Do I need a visa for the course?

Whether you need a (short-term) study/tourist visa to enter the Schengen Area of the European Union depends on your personal circumstances.

Please see the web pages of the German Foreign Office.

For a visa application you need to submit the following documents to your nearest German consulate 2 to 3 months at the latest before you commence your studies:

a Notification of Admission (when applying for a visa for the purpose of study, or Student Visa) or Acknowledgement of Application (for example, for the JLU Courses in German as a Foreign Language for Student Applicants, when applying for a Student Applicant's Visa)

and documentary proof of your possession of sufficient funds to complete your course of study

Financial proof can take the form of the promise of a grant by a public institution, a blocked account (€ 992 per month). If you possess private funds, you must present a legally certified financial declaration. Forms for this latter purpose can be obtained from the Giessen International Registration Authority.

Do NOT try to enter Germany on a tourist visa if you intend to study here. It is not possible to convert a tourist visa into a student visa – you would have to travel back home again and apply for the correct type of visa at your German embassy or consulate. All that, of course, would cost you a lot of time and money, and you might very well arrive back too late to start your course of study properly.

Exceptions: citizens of the EU, the USA, South Korea, Brazil and a few other countries are exempted from the obligation to possess an entry visa. Further information can be found here. Information on your particular status is available from the German embassy and consulates in your home country, and at Giessen's International Registration Authority.

Please note:

Most visa applications will take between six weeks and three months. For the visa process, you will probably need proof of sufficient health insurance plus a true copy (no email/fax) of an invitation letter from the Justus Liebig University Giessen. Please plan the start of your visa application process accordingly.

Make sure that your arrival and departure times correspond to the validity of your visa and the reservation of your accommodation.