To Dos before Arrival and Enrollment

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 ALL exchange students. Your insurance status will be transmitted to us electronically by the statutory health insurance provider.

Please make an appointment with a representative of a statutory health insurance providerto take out public health 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 to us is not sufficient.
• We strongly recommend international students from non-EU and non-EFTA 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.

The International Office offers a very limited number of dorm rooms to exchange students and offers support in finding private rooms. Please read the respective information on finding accommodation on Portal².

By law, every student enrolled in a German university – including exchange students – has to pay a semester contribution. For international exchange students, the semester fee for the fall semester 2024 amounts to €85.00.

Please transfer the semester fee by the payment deadline on 15 July 2024 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: login Portal² + Notification of Semester Fees” for your bank transfer. Only then will we be able to correctly allocate your payment to you.

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.

What's the semester contribution fee?
In order to cover the costs of the student services, every student who is enrolled in a German university – including exchange students – is obliged by law to pay a semester contribution. Currently the contribution amounts to € 120.30 per semester at the University of Mannheim.

Before we can process your enrollment, you need to login to Mobility Online, upload the relevant documents and complete your information for enrollment. You will be able to upload your documents and complete your information on Mobility Online once you receive our email on the enrollment process. In our email, we are also are informing you of the deadline for submission of the necessary enrollment documents. Please complete the necessary stepsin your Mobility Online workflow. Please read and understand all help texts (yellow blocks) in all sections before completing a step.

1. Log in to Mobility Online
2. Double-check the spelling of your name (“Complete/edit personal details”)
3. Health insurance: A proof of sufficient health insurance is required for on-campus enrollment at a German university. Please find information about the different options attached to this e-mail. Read it carefully and upload the document that applies to you in the designated task.
4. Confirm your nationality.
5. Upload a copy of your visa for study purposes (if required).
6. Provide your permanent address in Mannheim. In case you do not have a permanent address by the time of your arrival in Mannheim and stay in a hostel or hotel, please indicate this temporary address and provide us with your permanent address once it is available.
7. All information correct? Complete the task “Submit Application for Enrollment (On-Campus)”

• IMPORTANT!
  Please indicate a nationality for which you have a valid passport. The spelling of your name needs to be identical with the spelling on the passport you use for travelling to Germany. In case of dual citizenship where one of the citizenships does NOT require an entry and study visa for Germany, please make sure to state the corresponding nationality as “1st nationality”. Your visa requirements will be checked based on your “1st nationality”! The International Office reserves the right of disenrollment if any false information is provided. As soon as it will be possible, we will ask students to show their passport in person.

Applications for enrollment will be processed latest during our Welcome Week. The certificate of enrollment will be sent to you via e-mail once your enrollment is complete. After the enrollment, you will receive guidelines on the next steps to get ready for your studies (incl. access to our student services portals, etc.) via email.

Please plan to be in Mannheim for the Welcome Week. The Welcome Week with information sessions of the International Office and your faculty is planned to take place between 5 – 9 February 2024.

Directions to the University of Mannheim