Once you have applied to the universities of your choice, allow 2-3 months for them to reply. In case your admission is successful, you will be mailed a letter of admission by the International office of that particular university.
Education Loan:
Once you have decided on which university to join, you can start applying for Education loan. Education loans are basically of two types: Government loans a.k.a Federal Loans given by the Government financial institutions and loans provided by Private financial Institutions.See that you apply for loan at Major banks or Nationalized Banks in your country.
If you are in India, I suggest you to apply for loan at State Bank of India mainly because of low interest rates. Also this bank provides a maximum of 30 lakhs for your education and you will have a tenure period of 12 years to repay your loan. If you want to go with private banks then HDFC is preferable.
Usually the following documents are required:
1. Education loan application form
2. Marks sheets and Certificates of All qualifying examinations
3. Letter of Admission from the university
4. Course and fee schedules
5. Proof of scholarships, studentships etc.
For more details on State Bank of India student loan click here.
Visa to Germany:
Depending on the duration of stay, one can gain access to Germany by two types of Visa:
1. Schengen Visa
2. National Visa
A Schengen Visa entitles the holder to stay up to 90 days in Germany and other countries that are included in the Schengen Area (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland).
The processing of such type of visa is handled by VFS Global in India.
If you want to work or study in Germany then you have to apply for a National Visa. This type of visa entitles the holder to live in Germany for more than 90 days.
Once your education loan has been sanctioned, you can book a date for your visa interview. Book your interview date at least 3-4 months in advance from your program's start date.
Taking an appointment for your visa interview at your respective consulate can be done online at the German Mission website.
Prepare a checklist of the following documents:
1. Passport
2. Application form: downloaded at the consulate website
3. Copy of passport data page
4. Cover letter
5. Letter of Admission
6. Proof of payment of fees
7. TOEFL score card
8. Proof of financial source
9. Proof of Health Insurance
10. 3 passport pictures
11. Demand Draft
To know which travel insurances are acceptable click here.
Visa Fees:
The fees for applying for a German National Visa are as follows:
Adult: Eur 60 (INR 4900)
Minor (0-17 years): Eur 30 (INR 2500)
Blocked Accounts:
As a part of your visa application, you need to show that you have sufficient balance, 8040 Euros presently, in your Bank account in Germany. This can be done by opening a Blocked account at any of the German Banks and transfer your money to this account. The application form for the Blocked account can be obtained directly at the bank's website. Deutsche Bank is more preferable and it also has branches in major cities in India and other countries.
So how does this work? Well, once you open an account at a bank in Germany and transfer your money into it, the bank will send a confirmation letter. Present this letter during the visa interview. Note that, your German account cannot be used while you are still in India. On reaching Germany you will have to visit the bank where you had opened the bank account and activate your account. The bank charges a small fee of 50 Euros, so make sure you deposit 8040 + 50 Euros when depositing money to your account. On activation, you will be given a debit card (usually Maestro) which can be used at any ATMS where the card is accepted.
Health Insurance: There are two types of health insurance in Germany, Private and Public. While the private HIs a of a little high price, government/public HIs are of very less cost. You can find more details on the following pages:
Government HIs:
Private HIs:
There are 40-60 private insurance companies in Germany. However, Mawista seems to be popular among many international students and immigrants. Though it is a private HI, Mawista provides low cost insurance plan with better coverage than the public HI. Also it has a broad range of HI options depending on your age and your occupation/ employment type.
More details on how to apply for the visa and other important information can be found at Student Visa.
Make sure you are ready with all the above documents before your interview date.
Once approved, you will be given your visa within 2-4 months depending on the processing time.
Once you have received your visa you can book your air tickets and fly to Germany!!
In my next post I will be writing about the important processes to be completed once you reach Germany, what to carry and what not to carry and so on. Subscribe to my blog for more updates.
In case of any queries you can contact me by filling the contact form provided.
Stay tuned...
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