If you are from a country that is not a member of the European Union, you need a residence permit to study in Germany, even if you did not need a visa to enter the country.

To obtain or renew your residence permit, you need to make an appointment with the Hochschulservice (City of Oldenburg's Foreign Residents' Office). Please arrange your appointment well in advance (two months prior to expiration/ within 90 days after your arrival in Germany).

If you already live and are registered in Oldenburg, you can also apply online.

You can find the application form here.

The Hochschulservice will then contact you by e-mail and inform you about the further procedure. To avoid extra work, please do not write another e-mail to make an appointment. You will usually hear back from the Hochschulservice within 4 weeks.

1. A current confirmation of your health insurance. If you are enrolled in the public health insurance system, contact your provider and let them issue a letter to you which states that you are currently a member there; the health insurance card is not enough. If you have private health insurance, you need to extend your insurance so that it covers the entire period for which you want to have a residence permit. Then you need to show proof of this to the Hochschulservi ce (Foreign Residents' Office).
2. A proof of funding for your studies (copy of the document), e.g. a letter from your bank that confirms you have a locked bank account with a restriction ("Sperrvermerk") covering over EUR 11,208 per year (12 x EUR 934 per month), a formal obligation letter or a scholarship confirmation. If you can prove that the rental and incidental rental costs of your accommodation are lower than EUR 360, the amount of the funding proof will be reduced.
3. Your national passport.
4. A current confirmation of enrolment (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung)
5. A fee of around EUR 100 (for the first residence permit) or up to EUR 93 or 98 (for each renewal). If you finance your stay with a scholarship, the Hochschulservice will check whether a fee exemption can be applied.
6. A biometric passport photograph

The Hochschulservice (Foreign Residents' Office) is situated in the New Town Hall building at Pferdemarkt 14 (rooms A018/ A019).

Fix an appointment via e-mail at

Citizens of Andorra, Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Canada, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, South Korea and the USA can enter Germany without a visa, but also require a residence permit for study purposes. If they choose to use a Confidential Financial Statement as proof of funding, the Hochschulservice (City of Oldenburg's Foreign Residents' Office) will request additional documentation:

• Passport copies of the parents
• Birth certificate (or other official proof of relationship, as only parents can make this declaration, not uncles, sisters or grandparents)
• Proof of income from parents (employment contract and the last three pay slips or bank statements with proof of income)
• If applicable, a list of the parents' costs (income and expenses), for example with the national currency converted into euros.

Sometimes additional documents are requested.