Residence Permit
What happens to my visa after I enter the country?
International students from non-EU countries apply for a residence permit at the responsible immigration office within three months of entry (or before the expiration of any visa).
For the issuance of a residence permit to students, a matriculation certificate is usually required, which is only available after personal enrollment. Students who arrive a few weeks before enrollment can wait until they are able to present the matriculation certificate before going to the Foreigners' Registration Office.
However, you must not exceed the time limit of three months or the validity of any visa!
Application for the Residence Permit
The Foreigners' Registration Office of the City of Regensburg usually requires the following documents for the issuance of a residence permit:
- "Application for a Temporary Residence Permit" (Extension: "Application for extension of a temporary residence permit"; forms available at the Foreigners' Registration Office)
- valid passport
- biometric passport photo
- letter of admission or certificate of enrollment from the university
- proof of health insurance
- proof of subsistence (992 � per month)
- "Housing Provider Confirmation" / "Wohnungsgeberbest?tigung" (forms available at the Foreigners' Registration Office)
- If applicable, employment contract as a visiting researcher
Fee
Foreigners with German scholarships: free of charge
Participants in exchange programs of Regensburg universities: 100 �
Initial grant: 100 �
Renewal: 80 �
Validity and Purpose of the Residence Permit
Please always keep the following points in mind for your residence permit:
-
The purpose of your stay: This explicitly refers to the subject and the university at which you are studying. This means that if you change the subject or from a study-preparatory German course to the subject study, a change of university takes place or you end your studies, your residence permit usually automatically becomes invalid, no matter what date is written on it! You must therefore go to the Foreigners' Registration Office in good time before you change or end your studies and have it changed.
If you do not, your stay in Regensburg is illegal!
- The period of validity: If you go to the Foreigners' Registration Office only after your residence permit has expired, you are usually in Germany illegally until the new (electronic) residence title is issued (this takes about 4 weeks).
- The (electronic) residence permit at the Foreigners' Registration Office of the City of Regensburg is issued for at least one year. Applicants must therefore be able to prove financing for this period - in the form of a declaration of commitment or a sufficient credit balance in a German bank account.
- If you submit your application to the Foreigners' Registration Office late, serious consequences under immigration and criminal law may follow. It is possible that you will be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for illegal residence. It is also possible that you will no longer receive a residence permit and will have to leave Germany.