THINGS TO DO ONCE YOU REACH GERMANY FOR STUDENT EXCHANGE

Hey guys! :-)

I'm finally in Mannheim, Germany after nearly a month of travel.


Don't know what to do once you reach your hostel? Here are some things you need to do once you get here:

1. UNPACK & make a list of the ESSENTIALS you need

Really, no shit. Just spend the day unpacking and chillin' ; if you are staying in Ulmenweg, and you need to settle your meals, there are discount supermarkets like Lidl, Netto, and Aldi just around the hostel so it's definitely convenient to get some ready made food!


GERMANY SUPERMARKET CHEAT SHEET

• LIDL: Discount Supermarket
• Sells DISCOUNTED groceries, items not 'branded' etc, and items rotate everyday
• $
• ALDI: Less Discounted Supermarket
• Sells more groceries and goods than LIDL, items relatively more 'branded'/international but it is cheap on offers
• $-$$
• NETTO: Discount Supermarket
• Another discounted supermarket to get your groceries, but not as common as Lidl and Aldi
• $-$$
• REWE CITY: Supermarket
• Sells more 'branded'/international groceries/food ; you can get a wide variety of food here
• $-$$$$

2. Register @ K7

Your hall master might have told you this too, but you have to go to K7 (Standesamt Mannheim) to register (probably with the government or something I'm not too sure myself) cause this is NOT the registration/enrolment for the University.


3. Get your living essentials

Since I was staying in Ulmenweg, I had to take the tram into town which took around 15min. Places I would suggest going to buy your essentials: Mömax (similar to Ikea), Woolworth (for random stuff) and dm (drogerie markt) (for your cosmetics, soap shampoo etc ; similar to Singapore's Watsons/Guardian). I'm quite sure there are more shops but those were the few which I bought my stuff from :-)

4. Get your blocked bank account activated as soon as possible

For activation, you need to print the online activation form and mail it to the address stated in the form. I didn't realise it would take a while for the activation so I brought too little cash :-( Another thing is credit/debit card usage here is RELATIVELY rare, so DO BRING ENOUGH cash for the first few weeks of being in Mannheim! (I didn't bring enough so I had to borrow ._.)

5. Attend your orientation week

It's really tempting to skip them but they have vital information for you when you are on exchange, so definitely go for them! (aka how much you need to pass the module etc.)

YEAP so that's about it :-)) Hope this helps you with settling in, since everyone would definitely be overwhelmed by everything. Have fun on exchange cause you're going to have a hell of a time here ;-)

Luv, Tingz

Semester Exchange to Germany -- Applying for a German Visa

Hello guys! :-)

As you all might know, I'm going on a student exchange to Mannheim University in Germany in AY16/17 Spring Semester (Feb-Jun). My journey to going on the exchange was a rocky one (like legit), but all's well and the dust is finally settling. Many of you might be put off by Germany, especially because of the language barrier and all, but one good thing about Mannheim University is that they provide a wide range of English courses, so you don't need to have any German knowledge to go there. Another thing is that Mannheim is a little bit like a university town, so speaking English would not be a problem here!

This would probably be relevant to students going on exchange to any school in Germany since the visa would probably be the same :-) Although the application process is terribly tedious, I'm sure that it will ALL be worth it!

YEAP, so here's a step by step guide on getting your visa. Here goes!!

Step 1: Familiarise yourself/ MENTALLY PREPARE YOURSELF

Once you got your school's approval, look for the Singapore's German Embassy website (here). Click through the links to reach the page on 'visas'. Basically, there are a few different kinds of visas and the student visa (around 5-6 months) is under 'National Visa/Long-term Visa'. Go to student exchange visa and look at the required documents for the application. It's good to prepare yourself for all the crazy administrative stuff later! 

For your application, you need to bring the original document and at least 2 photocopies of (subject to changes; so do check the requirements!):

1. 2 visa application forms

2. Passport

3. Student Pass (matriculation card)

4. 2 Passport photos (need to match their requirements, they can be quite strict on this)

5. A Level Cert/Diploma/IB Cert

6. Official transcript from the school (you probably need to request this from the school!)

7. Your German University's acceptance letter

8. Your own school's acceptance letter (that you are going on an exchange)

9. Proof of travel insurance (I got NTUC's overseas student protection plan; the basic one is fine!)

10. Confirmation of Blocked Account

note: you can NOT apply for your visa without the German school's acceptance letter, but you can apply for the visa without a blocked account, just that it won't be processed until your blocked account is confirmed. 

Step 2: Book your visa appointment slot

Book your visa appointment online at the German Embassy's website. It'll probably take a while before your German University sends their acceptance letter, so it's best if you can get an appointment closest to when the University sends it. I got my acceptance letter in mid-November, so you can roughly gauge when to book your appointment slot! 

For the appointment, if you think that your slot is too late, you can keep checking the appointment page just in case someone decides to cancel and open up a new timeslot! But do note that you have to cancel your appointment first before being able to apply for a new one!

Step 3: Apply for your blocked account

Apply for your blocked bank account in Germany. Basically, they just want to make sure you have the money to stay there and not to be a hobo heh. I applied for the blocked account under Deutsche Bank (since it's one of the more popular banks). You can find the link here. Just go to their forms and download it. 

Link for the form: HERE (this is only for those above 18)

Note: the form must be filled up online before printing it out!

Head down to the German Embassy @ Raffles Place before 11.30am from Mon-Fri for the Embassy to check your documents before you mail it to the Deutsche Bank in Germany. (No appointment required!) And if you're wondering, no, the Deutsche Bank in Singapore does not do all of these. :-( I had to pay S$31 in cash for the administrative fee so do remember to bring enough cash, as they don't accept card. (The amount is dependent on the exchange rate at the time)

Then, once your documents are all approved, they will staple everything together and ask you to mail it to Germany. There is a SingPost outlet at the Ocean Financial Centre in B1 nearby so you can go there to mail it. I would definitely recommend registered mail (although it costs $60) but it takes 1-2 working days to reach Germany. But if you have a tighter budget, registered mail is fine too, but it will take around 7-9 working days to reach Germany. 

Once your documents reach DB, it takes another few more working days for them to process it.

Documents needed for blocked account:
1. 2x completed forms
2. 1x copy of passport
3. riginal passport
4. Course admission letter
5. Bank Statements
   - Your bank statements must show enough money that is going to be blocked in the German bank account. What I did was I printed the first page and the last 2 pages of my bank account book (update it if necessary!). (the first page states the bank account number, last 2 pages states the recent/final balance in your account)
   - You do not need to use this account to transfer the money to the German bank account. Basically, they just want to see that you have money to transfer over and not just open the account for fun LOL.
6. Envelope
   - You don't really need this, if you don't have it as you can just go to the post office to get one after your documents are approved.

Step 4: Transfer the money to your blocked account

Once you receive the email that your blocked account is opened, you have to transfer money to the account as stated in the email. You can use iBanking but do take note of additional charges incurred by both your bank and the Germany bank. (and apparently iBanking is cheaper!) If you want the money to be transferred in the same day, you have to transfer the money before 2pm (for POSB users, other banks I'm not sure!) It will take about 1-2 working days for the money to be sent, and another 1-2 working days for the German bank to process the money.

After the German bank has sent you a confirmation email, you can either email the confirmation letter to the embassy or bring it down in person. For this, no appointment is required.

Step 5: Apply for your visa (FINALLY!)

Apply for your visa. Make sure you have all the documents required so that you don't have to go down again. If you're fretting about the passport photo (they have certain requirements), there's a photo printing place at Clifford Centre lvl 1, called Soo Kee Color, it's operating hours are:

 Mon-Fri 8:00am-6:30pm, Sat 8:00am-2:00pm, Sun Off

Just head down to their shop and tell them that you want to take passport photos for your German visa; they will know the size and requirements. It's a little pricey tho, I paid $21 for 8 photos and a soft copy, so if you can find cheaper places outside, go ahead! (this is just for lazy and last minute people like me heh :-) ) The visa application is quite fast, basically they just check your documents and you have to leave your passport there for around 2 working days, in the event you need it back if you are going overseas. If not, you can just leave your passport there the whole way. 

*Remember to bring enough cash!!! I had to pay S$95 in cash, and I think it depends on the exchange rate so bring extra just in case!*

Documents needed for your visa (do check the requirements again! :-) )
1. 3x Visa forms (to be completed on your computer)
2. 3x passport copies
3. Passport
4. 2 Passport-sized photographs
5. 3x A-Level Cert/IB cert/Diploma cert photocopies (basically a cert which shows that you are qualified for university) + ORIGINAL COPY
6. 3x transcript (apparently unofficial one is fine :-) )
7. 3x Your school letter saying exchange is approved + ORIGINAL COPY
8. 3x German school exchange approval letter
9. 3x Blocked account stating there IS MONEY BLOCKED inside the account
   - For this, if you still haven't gotten the confirmation/blocked account, just tell then when you are applying for your visa. They will still accept the visa application but will wait till you provide them with the letter of confirmation before they start processing. 

   -You can either email the blocked account confirmation letter to them or bring it to them personally. (I emailed them LOL cause it was so far :-()
10. 3x Proof of Travel Insurance + ORIGINAL COPY

All these are tips I learnt and got from my seniors and friends who are going to Mannheim together for applying for a German Exchange Visa. I know it may seem overwhelming at first (I was really overwhelmed) and there might be cock-ups but press on and it'll all be worth it!! :-)

If you ever need any help you can always drop me a email ya :-) I'll be glad to help!! 

Luv, Tingz ♡


UPDATE: I'VE GOTTEN MY VISA! Applied on 1st Dec, received pre-approved email on 27th Dec, submitted my passport on 2nd Dec, got my visa on the same day. (although they said we were supposed to leave our passport for 3 working days LOL bruh plz)
time taken: 4 weeks +