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SER Registration & residence permit
Last modified: Wednesday, 10 July 2024, 3:09 PM
Registration and residence permit
As a student in Germany, you must register your residence within two weeks of arrival at the local registration office. Non-EU students also need to apply for a residence permit at the local immigration office.
How to proceed after arrival in Hamburg
1
Registration (all students)
After arriving in Hamburg, you will need to register at any registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt) in Hamburg. You have to register within two weeks.
2
Application residence permit (only non-EU students)
In order to be allowed an extended residence in Germany, non-EU citizens have to apply for a residence permit before their visa expires.
3
De-registration
De-register if you leave Germany after having graduated.
General information
Please find general information on visa for international students on KLU's website as well as in this helpful brochure for foreign students in Hamburg. Here you will also find information on topics like working during your studies or steps to take after graduation when you want to stay in Germany.
Deadline for registration
You can do the registration of your place of residence at any registration office in Hamburg, preferably in your residential district. It is recommended to make an appointment beforehand. More information and booking an appointment can be done easily online through a portal linked here.
After arriving in Hamburg, you will need to make an appointment to register within 2 weeks at any service center. Same applies if you are moving, you need to change your address at any service center. The booking of an appointment is sufficient to meet the deadline.
According to recent information, it seems that for short stays under 3 months, a registration is not required. You can still register if you require the confirmation to for example open a bank account or other administrative reasons, but if you stay less than 3 months in Hamburg, the registration isn't strictly necessary. If you stay more than 3 months, please keep the aforementioned deadline of two weeks after arrival to make an appointment.
You can do the registration of your place of residence at any registration office in Hamburg, preferably in your residential district. It is recommended to make an appointment beforehand. More information and booking an appointment can be done easily online through a portal linked here.
You can switch to English using the button in the top right corner next to the little globe. (However, the booking tool is only in German, please try translate add ons). Please enter your personal information and then scroll down to "Wohnsitzänderung" and choose "Reporting a move to Hamburg from abroad".
To get an appointment on short-notice, check the portal at 7 am and 10 am, as new appointments are released then.
It doesn’t matter whether you are an international or a German student – all new residents of Hamburg have to register.
Documents you need to bring with you
- Passport
- Proof of accommodation ("Wohnungsgeberbestätigung") in Hamburg: Unfortunately the document is only available in German. Please forward the document to your landlord, who has to fill it out for you. In case you live in the student dorm: you will receive the document automatically from the house manager.
- marriage certificate translated to English (in case your are married)
- birth certificate translated to English (in case that you have children)
Procedure
Once it is your turn, the procedure will take about 10 minutes. The office clerk will hand out to you your registration confirmation (Anmeldebestätigung). This is a very important document, so keep it safely! You will need it for official proceedings such as opening a bank account, applying for a residence permit, getting medical insurance, etc.
Fee
The administration fee for registration is € 13.
Deadline
In order to be allowed an extended stay in Germany, non-EU citizens must apply for a residence permit before their visa expires. Please note that it may take several weeks to receive an appointment due to high demand at the city authorities. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to begin the application process at least 3–4 months before your visa expires.
How and where to book an appointment:
If the Hamburg Welcome Center is responsible for your application, you are now required to submit your application directly through their online service You must upload all the required documents as part of the application. After your documents are reviewed and processed, an appointment will be assigned to you. It is no longer necessary—or possible—to call and schedule an appointment manually.
All necessary and up-to-date information can be found on the official Hamburg Welcome Center webpages.
Special case exchange students: If you are an exchange student and your visa covers your entire exchange period, you do not need to apply for a residence permit. In this case, you only need to register your address in Hamburg (see instructions above). However, if your visa does not cover your full exchange stay, you must apply for a residence permit before your visa expires.
Special case students from a country from which you can enter Germany without a visa (e.g. from the US): If you are from a country whose citizens do not require a visa to enter Germany, you must apply for a residence permit within 90 days of your arrival in Germany.
It is highly recommended to start the application process as soon as you have registered with the city as you will not be able to take up any kind of part-time employment without a valid visa or residence permit.
Required documents:
In general, the following documents will periodically be needed for the issue of a residence permit.
However,these documents will be uploaded online when using the online service:
- Enrollment certificate. You can download it yourself on MyKLU.
- Proof of finances, (e.g. employment or training contract, Jobcenter benefits award letter, student grant/loan award letter, pension award letter, blocked bank account, maintenance allowance).
- Certification of health insurance. Your health insurance card is not sufficient. You can obtain the certificate from your health insurance company.
Initial issue of the residence permit: ca. EUR 110, extension of the residence permit: ca. EUR 90
An electronic residence title in credit card format will be issued. This may take up to 4 weeks.
It is essential that you always have a valid residence permit during your stay in Germany. As a rule, this permit can be extended as long as your purpose of stay is still valid.
Again, you can apply for a residence permit for the purpose of studying at your respective immigration authority when you already have a residence title and need an extension. Address: Hamburg Welcome Center Süderstr. 32 , 20097 Hamburg +44 40 428395500 Transferring a residence title into a new passport:
In this case, you must have a new card (electronic residence permit, eAT for short) issued. This is called a 'transfer' ('Übertrag'), as the new passport number will be transferred to your new card (eAT). Your current card still refers to your old passport.
What is a Fiktionsbescheinigung?
You have applied for a new residence permit or an extension of your previous residence permit. However, due to the very high demand for appointments, it will unfortunately only be possible to decide on your application at a later date. To ensure that you have proof of your right of residence in Germany by then, you have been issued with a fictional certificate.
You will find more information about the Fiktionsbescheinigung here. It is a helpful source if you need to explain the Fiktionsbescheinigung to e.g. your employer.
You have applied for a new residence permit or an extension of your previous residence permit. However, due to the very high demand for appointments, it will unfortunately only be possible to decide on your application at a later date. To ensure that you have proof of your right of residence in Germany by then, you have been issued with a fictional certificate.
You will find more information about the Fiktionsbescheinigung here. It is a helpful source if you need to explain the Fiktionsbescheinigung to e.g. your employer.
De-registration is only necessary when you leave Germany permanently (e.g. if you return after your exchange period or when you finished your degree program and won't stay in Germany).
To de-register your residence in Hamburg, please visit a customer service center of your choice. The de-registration can be done 7 days before the date on which you leave Germany and has to be done 14 days after you have left (if you send it by postal mail for example).
The de-registration is free of charge and you will receive a confirmation of de-registration.
For de-registering your residence, you need to submit the following documents:- official photo identification (identification card or passport) for every certifying person or copy of your official photo identification, if you send the de-registration by postal mail
- completed and signed de-registration form.
The de-registration can also be done in written form, but unfortunately not via email.
If you move within Germany, please contact your local registration office at the new place of residence. In this case it is not necessary to de-register in Hamburg.Following successful conclusion of your studies in Germany you can apply for an 18-month residence permit at your local foreign national registration office or Hamburg Welcome Center to look for a job that corresponds to your qualifications. You can register here for an appointment.
During these 18 months, you may take up any kind of employment to support yourself and fund your job search. If you already found a job that corresponds to your qualifications before graduating, you can jump this step. You can apply for your residence permit as soon as you have passed your final exam. To do so, you usually need:
- Your passport
- Your university degree
- (If you still haven't received your degree please ask the Registrar's office (registrar@klu.org) to issue a provisional confirmation stating that you have successfully completed your studies)
- Proof of health insurance
- Adequate proof of financial resources
As soon as you have a job offer which corresponds to your qualifications, you can choose whether you want to apply for a German residence permit or an EU Blue Card for the next part of your stay. Various conditions are attached to both these residence permits. Depending on what you are planning to do in the future, either the German residence permit or the EU Blue Card can be advantageous for you. A Blue card can only be received if you receive a gross salary of (currently) at least 58,400 euros per year or in so-called shortage occupations a gross salary of (currently) at least 45,552 euros per year.
You have to apply for the residence permit or EU Blue Card at the Foreigners Registration Department office competent for your place of residence. In Hamburg these are the Hamburg Welcome Center or the Foreigners Registration Department office at your local district authority.Most likely you will have to present:
- passport
- biometric picture
- university degree
A draft employment contract with job description and details of employment conditions (e.g. working times, salary, holidays)
We suggest going to the Hamburg Welcome Center (HWC) which is prepared for international students arriving in Hamburg. The staff speaks English. Please make an appointment for your application for a residence permit. Note that payments of any administrative fees in the Hamburg Welcome Center can only be made by EC Card.
The portal "Make it in Germany" summarizes useful information as well. More information about visa, residence permitPlease find more information in this information brochure.