First steps in Stuttgart

All degree students as well as exchange students from non-EU countries are required to take out a compulsory student health insurance as prescribed by German law. All students from EU countries with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) are exempted from this requirement as long as they do not work in Germany. 

Carrying a personal liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung) is not compulsory in Germany. However, we highly recommend that you purchase one. It protects you against liability for causing injury to others or damaging their property, such as a rental apartment, a laboratory, or your university institute, to include even the loss of keys, for example. These policies typically cost between EUR 30 to EUR 80 per year, depending on your family status. See our insurance page.

If you are staying in Germany for more than 90 days, you are required to register at the residents’ registrations office in your place of residence within 14 days upon arrival. After the registration you will receive a confirmation (Meldebestätigung) which you will need to open a bank account. In Stuttgart you can register at any Bürgerbüro throughout the city. The following documents must be provided:

• Your passport or ID card
• Registration form (Anmeldung [de]), filled out and signed, availble at the International Office or at any Bürgerbüro
• Form Wohnungsgeberbestätigung [de] (= a confirmation that you have moved in signed by your landlord or landlady). If you live in a student dormitory, please use your moving-in letter from the Studierendenwerk.

As a non-EU citizen, you also have to apply for a residence permit. 

To participate in the cash-free transfer of money to pay for rent, health insurance and similar transactions, you must have a personal checking account (Girokonto). For students up to 30 years of age, these accounts are usually free of charge or low-cost at any bank.

Upon opening a checking account, you can order a bank card with which you can withdraw cash without charge 24/7 from any of your bank’s ATM locations.

You can open a personal checking account in person at a local bank or at an internet bank (=Direktbank). To open a bank account, you will need:

• Proof of your residence registration
• Your passport (EU: identity card) 
• Letter of admission (Zulassungsbescheid) from the University of Stuttgart (in order to get a free or low-cost student bank account)

Usually it is possible to hand in your residence permit and your enrollment certificate of the university at a later point.

Please note that you will need an appointment if you want to open a personal checking account in person at a local bank for which you might have to wait up to three weeks. When using an internet bank you can open a bank account rather promptly. All local banks offer online banking. Additionally, you will have immediate support in person if you experience problems. 

After your arrival in Stuttgart you must enroll in person at the Admissions Office. Find the necessary steps for enrollment listed in our Welcome Checklist.

Important:
Your student ID card and the stamp validating your student ID will be sent to you by post to the address you entered in C@MPUS. In order to make sure that your student ID card will be sent to your current address in Germany, please change your address in C@MPUS as soon as you have arrived in Germany. If you do not have an address in Germany, you may enter the address of a friend to whom the student ID can be shipped.

You have to validate your student ID card. You can print out the ECUS stamp from the C@MPUS portal.