If your planned teaching or fellowship at HdM is exceeds 90 days, you will need to follow the steps below, to ensure that you are within compliance of the legal requirements for registering as a temporary resident in Stuttgart and Germany. Please consult the International Office at HdM to inquire whether your stay would require you to register.
- Registration in the City: Please note that in Germany, there is a manditory of registration of all people in each city, who plan on staying in Germany for any reason other than tourism. Both EU and Non-EU citizens must register in the Citizen’s Service Center (Bürgerbüro, Rathaus) of the city in which they have been residing within 14 days of entry. This also applies to accompanying family members. f you have not found a permanent place yet, you may also register with the address or your temporary accommodation: Citizen’s Service Centers of the city of Stuttgart. You can register online at one of the local Citizen’s Service Center. To fill in the form, you will need your personal ID card / passport and a confirmation from your landlord. This must be filled out and signed by your landlord. With the signature, the landlord confirms that you actually live at the address you have given.
- Registration for licence fee “GEZ“ (in German). More information about this mandatory registration for radio and internet fee, here.
- Opening a bank account: 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. Otherwise, you can open a bank account with BW Bank here.
- Applying for a Residence Permit for non-EU citizens: You must apply for a residence permit at the Foreigners' Registration Office (Ausländerbehörde) of the town you taken up residence if
- the visa issued by the German embassy/consulate office does not cover the time you wish to spend in Germany
- you have entered Germany without visa and wish to spend more than 90 days here.
In both cases you have to get this done before your visa expires or before the time span of 90 days is over. You usually need to arrange an appointment at the local Foreigners' Registration Office by phone or e-mail, e.g. at the Foreigners' Registration Office Stuttgart if you live in Stuttgart before you go there. In other towns it might be possible to go there without prior arrangement. Please note that you can only apply for a residence permit after you have completed the process of residents' registration (see above).
As a rule the following documents must be provided:
- Passport
- One biometrical photo
- Copy of the residents' registration form (see above)
- Health insurance certificate
- Confirmation from your landlord
- Proof of sufficient funds (confirmation of your institute which will employ you, scholarship letter, etc.)
- EUR 100 (handling charge)
- Hosting Agreement signed by yourself and the university
- Other documents depending on your personal circumstances, e.g. marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc.
a) Residence permit with a HdM work contract
If you are on an employment contract with the Hochschule der Medien, you must pay a mandatory contribution to the social insurance.
Once you have started your job, the HR department will take the necessary steps to register for insurance. You register with the selected mandatory health insurance, which then informs the other social security institutions.
b) Residence permit with a fellowship
If you receive a scholarship or are coming to HdM on a fellowship, you must be privately insured. You can do this in Germany or in your home country. Often the scholarship or fellowship provider arranges a health insurance for the stay in Germany.
- Registering accompanying children in school or Kindergarten (if applicable): On the website of the Welcome Center Stuttgart you can find more information on child care services and schools in Baden-Württemberg in general. There is an International School in Stuttgart-Degerloch and in Sindelfngen. Both schools can be reached easily by car from HdM within 30 min max.
By the way: HdM has been certified a “Family-friendly University“ offering staff members with children flexible work hours.
- Registering a personal vehicle (if applicable): HdM staff and international guests can use one of three staff cars owned by HdM for duty purposes. If you want to find hire a car, the HdM International Office/your faculty contact person will help you.
- Registering for a language course: We recommend you visiting our HdM Language Center first, if you want to take language courses in German or other languages. You can find more courses in German language on the website of the Welcome Center Stuttgart.
Health Insurance
Germany has a comprehensive social security system. The basis for this is the so-called solidarity principle. Social insurance consists of health, long-term care, unemployment and accident insurance. Every employee with an employment contract must pay social insurance contributions that are deducted directly from the salary. Scholarship holders are exempted from social security contributions, with the exception of health insurance. Detailed information on social security can be found on the Euraxess website.
There are several facts that determine which health insurance will apply in your case:
- 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.
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 Stuttgarts.
Liabilty Insurance
We recommend in addition to the health insurance an additional a liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung). A personal liability insurance 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. Prior your arrival in Germany, please check if you already have a personal liability insurance which covers incidents abroad.