You know that Germany is among the five European countries that offer free education to international students. Germany, as a non-English speaking country, is one of the most famous education-destination in the world. If you are preparing to study in Germany from Bangladesh then you required a student visa. You cannot enter Germany without this visa.
You have to get admission first to a German university; then, you can get a student visa for Germany. That’s why first I will explain the admission process and then combine it with the visa process. Many students start with a visa process that is the wrong way. At the start, acquire admission to a German university then start your visa process. An interesting fact is that the German student visa process is quite easy for Bangladeshi students as compared to Indian and Pakistani students.
Study in Germany from Bangladesh:
You can study in Germany from Bangladesh at the following levels:
- Bachelor
- Master
- PhD
As mentioned above, you have to get your admission first to a German university and then you can start a visa process. You have to perform this four-step visa process to secure admission to a German university.
Procedure to get admission to a German university:
1- Learn the language
If you want to study bachelor then learn the German language up to B1 level and apply for Studienkolleg. In case you want to study master’s or PhD then learn the English language and get IELTS six-plus bands.
2 – Document Preparation
Educational documents are one of the most important requirements to apply for admission to any foreign university. So, arrange all your current educational certificates and degrees. These educational documents depend on your current level of studies. If you are going to apply for a bachelor’s degree, then you have to apply first in Studienkolleg. For that, you need your 10th and 12th-grade certificates.
In case you are going to apply for a master’s degree then you need your 10th, and 12th grades plus a bachelor’s degree. Similarly, to apply for admission in doctoral and postdoctoral degrees, you need 10th, 12th, bachelor, and master’s degrees. Arrange required certificates and degrees and scan them on your computer for online applications. Also, take photocopies as per the requirements of the universities to which you will apply for admission.
3 – Write a motivation letter
Write a motivation letter after document preparation. A motivation letter is very important to get admission to a German university. You can say that it is the face of your application on which university officials will decide to give you admission. So, write in a perfect way about your current educational status, what you are going to study, why you chose this subject/degree or university, why you choose Germany for study, and finally how this degree will help you. [See the sample motivation letter.]
4 – Searching for a German university
Once you complete the documents and write a motivation letter, search German university to take admission. You can search German universities on different online portals e.g Daad, uni-assist, etc.
Some universities accept direct admission on their own online portals. Others accept admission via uni-assist. So, check this information in the admission application details. For online applications, use scanned copies of your educational documents. To send via post, use notary attested photocopies of your original documents. Beware and don’t send original documents to any university.
Once you complete your admission application then you have to wait a few days for a reply from the university. If the university will accept your documents then they will immediately send you an acceptance letter/offer letter. This letter you will use to get a student visa for Germany.
Procedure to apply student visa to Germany:
Bangladeshi students have to follow these steps to get a student visa for Germany.
1 – Open a Blocked Account
Germany offers free education but does not give money for living expenses. As you know, when a person lives in a foreign country then living expenses definitely incurred. The same thing will happen when you will stay in Germany for study purposes. You have to ensure the German embassy that you have enough money to fulfill these living expenses. German authorities made this thing simple with a blocked account. Just open a blocked account, deposit 11,208 euros and get a visa. You can open this blocked account in four German banks and these banks are:
Apply for a blocked account after choosing a bank. You will get a confirmation of the opened blocked account along with your account details. Transfer the required money of 11,208 euros to this account. You will get a confirmation letter after a successful transfer. This confirmation letter you will use to get a student visa from the German embassy. Pakistani and Indian students can also open blocked accounts in some local banks. But this facility not available for Bangladeshi students.
2 – Get an appointment date
Get a visa appointment date in the German embassy in Bangladesh right after the opening of the blocked account. You can get this appointment online by using this [link].
Keep in mind, sometimes the German embassy takes a long time to give an appointment date confirmation. So, try to get an appointment date as early as possible especially at the start of the admission season.
3 – Prepare documents
Now its time to prepare all the documents according to the requirement of the German embassy Bangladesh. Bangladeshi students need the following documents to apply for a student visa:
- University acceptance letter.
- Proof of a blocked account/Scholarship/Sponsor letter.
- A valid passport. (with a validity of at least 12 months)
- 3 biometric passport size photographs. (not older than 6 months)
- 2 Visa application forms.
- You can fill this form online and take a print. (recommended)
- Or download this form in pdf, fill it and take a print.
- An online filling is better because it will save you time on appointment day. The system generates a barcode on the online form and barcode-generated applications are accepted on a priority basis.
- A copy of your passport’s first page. (A4 size)
- Copies of all educational documents.
- Keep original separately and show to visa officer on demand.
- Language proficiency certificate.
- IELTS/TOEFL certificate for courses with English medium of instruction.
- German language proficiency-certificate for courses with German medium of instructions.
- Travel health insurance (for a minimum of 14 days).
- Get it from any local travel insurance provider. You can also get it from Coracle along with a blocked account.
- Better to take travel health insurance for 1 month or 3 months.
4 – Prepare interview
Now its time to prepare for a visa interview after completing all the above steps. Most of the students not take this step seriously and face its consequences in the form of visa rejection. So prepare a visa interview in the best possible way. Interview preparation will give you a firm grip on all information.
Check this article to know about the most asked questions by the German embassy during a visa interview.
5 – Appear in the embassy
Wear a formal dress on the day of the appointment and appear in the embassy on time with all the above-mentioned documents. Try to reach 30 mins earlier. Give an interview and submit your visa file (documents). You also have to pay 75 euros as a visa fee. So don’t forget to bring this money with you.
6 – Get a visa and fly to Germany
Wait until the embassy gives you a final response. Pick up the passport from the German embassy after getting a positive response, book the earliest available air ticket and fly to Germany. Don’t forget to buy the necessary things for your luggage. Congratulations, now you can study in Germany from Bangladesh.
Once you will land in Germany then try to get accommodation as early as possible. You can also book accommodation in Germany by sitting at home in Bangladesh. See this helpful article to find suitable accommodation in Germany.
You also have to do some other important things after arrival in Germany e.g city registration, etc. See this article to know about all these important things.
