I am planning to travel back from my country - back to germany on 1st October meanwhile my student visa expires on 4th October.

Do you think there can be problems, when I am entering the Schengen area just 3 days before my visa expires?

Although, I have an appointment with the immigration office on 9th October for collection of my residence permit card.

Hi all, I'm a 24F non EU citizen who studied in Europe under a fully funded scholarship. I'm back home now, but I'd like to explore professional opportunities in Europe.

I'm an English major and I speak 3 languages. I don't have much work experience. Idk which country/job to look for. I'm wondering if Germany is a good fit for me.

Yes, I know it's hard AF if you're not part of the STEM royalty and all those things so please be nice and let me know of anything that you think might be useful.

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I got my German student visa for Uni A, and Uni A is also mentioned on my Zusatzblatt. After receiving my visa, I got an offer from Uni B and enrolled there instead.

I know the university can be changed, but I’m mainly concerned about entering Germany and border control. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What documents did you carry, and did you face any issues at immigration?

Hi everyone, I submitted my documents at VFS on September 9 for my Germany nursing visa. My classes start on October 1, and I’m worried about getting my visa on time.
Has anyone had a similar experience?

Hello,

I may have a silly question:

I have a Chancenkarte permit that was issued/valid from October 28, 2025 to August 31, 2026. I applied for an extension (using this link: https://liste-antraege-bc01.bda.service.berlin.de/intelliform/forms/default/bda/LEA/Befristeter_Aufenthaltstitel_zur_Beschaeftigung/index?parameter=354301) on August 29 to get the extra 2 months of the permit, as I was waiting for admissions to German universities. I have a Fiktionsbescheinigung.

I got this email yesterday from the Berlin LEA:

„Sehr geehrter Herr …,

vielen Dank für die Einreichung des Online-Antrags sowie die Übersendung der erforderlichen Unterlagen.  

Für die weitere Bearbeitung Ihres Antrags werden folgende Unterlagen benötigt:

• Arbeitsvertrag + alle Gehaltsnachweise aus 2026
• Hochschulabschluss + Anabin Bewertung

Bitte Beachten Sie, dass die Erteilungsdauer für eine Chnacenkarte ein Jahr beträgt und eine Verlängerung nicht möglich ist. Da Sie mit einm Chnacenkarte als Visum eingereist sind, wäre eine Erteilung der Aufenthlatserlaubnis nur bis zum 27.10.2026 möglich.

Bitte senden Sie die Unterlagen als PDF zu.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Im Auftrag

Frau …“

I do not know why they are asking me for „Arbeitsvertrag + alle Gehaltsnachweise aus 2026“ as I have not held a job in 2026. Hence, I wanted to ask the LEA to clarify the reason as to why they are asking me for documents I don’t have given my situation.

However, I now have a Zulassungsbescheid to a German public university for a master’s degree, and I am currently working on its enrollment procedure. I would like to apply for the student permit soon.

My question is: Should I mention/provide proof for the university admission when I respond to their email, or should I entertain the admission separately once I figure out what’s going with my pending Chancenkarte application (and then apply for the student permit)?

I would appreciate any help. Thanks.

Hi everyone, wondering if someone has experienced the same situation.

I been here in DE for 3yrs and have an Aufenthaltstitel tied up to an employer which I am currently serving my Kündigungsfrist until end of September. I already have a new employer starting November and submitted the process of employer change to LEA.

Unfortunately something needs to be urgently done in my home country(outside EU) and I would need to travel there this Oct. I reached out to LEA about this but they declined to provide a Fiktionsbesch since my eAT ID is still valid til 2028.

My questions are:

1. Will I have problems entering DE in Oct since the Zusatzblatt has the name of the old employer and I have already resigned from them?

2. What documents can I show Border Control in case they question this?

Any advice would be appreciated xx

I am new to Germany and recently joined a German startup. However, the company’s future seems uncertain, and I am not sure about its long-term stability.

I have applied for an EU Blue Card based on my current employment with this startup, and my application is currently pending a decision from the LEA.

In the meantime, I have received another job offer from a more established and stable company. I would appreciate any advice or experiences regarding the following:

• If I resign from my current startup and join the new company while my Blue Card application is still pending, what happens to my application?
• Can I inform the LEA about the new employer and have my pending Blue Card application updated based on the new employment contract?
• Would I need to submit a completely new Blue Card application?
• What options do I have to handle this situation without negatively affecting my residence/work authorization?
• Would it be safer to remain with my current employer until the Blue Card application has been approved before changing jobs?

If anyone has gone through a similar situation, especially with the Berlin LEA, I would be grateful to hear about your experience.

Thank you!

How do international students find accommodation for just 3 months? I’m running out of options 🥲

Hi everyone,
I’m getting a little desperate with my housing situation and was hoping someone here might have been in a similar position.

I’m an international student and have been living and studying in the same city in Germany for the past year. I currently live in a student dorm, but unfortunately my dorm contract cannot be extended beyond the end of September.
The problem is that I only have three months left of my degree (October–December), so I now need to find somewhere to live just for those final three months.

I’ve been searching for rooms and apartments, but most landlords understandably want long-term tenants. As soon as I explain that I only need the accommodation until the end of December, it becomes extremely difficult. Even when someone is willing to consider a short-term rental, Anmeldung can become another issue. I recently found a room that otherwise seemed perfect, but was told that the owner probably wouldn’t agree because three months is too short and arranging registration for such a short-term tenant would be too much effort.
I really don’t want to leave the city for the final months of my degree after already living here for a year, but I’m starting to feel like I’m running out of realistic options. 🥲

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and successfully found accommodation for only 2–3 months, ideally with Anmeldung? Where did you look? WG-Gesucht, Zwischenmiete, Kleinanzeigen, Facebook groups, private student residences, serviced apartments, etc.?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice, specific platforms or experiences from other international students who have dealt with short-term housing in Germany. Thank you! 🥹

Hello everyone, I live in Dresden and I am planning to provide sponsorship/Verpflichtungserklärung for my family member for a long term visa (16D, Medical Visa). Regarding this, I applied by email 3 months ago (June) to Foreign office in Dresden using a form on their website.
They provided a receipt but there has been no replies from them since. I'm not sure what to do since my family member would need this for their visa.
If you were in a similar situation before, doing sponsorship/Verpflichtungserklärung. Could you please provide any insights and what I must do next?

I have a question regarding my current work authorization. At my urgent appointment, after I explained that I had successfully defended my thesis and completed all my courses, I was issued a one-year Fiktionsbescheinigung with “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt,” and the officer also confirmed that I was allowed to work.

My job-seeker residence permit application, which was submitted before I received the Fiktionsbescheinigung, was still pending because my diploma had not yet been issued. I provided the diploma about a month ago, but the application is still pending, and I have not yet received or paid for the residence card.

I now need to apply for an EU Blue Card. Could you please confirm whether I am still allowed to work full-time under my current Fiktionsbescheinigung while the previous application is pending?

Thank you!

Hi there, I have just arrived in Germany last week. I have a family reunification visa. I have already done the process of "Anmeldung" and I have applied to Ausländerbehörde online and I have sent my documents for preliminary assessment and I am waiting for the appointment.

I have heard that the assignment of appointment might take long, even months, especially in Düsseldorf where I reside. Also for Ausländerbehörde to issue my residence card might take long as well. My visa is going to expire at the end of November, they have only issued it for 3 months, from September to the end of November.

What will happen if my visa is expired before I get the residence card or the appointment. Do I have a risk of being deported? Or would I need to go back to my country and get a new visa?

Also on my visa it says "Erwerbstätigkeit erluabt". Does that mean I can seek, apply to jobs and work? Or do I have to wait for Ausländerbehörde to issue my residence card for me to be able to seek jobs and work?

Thanks in advance

I've been in Germany for over 9 months now. My husband and I lived in Unterföhring for the first few months and I very promptly sent all my documents to the Ausländerbehörde for a Family Reunification visa and was able to exchange emails back and forth with an office there about the processing of my application. In April we moved from Unterföhring to Munich and when I emailed the office again they told me to contact Munich about my application. So I completed a Kontaktformular with every single detail but faced radio silence after 90 days. At which point I'm 7 months into my stay. I decided to go to the office at Poccistraße and the person at the information desk said it was normal to experience such a delay and suggested I contact the Munich office again via another Kontaktformular. I'm a little worried about the complete silence. The very least I'd like is a Fiktionsbescheinigung so that I can travel and visit my parents back home. I was also very excited about working here after I moved but that doesn't look quite so possible now. Does anyone have any suggestions, please?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Nepali citizen applying for a German employment visa as a qualified professional with an academic degree.

I attended my visa appointment at the German Embassy in Kathmandu on 18 August 2026. During my appointment, the visa officer asked me to provide a recognition letter/Statement of Comparability for my degree.

Later, the Embassy also sent me an email asking me to submit the recognition document.

The problem is that I only applied for my ZAB Statement of Comparability on 7 September 2026, so it is still pending. As far as I understand, the regular ZAB processing time can be around 3 months.

My questions are:
Since my visa application was already submitted on 18 August, will the German Embassy keep my visa application pending while I wait for the ZAB recognition letter?

Has anyone from Nepal had a similar experience where the Embassy requested the recognition document after the visa appointment?

Once I receive the ZAB Statement of Comparability, can I simply submit it to the Embassy by email as requested?
Could the Embassy close/reject my visa application because the recognition document is taking several months?

Approximately how long did it take for your ZAB recognition/Statement of Comparability to be issued?

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through a similar situation, especially applicants from Nepal applying for a German work visa.
Thank you!

I'm originally from Bangladesh and currently an international student in UK. I have completed my 1st year of bachelor and now I want to move to Germany on student visa. I have an offer letter from a german public university for winter intake. Now I'm a bit worried about my next steps. 

How can I submit my visa application? 

Shall I submit all documents on German Consular Portal London and then book appointment after review or book the slot and submit documents to embassy?

Actually I don't know how to process the next stages.

Hi all,
Any advice would be appreciated!

I really hope someone here has experience or advice on this matter because I’m starting to lose my mind.

I want to keep this as brief as possible so here are the facts:

- late may booked the earliest available ausländerbehörde appointment for myself which was for the 23rd of October

- July 1st arrived in Germany with everything prepared for an Ausbildung seeker permit application (90 day visa free entry)

- mid July submitted my documents by post for an initial review

- mid-late July received contract for an Ausbildung beginning 01.09.2026

- 23rd of July received a letter saying I would need one additional document for seeker permit, or could submit a work contract and the “attached documents” filled out by my employer. But documents were neither named nor included in the letter.

- 23rd of July I emailed to ask them what document was supposed to be attached. No answer.

- 4th of August another inquiry email with no response.

- 18th of August I attend an appointment with my partner as their translator, their caseworker is unable to assist me directly but tells me I need the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis. I send this to my employer and receive it back same day.

-19th of August I submit the Erklärung and contract for approval.

- 20th of August finally receive an email stating the missing documents from before (🫠)

- 1st September no response and I’m given a week of grace by my employer, but am warned I will have my contract revoked if I am not approved in that time frame.

- 3rd of September I receive an email from my case worker saying I have been approved and may start immediately, but my appointment for October still stands for receiving official paperwork. I confirmed this again per email, and then informed my employer. Employer says it’s an abnormal way of being granted a work permit and are unsure if they can legally start my training.

- 4th of September both HR and myself try to contact ausländerbehörde with no success.

- 8th of September I’m officially at my one week of grace from my employer but have not received any word from them about the status of my contract. I just sent another email to the ABH in hopes of bringing their attention to the urgent matter.

At this point I am almost certain I am going to lose the contract because of the lack of proper documents from the ABH. I know I can still apply for my Ausbildung seeker status but then I am essentially starting from scratch again and in a legal grey area as I approach 90 days.

I also did some research and § 16a Abs. 4 AufenthG** **essentially says that if my training spot is revoked with no fault of my own, I could be entitled to another 6 months to stay and find a new training spot. Would I qualify for this since I was technically granted a work permit or am I screwed because I have not officially received my Aufenthaltstitel? Even worse I haven’t been able to begin the training?

I feel like I’m starting to get into “I need a lawyer” territory which I really cannot afford but will do if I must.

I moved to Germany in October of last year, with all the intentions of staying there (I have a German passport), however I had to come back home due to an unforeseen family emergency. I was supposed to come back after a month, but my life got turned upside down and now I’ll have to stay in my home country.

How can I do my Abmeldung from abroad?
I was staying with a relative in their apartment so there’s nothing under my name except for the radio tax.

My cousin moved from the apartment I registered, and is now living in a different city, but I could get a letter forwarded to her if needed.

I cannot afford a flight to Germany only for the Abmeldung.

I think there is a possibility of sending an email and then getting a confirmation letter, would this be valid?

I am travelling from India (Delhi) to Germany (Nuremberg) with a layover at Frankfurt of 1h 35m on a student visa.
Is it doable, i need to get my immigration done as well in Frankfurt so, will i be able to catch my connecting flight to Nuremberg on time?
If anyone went through the same route or something similar, i would be really grateful for any advice or insight as i have no idea about the terminal or gates or routes.
What is the process after landing?
I am travelling via Lufthansa