International students who wish to study in Germany need to have a German Student Visa. The first thing to do is to find out if one needs a visa to study in Germany as an international student depending on the country one lives in and if they do, what type of visa they need to apply for considering the length and nature of your planned studies. For studies that last up to 3 months, a student will need a Schengen visa and for studies that last more than 3 months, a student will need a German national visa.
There are three types of Germany student visas that one can apply for. The first one is a German Student Visa. This is the standard student visa for international students who have been admitted to a German university and are ready to start their studies at a full-time university program. The second one is a German Student Applicant Visa. This visa is needed if one needs to be in Germany to apply for university admission in person. This visa doesn’t allow them to study in Germany, it’s only valid for the university application process. The last one is the German Language Course Visa. This type of visa is needed if one needs to study for a German language course in Germany.
On an average, it takes up to 25 days for a German student visa application to be processed. The processing time varies depending on the country and the German embassy applied at.
The primary visa application documents required are a duly filled out and signed national visa application form, a valid passport with photocopies, certificate of birth, passport-size photographs, photocopies of previous German residence titles (If applicable), previous Schengen visa, previous German resident permit, proof of Financial Resources, Scholarship awarding certificate, a bank guarantee issued by a recognized German bank,
Student Health Insurance, University entrance qualification, Certificate of German or English Language Proficiency, proof of university admission and earlier education.
The application process includes the following steps. The first step is to locate the closest German Embassy or Consulate and to review the requirements and procedures. The second step is to set up a Visa appointment and have all of the Visa Application Documents ready. The third step is to prepare for the Visa interview and pay the application fee. After the interview is done, one will get the official answer whether their visa has been approved or rejected.