurance in Germany costs approximately €125 per month (student rate by all statutory health insurance companies). The health insurance coverage begins on the day of enrollment. For the spring semester, however, health insurance coverage begins no sooner than 1 February. Thus, if you arrive earlier than 1 February, we strongly recommend to purchase a travel insurance (only!) for the time until then.
• Statutory student health insurance ends after your 30^th birthday. In this case, you need to purchase a private health insurance.
• For your information, we summarized the standard health insurance benefits in the following document: Health insurance benefits (PDF).

By law, every student enrolled in a German university – including exchange students, interns and short-term students – has to pay a semester contribution. For international exchange students, interns and short-term students, the semester fee for the Fall semester 2025 amounts to €100.00.

Please transfer the semester fee to the bank account of the University of Mannheim indicated below. Please make sure to indicate the exact payment reference we sent you in our email with the title "University of Mannheim: Notification of Semester Fees” for your bank transfer. Only then will we be able to correctly allocate your payment to you. Please transfer the semester fee by the payment deadline referred to in the email.

Please note that depending on your exchange program the payment information and deadlines may differ. You will receive further information via email.

Bank details
Universität Mannheim
Baden-Württembergische Bank / LBBW
IBAN: DE23600501010001379273
BIC: SOLA DE ST 600

Once we have received your payment, you will be able to see this in self-service section on Portal². Please allow at least 5 business days for this process.

In order to avoid additional payments, please bear ALL bank charges that incur with the money transfer, i.e. also the charges raised by the receiving bank!

Please keep a receipt of your payment for your files.

You will be enrolled during the week before the lecture period. Students who come to the University of Mannheim as part of the short term program with the University of Durham will be enrolled in June.
To proceed with your enrollment it is necessary that you submit your enrollment preparation information via incomingsmail-uni-mannheim.de in advance:

• The correct spelling of your name
• Your nationality
• A scan of your visa (if applicable)
• Your address in Mannheim
• Have you already taken care of your proof of health insurance by requesting "Meldegrund 10 für die Universität Mannheim” from a statutory health insurance provider?
• In case you have previously been enrolled at a German university: Your disenrollment certificate

Your student ID card (“ecUM”) is very useful for your life on campus. It is used to print, pay your lunch at the cafeteria, or use the library lockers.

In order to apply for your ecUM you need to upload your photo in Portal² after you have been enrolled. Your ecUM will be sent to you via mail. Therefore, please make sure your correct German address is saved in Portal² and your name is visible on your letter box.

Learn more  about your ecUM and how to receive it.

To help you plan your journey to Mannheim, we have compiled a list of the different travel options you have on this page.

We strongly recommend that our exchange students take out a liability insurance. A liability insurance offers specific protection against third party claims and covers the risks of everyday life, such as causing damages to a car through a bike accident. To a certain extent, this insurance also covers damages caused by participation in athletic activities or one’s liability in owning or renting an apartment. In some cases of former exchange students a liability insurance has proven to be very useful. If you take out a liability insurance in your home country make sure that the policy is also valid for Germany/Europe.  

Please also read the information about the liablity insurance on our website.

Studium Generale offers German language courses for different levels. There are no ECTS credits for these courses. Have a look at the Studium Generale website for the course program and registration.

Before starting your search, you may consider whether you prefer living in a shared apartment or in a single apartment. Many students in Germany choose to live in shared apartments in which they have their own room but share kitchen and bathroom with their roommates. Whether both men and women share an apartment differs. Some students prefer a single apartment in which they have their own small bathroom and kitchen. Both options – living in a shared apartment or renting out a single apartment – have advantages and disadvantages. It is helpful to consider both options before you start your search and decide which one may be more suitable for you.

A shared apartment is usually much cheaper than single apartments since you can share some of the costs for the apartment with your housemates. Depending on the preferences of you and your housemates, you cannot only share costs for electricity, but also for food, cleaning utensils, etc.
It may also be easier for you to make friends in Mannheim through your housemates. Further, you can share responsibilities such as cleaning the apartment.

Renting out a single apartment oftentimes is more expensive than a room in a shared apartment. However, a single apartment allows you to be more independent and keep your privacy.

The price for a room in a shared apartment amounts to EUR 400 – 550. It is common that landlords require a deposit payment of about two monthly rents excluding utilities.

Many search platforms will ask you to indicate your preferred neighborhoods in order to narrow the search. The following neighborhoods are particularly popular among international students due to their close proximity to the university: 

1. Innenstadt / Quadrate / City
2. Schwetzinger Vorstadt
3. Lindenhof
4. Neckarstadt-Ost
5. Oststadt

Due to their top locations, rents in these neighborhoods are usually higher than elsewhere. The following neighborhoods are also worth looking at, since they are well-connected to the city center through public transport: Almenhof, Neuostheim, Feudenheim, Waldhof, Käfertal. During the day, trams run every ten minutes, in the evening, every twenty minutes. At night, you can use taxis and buses to get around.

In the following, you can find a number of websites with room offers – partly by real estate agencies – and other resources that you can use for your search.

It cannot be ruled out that you might come across dubious room offers during your search on the private housing market.Therefore, we are strongly discouraging from making any payments (to non-German bank accounts) before signing a lease. Please also make sure that you read the security advice given on the particular website.

Please note that Airbnb is not a good choice if you require a residence permit for your stay in Mannheim. If you book a room on Airbnb, you will not be able to register at the Residents‘ Registration Office in Mannheim which is a prerequisite for obtaining a residence permit.

Online private accommodation service of the International Office

Via this platform, Mannheim students who are going abroad for one or two semesters rent out their private rooms: http://zimmer.uni-mannheim.de

Please be aware that the rooms advertised here are rented out by private persons and that the International Office of the University of Mannheim does not act as an intermediary. Rental agreements are concluded without the involvement of the International Office.

Online private accommodation service of the Studierendenwerk

The Studierendenwerk also offers a private accommodation service. To use this service you must be enrolled at the University of Mannheim and come to the Studierendenwerk in person (please bring ecUM).

Online platforms (a selection)

• WG gesucht (search can be narrowed to furnished accommodation by using filters)
• Immobilienscout 24 (one of the most common search platforms in Germany)
• Online private accommodation service by the International Office of the University of Mannheim
• Housing Anywhere
• Immonet

Please be aware that the International Office of the University of Mannheim does not act as an intermediary and that rental agreements are concluded without the involvement of the International Office.

Utilities include payments for heating, water, power and gas according to consumption as well as costs that apply to the entire building and are split between its tenants. The latter include, for example, domestic waste collection, sewage, elevator maintenance (where required), and janitorial or cleaning services. Thus, when comparing apartments, please check if the rent is indicated as including utilities (“Warmmiete”or “warm”) or excluding utilities (“Kaltmiete” or “kalt”) in order to be able to compare rent prices. Also inquire on the exact costs that are included in the utilities if a given apartment is listed as “warm” and which additional payments you will have to make yourself, for example for electricity.

Also be aware that for long-term rents, mostly in unfurnished apartments, the monthly utilities payment is an advance payment. Once a year, the actual consumption and resulting costs are exactly calculated and set off against the utilities payments made in advance. This may result in refunds or, if the consumption was higher than what the utilities payments covered, in additional payments.

If you are renting a furnished apartment, especially for a short period of time, the utilities payment is usually a fixed amount.

Telephone and Internet fees as well as the public broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) are not part of the utilities and usually need to be paid separately. However, costs for these services are sometimes included in the rent for furnished apartments.

Heating

There are different types of heating: gas and central heating.

If your apartment is heated using gas and these costs are not included in the utilities, you should plan on paying higher additional costs for gas. If gas is included in the monthly utilities payment, this will probably be higher than usual.

Electricity and gas

If electricity and/or gas are not included in the utilities, you need to contact a provider of your choice to set up these services. To do this, you'll need to first get the current meter readings from both the gas and electric meters when you move in. You can ask your landlord about how to get the meter readings. After your registration, the energy supplier will set a monthly or quarterly service rate that is determined according to the average consumption of the previous tenant. This rate is comprised of a basic fee and a payment component that is based on your expected consumption. At the end of the accounting period (once a year) these advance payments are set off against your actual consumption. You will receive an annual invoice indicating if you will receive a refund or need to make additional payments. For electricity, you can expect to pay about EUR 40 to EUR 90 for a single person per month.

Most apartments have telephone and Internet connections, however, they are not always activated. In this case, you will have to contact a provider of your choice and have them activate the connection according to your rate selection. There are numerous options for telephone and Internet plans. Please be aware of the minimum contract duration and the cancellation deadlines before entering a contract.  

Furnished apartments sometimes come with activated phone/Internet services, which can be used right away. If the costs for phone and Internet are not included in the monthly rent payment, the landlord will bill you separately for these services.

You have not yet found accommodation and are considering where to spend your first nights in Mannheim? Then you can look for free accommodation with other students via the couchsurfing platform provided by AStA. If you need a place to sleep for your first few nights in Mannheim, write an e-mail or make your request directly via the AStA couchsurfing group on Facebook:

E-mail:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/AStACouchsurfing

Jugendherberge Mannheim

Rheinpromenade 21

68163 Mannheim

Phone: +49 621 822718

Price per night: as of EUR 43–54

www.jugendherberge-mannheim.de

Hotel an den Planken

P4, 8

68161 Mannheim

Phone: +49 621 158080

Price per night: as of EUR 79–99

https://alter-simpl-mannheim.de/hotel-an-den-planken/

Leonardo Hotel

N 6, 3

68161 Mannheim

Phone: +49 621 107 10

Price per night: as of EUR 67–100

https://www.leonardo-hotels.com/leonardo-hotel-mannheim-city-center

Hotel Luise

U1, 11–12

68161 Mannheim

Phone: +49 621 18034700

Price per night: EUR 66–120

www.hotel-luxa.de/

InterCity Hotel Mannheim

Schlossgartenstraße 1 on the corner of block L13 (next to Mannheim main station)

68161 Mannheim

Phone: +49 621 4018 110

Price per night: as of EUR 80–110

https://hrewards.com/en/intercityhotel-mannheim 

Hostel Mannheim

D2, 10

68159 Mannheim

Phone: +49 (0) 621 43 70 44 43

Price per night: as of EUR 39–44

https://www.hostelmannheim.de/en-gb