Upon your arrival in Stuttgart

Both EU and Non-EU citizens are required to register at one of the residents' registration offices ("Bürgerbüro/Rathaus") of the town they have taken up residence. This must be done within the first fourteen days after having moved into an apartment or house if the stay in Germany is intended to last longer than 90 days. If you have not found a permanent place yet, you may also register with the address or your temporary accommodation at the residents' registration offices of Stuttgart.

For residents' registration the following documents must be provided:

• Your passport or ID card (EU citizens only)
• Filled in and signed form for residents' registration ("Anmeldung"), filled in and signed by you (download of the form in Stuttgart, instructions on how to fill in the form are also available
• Form confirming that you have moved into an apartment/house (form "Wohnungsgeberbestätigung" (in German)).

To participate in the cash-free transfer of money, to pay for rent, health insurance and similar transactions, we recommend you open a personal checking account ("Girokonto") in Germany. If you have a checking account in one of the countries of the SEPA region, you may also use this account.

Health Insurance

A valid health insurance is compulsory in Germany from the very first day of your arrival until the day of your departure. Different conditions apply depending on your status and country of origin, length of your stay, etc.

If you will be employed by the University of Stuttgart, you will be insured through German statutory health insurance. Only if you earn more than about EUR 64.500 gross salary/year, you may opt out and become a voluntary member of statutory health insurance or take out a private insurance (see below). If you are the only earner in your family, your spouse and children usually can be covered without increase in costs. There are several German statury health insurance providers where you can take out statutory health insurance. Costs and benefits the providers charge/offer are roughly the same, only minor differences exist.

If you will join the university as a visiting scholar, one has to distinguish between EU citizens and Non-EU citizens:

• EU citizens: If you are entitled to a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by the public health insurance system of your home country, please make sure that you bring it with you to Germany. With this card you can access the public German health system. If you are not entitled to an EHIC, you will have to take out private health insurance (like non-EU citzens).
• Non-EU citizens: If your research stay is funded privately or through a scholarship, you usually must take out private health insurance which offers more or less the same benefits as German statutory health insurance. The monthly fees are dependent on age, type of job, desired benefits and sometimes on your state of health, too. Visits to doctors, hospital stays and medicine must be paid by yourself first and are re-imbursed by your private health insurance provider after submission of the invoices. Each familiy member needs his/her own insurance policy. Please check the website of the PKV in order to find a suitable private health insurance for you and your family members.

Detailed information on the German health insurance system can be found on the webpage on Informed Health and on the pages of the Welcome Center Stuttgart.

Personal Liability Insurance

Unlike health insurance, personal liability insurance ("Haftpflichtversicherung") is not compulsory in Germany. However, we strongly recommend to purchase such an insurance since it covers damage caused by you or your family members to persons or objects (e.g. a rented apartment). Some policies even include the loss of keys. Check whether you already have a personal liability insurance which covers incidents in Germany. If not, you are welcome to contact the Welcome Center for International Scholars, we can help you find a suitable personal liability insurance.

Who needs to apply for a residence permit?

Non-EU citizens have to apply for a residence permit if:

• your current visa/residence permit is not valid for the entire duration of the stay that the applicant intends to stay in Germany,
• your stay extends beyond 90 days after entering Germany without a visa (which is possible for some non-EU nationals),
• the purpose of your stay in Germany changes (e.g., change from study purpose to employment).

When do I need to apply for a residence permit?

You should apply for a (new) residence permit about 2-3 months before the expiry of your visa/residence permit; at the latest, right before it expires.

Your timely application to the Foreigners' Registration Office already creates a fictitious effect and thus enables you to stay legally in Germany until you receive a reply. This is important since the feedback from the Foreigners' Registration Office is often delayed.

Where and how do I apply for a residence permit?

Please enquire at the Foreigners' Registration Office of the town you have registered at how to apply for/extend your residence permit.

In Stuttgart, the application is done online. Select the appropriate category:

• "Residence permit for employment" for employees or visiting researchers
• "Residence permit for training" for doctoral students (enrolled at the university as doctoral candidates without an employment contract)

Please note: In Stuttgart, you can sign up for an emergency appointment ("Notfall-Termin") with the Foreigners' Registration Office if your residence permit is due to expire in less than 7 days. Usually, you will be given your appointment date on the morning of the appointment itself.

Necessary application documents

Each Foreigners' Registration Office may require slightly different documents.
In Stuttgart, you must upload scans of the following documents during the online application process:

• Passport (the page with personal data)
• Visa or current residence permit (if applicable)
• Proof of residence registration ("Meldebescheinigung")
• Up-to-date residence certificate ("Wohnraumnachweis"), to be filled in and signed by your landlord
• Up-to-date rental contract
• Up-to-date proof of health insurance
• Your higher education qualifications
• Proof that your livelihood is secured (work contract, pay slips, scholarship letter, form "Hosting Agreement" (see below), form "Declaration of Employment" (see below), other proof of income)
• Other documents depending on your personal circumstances, e.g., marriage certificate, birth certificate(s), etc.

During the application, there is a field asking for proof of your German skills. You may upload proof here, but if you don't have any, there is no need to do so.

Applicants for a residence permit for research purposes additionally need:

• A "Hosting Agreement" signed by you, the host institute and the International Office of the University of Stuttgart. Please get in touch with your host institute to get one issued.

EU Blue Card applicants additionally need:

• The form "Declaration of Employment" ("Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis") issued by your institute and the Department of Personnel and Legal Affairs (usually for first-time applications) or the form "Employment and Earnings certificate" ("Arbeits und Verdienstbescheinigung") filled in by your institute (usually for subsequent applications).
• Higher education qualifications, recognized by the Central Office for Foreign Education (for first-time applications)

Here you can check whether you meet the requirements for the EU Blue Card.

Doctoral students additionally need:

• Proof of admission to studies or proof of enrollment

After submitting the application, you will receive a confirmation e-mail, which you should keep to prove your timely application.

Issuance of the residence permit

After you have submitted your application, you will be given an appointment to give your fingerprints so that an electronic residence permit ("eAT") can be ordered. A confirmation letter is handed out to you. With this letter, you cannot travel if your visa/residence permit has expired before you receive the electronic residence permit.

Since it often takes a long time for the electronic residence permit to be produced and sent to you by the Federal Press in Berlin, we recommend you ask for a provisional paper residence permit ("Fiktionsbescheinigung"). With this provisional residence permit, you may travel based on your former visa/residence permit. If you entered the country without a visa, you will receive a provisional paper residence permit according to §81,3 ("AufenthG"), with which it is not possible to travel if your stay exceeds 90 days.

The handling fee is around EUR 100.

If the Foreigners' Registration Office has not been able to process your application until the time of your appointment, you will only receive a provisional paper residence permit.

Note that this procedure applies to Stuttgart; it might be different in other cities.

Our agreement with the Department of Personnel and Legal Affairs of the University of Stuttgart allows in many cases a three-month extension of the employment contract, even without a valid visa or residence permit, if you have applied in time. Please ask your institute to approach the Department of Personnel and Legal Affairs if the residence permit is not issued on time despite a timely application.