Five steps to your careless start in Germany – and at THE FIZZ
Bettina
This checklist contains all important materials and verifications you need for moving in at THE FIZZ. Don’t worry: It’s no rocket science!
Freedom! Independence! Liberty!
Moving out from your parent’s home, into a new city or even country means a great change. We want to make sure that you’re as prepared as you can be!
This article covers a checklist of five topics:
- University enrolment
- Public health insurance
- Liability insurance
- German bank account
- Blocked account
Please note that we will leave out the whole process of visa application, as it would go beyond the scope of this article.
Let’s dive right in!
1. Keep on rollin’: University enrolment
Let’s start with an easy one. When signing up for a course of studies at a university and being granted for it, you’ll automatically get enlisted. This proof of being a student is needed for a lot of administrative things, some of them mentioned below: for example your collegiate health insurance, bank account, BAföG, a student job. Just like a student card, you can use it for getting many discounts in cultural institutions such as museums, theatres, cinemas, shops, and even subscriptions to fitness clubs or similar. So hold on to your matriculation, it’ll save you lots of money! 😉
2. Stay well: Public health insurance
Here are a few basic questions to determine which case you fall in:
- Are you younger than 25 AND come from Germany? – Then chances are high that you are covered by dependent insurance through your parents. Congratulations! You may move to the next checkpoint 😉
- If you’re older than 25 but below 30, you are a candidate for the collegiate health insurance. You will need to take out insurance cover for yourself, for example at Techniker Krankenkasse. You’ll need your matriculation as proof; premium starts from around 80 € per month.
- If you’ve hit 30 and still a student, you can look for a regular insurance at a cheaper rate; some insurances offer “exam rates” over a period of up to six months.
- You come from abroad and already are insured? – With many European countries, including all EU states, there is a social security agreement. This means that your foreign insurance will be accepted as well. You still need some kind of proof for it, though. Ask your insurance back home about the options. For students, there exists a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which can be applied free of charge.
However, if you want to take on a student job in Germany, you will need a German health insurance.
Find more information about health insurance for international students here and here.
3. Stay safe: Liability insurance
Liability insurance provides protection against claims resulting from injuries and damage to people and/or property. You will need this insurance when moving in to THE FIZZ.
Caution: Unlike the health insurance, you are not automatically covered by dependent insurance as a student under the age of 25. This would only be the case if you were still living with your parents.
Luckily, it is pretty cheap compared to its benefits. The liability insurance from our partner Getsafe starts from 4,70 € per month.
4. Save your money: German bank account
As a foreign student, it is a good idea to open a bank account at a German bank. This way, you can withdraw money free of charge from cash machines, make payments electronically, and set up “standing orders” for regular payments like rent or telephone bills to ensure an automatical transferral every month. Various banks have decent offerings for students or people under 30. Especially easy to set up are online bank accounts, for example at Comdirect, N26, or Commerzbank.
Here’s a list of German banks for international students.
Read here how to open a bank account as a student.
5. Hold your money safe: Blocked account (for Non-EU students)
As a foreign student not from an EU member state, you must provide proof that you have the financial means to pay for your course of studies, language course, preparatory course, or job search. This requires a special type of bank account, the German Blocked Account (Sperrkonto). Unlike the regular bank account (see point 3 above), this account is not freely accessible to the holder. When applying for a visa, you will have to pay around 934€ for each month you’re planning to stay in Germany into this account to prove sufficient financial resources. So, you must have a total of €11,208 in your bank account before applying for a German student visa. Read more here. If you need a Schengen Visa, please read here.
The cheapest and easiest way to open a blocked account provides our partner expatrio. Check out their page to learn everything you need to know about it!
Bonus tip: Find a Job
Having a steady income or just making your monthly budget a little bit bigger is always a good thing. But finding that stream of money when you move to a new country or a new city is not always easy. The endless flood of online job agencies can be quite overwhelming. The more important it is to look for one that offers just the right job for you! If you move to Germany as a student or a young professional websites like YoungCapital or StudentJob will probably have just the right job offer for you. On their websites you can filter the offers based on your own profile. You can select your study, what languages you speak or what type of job you want. P.S. they also help you with your entire application process and provide useful tips on how to land your dream job!
And there you have it! This is all you need for a successful and careless start in Germany and at THE FIZZ. You are now ready to book, for example an apartment in our newest house in Hamburg!
In the following weeks, we will take a closer look at some of the points mentioned to explain them further. Stay tuned!
Sources:
Studis Online
Study in Germany
Studying in Germany
BanksGermany
Tarifini
Investopedia
All photo rights by International Campus GmbH.