Preparations and First Steps

You have to register at the Resident Registration Office at the Amt für Bürgerservice und Brandschutz within a week after arrival in Greifswald (address: Markt 15, Greifswald). You will need:

• valid passport/identity card, 
• rental agreement, 
• confirmation from the landlord that the rental agreement is valid,
• proof of valid health insurance,
• if applicable, an (provisional) Enrolment Certificate,
• if applicable, certificate of deregistration from your former place of residence in Germany.

Non-EU or EEA citizens have to go to the Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde - address: Feldstraße 85A (in the Landratsamt), 17489 Greifswald), after registering at the Resident Registration Office, to register as a foreign national and, if applicable, apply for an Aufenthaltstitel (residence permit). Please take the following documents with you:

• the Registration Certificate from the Resident Registration Office,  
• a valid passport,
• a biometric passport photo,
• proof of financial means (e.g. scholarship confirmation)
• proof of valid health insurance,
• Enrolment Certificate.

A residence permit is always limited. Renewals have to be applied for prior to the end of their validity.

Please do not come to Germany with a tourist visa before receiving a visa for study purposes. This cannot be extended in Greifswald. You would then have to travel back to your home country to receive a valid visa. 

EU citizens with bank accounts in their home countries do not require an extra bank account for their stay in Germany.  Non-EU citizens will need to open a German bank account. 
Required documents:

• registration certificate from the Resident Registration Office
• residence permit
• passport
• if applicable, rental agreement

Before opening an account, it is wise to contact the bank in which you would like to open an account by phone to arrange for an appointment. 

After enrolling, students receive their study documents per post. These contain the Student ID Card and Enrolment Certificate, but also the account details for accessing the University network (username and password). This gives you access to your personal student email account, the University Information System (“HIS”) and to further online services at the University.
Doctoral students can apply for a university email address before arriving in Greifswald. Please request your email account from Ms. Held at the University Computer Centre (helduni-greifswaldde).

Every student hast to enrol before taking up studies at the University of Greifswald. You can enrol at the Students' Registration Office (Rubenowstraße 2, Greifswald). The University of Greifswald has no study fees. However, at the start of every semester, students must pay the semester fee that currently amounts to 124.00 EUR for initial enrolment and 83.00 EUR for every other semester.

In Germany, health insurance is obligatory for foreign students and also for family members travelling with them. The Immigration Office requires proof of such health insurance for the residence permit. If you are not in possession of valid health insurance, you will not receive a residence permit! We therefore advise you to contact your health insurance company in your home country, before you leave, to find out whether your health insurance will cover your stay in Germany, so that you have insurance from the first day on.  If this is not the case, we suggest you take out travel health insurance, which will cover you for the first days in Greifswald. After arriving in Greifswald, we will be happy to help you find health insurance to fit your needs. There are two different types of health insurance, depending on your status in your institute/department.

If you want to study or work in Germany, you will need health insurance - you will not be able to enrol at a German university without it. You can find further information on health insurance on the German Academic Exchange Service’s website.