Prepared with Hartmann Institut (Demo), München. They see your two answers and which steps are open or done, never what you enter in the tools.
Your journey
Arrive in Germany
Your institution prepared the road. Two answers set your route; tick your way in.
Between your admission and your first settled week sit a visa, a blocked account, an insurance decision, a room, and the Anmeldung. This plan puts them in the order they really happen. Two questions set the route. Your institution sees your two answers and which steps are open or done, never what you enter in the tools.
7/21 steps
Stage 2 of 5 · you are hereYour visa
2/4The money proof, the insurance proof, and the appointment that decides whether you land on time.
German embassies take national visa applications online now, and you can follow the status there instead of guessing. Confirm your exact route first; applying in the wrong category costs weeks you do not have.
How
- Confirm the route in the checker: study (§ 16b AufenthG), study preparation, or language course (§ 16f AufenthG).
- Fill the national visa form on the Consular Services Portal and upload the file it lists.
Done when Application submitted in the portal.
Sources:Consular Services Portal (official)
Your citizenship
This decides more than anything else, including whether you need a visa at all.
What are you coming for?
Do you have a German job offer?
Apply at the embassy first
You must apply for the national D-visa at the German embassy in your country BEFORE travelling. Entering on a tourist Schengen visa and switching inside Germany is not possible for your nationality.
Your route
Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card)
§20a AufenthGNo job offer needed. Score 6 points from qualification, experience, language and age, and you may job-hunt in Germany for up to a year.
What you need
- Recognised degree or 2-year vocational qualification
- German A1 **or** English B2 (base requirement before points count)
- At least 6 points on the scale
- Proof you can support yourself (blocked account or part-time work)
Money
Blocked account ≈ €1.091/month, or a part-time job (20 h/week allowed)
Work rights
Trial work and part-time up to 20 h/week while searching; convert to a work permit once employed.
Family
Family generally cannot join during the search phase. They follow once you hold a work permit.
Path to permanent residence
Converts to Blue Card / Skilled Worker on hire; PR clock starts then.