SER External counseling services
External counseling services & more
KLU students have access to free external counseling services provided by Studierendenwerk Hamburg, thanks to our partnership with them.
Additionally, there are further counseling services, such as legal advice, which may be of interest to you. Please note that some of these additional services may not be free of charge.
Studierendenwerk: Counselling and Finance Center (BeSI)
The Studierendenwerk Hamburg is a public institution dedicated to supporting the social and economic well-being of students. It offers a wide range of services and is also available to assist students at KLU.
If you are facing social or financial difficulties, you can reach out to the BeSI team at Studierendenwerk for counseling and support.
For more information, including their flyer and contact details, find the resources provided here.
Legal advice
If you need legal help, consider consulting a specialist, especially for disputes with your landlord or issues related to your residence permit.
Legal services may cost a few hundred euros, but there are affordable options for students and low-income individuals:
- Hamburg Welcome Center: Offers legal counseling for foreign nationals. Available in English via phone or Skype.
- Law Clinics: Run by students from Bucerius Law School and University of Hamburg. Translation services are available.
- Refugee law clinic
- Rahlstedt Counseling: Mondays, 2–5 pm at Bürgerhaus in Meiendorf (Saseler Str. 21, Hamburg).
- Altona Counseling: Wednesdays, 3–6 pm at Embassy of Hope (Thalia in der Gaußstraße, Hamburg).
- Online Counseling: Fridays, 3–6 pm. Email rlc-beratung@uni-hamburg.de for an appointment.
- Fluchtpunkt Hamburg: Legal advice for refugees on asylum processes and protection against deportation.
- ÖRA (Public Legal Consultation): Available in German and possibly English, depending on the case worker.
More information is available in English through the provided resources.
Liability insurance
A liability insurance provides you with protection against claims resulting e.g. from injuries and damage to people/property.
KLU does not provide liability insurance for students and it also does not cover any damage claims. Liability insurances are available starting from 40 EUR per year at nearly every insurance company. We are not allowed to recommend a specific one and cannot take out an insurance for you. All students must organize sufficient insurance coverage by themselves.
The internet portal transparent-beraten.de checked 86 tariffs for students from 33 insurance providers. The test winners with the grade "very good" cost between 60 and 95 Euro per year.
The Studierendenwerk Hamburg has some more more information here.The tariffs cover all services that are important for students and cost 58 to 68 euros per year. We strongly recommend to compare several offers.
Bafög, Mobile phone & more
BAföG, short for "Bundesausbildungsförderungs-Gesetz," is a form of governmental financial support for students in Germany. It consists of a combination of federal grants and interest-free loans. The amount of funding a student receives depends on their parents' income. Currently, the maximum monthly BAföG funding is €992.
Key Points
- Maximum monthly funding: Up to €992
- Grant: 50% of the funding is a grant that doesn't need to be repaid.
- Loan: The remaining 50% is an interest-free loan.
- Loan Repayment Cap: The maximum amount you need to repay is €10,010.
Eligibility Criteria for BAföG
Your eligibility for BAföG depends on several factors, including your age, legal residence status, and previous qualifications.
1. Age
- General rule: If you are 45 years old or older at the start of your program, you are generally not eligible for BAföG.
- Exceptions:
- If you couldn't start or complete your studies due to circumstances in your home country.
- If you completed your Abitur in Germany and started university immediately after.
For more information, visit bafög.de or the "BAföG-Ratgeber" section on intez.de.
2. Legal Residence Status
- General rule: You must be legally residing in Germany and enrolled in a higher education institution. Students on a student visa (§16b Residence Act) are not eligible.
- Detailed information: Your eligibility can be confirmed by checking §8 BAföG, which lists the types of residence permits that qualify.For Refugees
- Eligible: Recognized refugees, those with asylum status, or those under subsidiary protection can apply for BAföG.
- Limited eligibility: If you have a "national ban on deportation," "Duldung," or are in Germany under family reunification, you can apply for BAföG after 15 months.
- Not Eligible: If you have a temporary stay permit ("Aufenthaltsgestattung") and are still in the asylum process, you cannot apply for BAföG, but you may continue to receive asylum seeker benefits during your studies.
3. Previous Qualifications
- General rule: BAföG is available only for students pursuing a degree below the doctorate level and who do not have another higher degree.
- Specific Cases:
- If you studied abroad, you might be eligible for BAföG if your education is not considered equivalent to a German university education.
- If you have a Bachelor’s degree and are now pursuing a Master’s.
- If you were unable to complete your studies abroad and wish to continue them in Germany.
For more detailed guidance, especially for those with foreign qualifications, consult the "BAföG-Ratgeber" section of INTEZ e.V.
If your BAföG application is rejected due to foreign qualifications or subject change, you can seek advice from INTEZ at info@intez.de.
How to apply
You can apply for BAföG online. All necessary forms are available on the official BAföG website. Using a translation tool may be helpful if you are not fluent in German.
KLU
cannot support you by applying for BAföG, all forms must be filled out
by yourself. If you need support, please refer to the Studierendenwerk Hamburg, you can reach them via phone or directly at their office (end of website).
If
you encounter any translation issues with your letters, feel free to
visit our Student Info Point during opening hours for assistance.
It is important that your application is complete otherwise you might have to wait several months for you application being processed.
How the repayment works
Foreigners, including refugees, must repay their loan even if they
later return to their home country. The repayment phase begins five
years after the maximum funding period has expired, with monthly
installments of 130 euros. If someone earns very little, the repayment
period can be postponed. If not everything is repaid after 20 years, the
remaining amount is forgiven
You can find a
translation for the application here or on this website.
If you are an exchange student and are staying only a few months in Germany, it might be wise to choose a prepaid card. Also, if you want to be able to quit the contract every month and to get better deals or to stay flexible, prepaid is very good!
Prepaid brings the basics like a phone number, calls and texts billed per minute or per text. In Germany, SIM cards are sold separately from the phone. So you have to be sure to have your phone “unlocked” before you come to Germany. Otherwise, you cannot use it with a German mobile phone plan.
Prepaid packages are available for around 10 EUR and can be bought in phone company stores as well as in many supermarkets. If you would like to buy a sim card there, you will have the opportunity to buy it at “Lidl” or “Aldi” supermarket, for example. You will be able to reload it by buying credit over the counter.Apart from that “Blau”, "Fraenk" and “Congstar” have good deals and offer the e-sim as well, starting from 8€ a month and you can order and pay online.
Please be aware that German telephone companies are required to ask customers for ID (German ID Card/passport/temporary ID papers) when buying a prepaid SIM.
Contract
If you are a KLU degree student staying for more than a year and you need mobile internet as well as a new phone, you’d could opt for a contract. You might get a good deal, however, you need to quit the contract within time. For international students it definitely makes sense to purchase a mobile phone card from a German provider. Staying in touch with friends and family will be much cheaper this way.
In case you would like to enter into a contract, there are three main phone operators in Germany: “Deutsche Telekom”, “O2” and “Vodafone”. They have similar prices and are all trustworthy.
Another opportunity is to buy a Lebara Germany Sim Card at a kiosk. Just look out for the blue Lebara sign below the shop sign. More information can be found here.
Additionally, please be aware that German telephone companies are required to ask customers for ID (German ID Card/passport/temporary ID papers) when buying a phone/signing a mobile phone contract.
When you register in Hamburg, you will receive a letter from the "Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio." It is important not to overlook this letter.
Almost everyone living in Germany must pay a fee to the public broadcasting service, known as the "Rundfunkbeitrag."
You can find more information about this fee in this PDF and on their official website. A translation to help you complete the form on the website is available here.
Please note that you need to have registered in Hamburg, before being able to open a bank account.
It is recommended for program students to open a German account at a bank because with a bank account you can make transfers to other accounts with no additional charge. If you need to transfer an amount without a bank account (pay in cash at a local bank), an extra charge of up to € 6 needs to be paid.
For opening a bank account an enrollment certificate and registration certificate from the local registration office need to be presented. Most banks have special offers for student bank accounts without an account fee.
You usually do not have to pay a fee for setting up a usual bank account. The monthly “costs” for German bank accounts are the same as nearly all bank accounts in Germany are free of charge for students. A usual bank account has no restriction for withdrawing (sometimes the limit for withdrawing money from cash machines is about € 500 a day).
Banks near KLU campus
- Deutsche Bank (Überseeboulevard 4-10, 20457 Hamburg)
- Hamburger Sparkasse- HASPA (Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg)
- Commerzbank (Am Sandtorkai 23-24, 20457 Hamburg)
- Postbank (Am Sandtorkai 44, 20457 Hamburg)