Yeah, I lived in Germany for 72 days of my 90-day temporary visa. But I wasn't just blowing it off, I promise! In order to prove this, I will briefly outline the requirements:
1. Health insurance. This was actually sort of super easy. I went to the office and the following dialogue ensued:
Me: Uhhhh... Sprechen Sie Englisch?
Dude: Yeah, what's up?
Me: I need insurance.
Dude: Why?
Me: Most pressingly, because I can't register for class until I've got some.
Dude: Ah, student insurance. You want Herr Guy in back.
---
Guy: So how old are you?
Me: 22
Guy: Are you married?
Me: No
Guy: K, here's your policy, effective as soon as you sign up for class.
Me: Hax!
(Incidentally, if I'd said I WAS married, they would have put my spouse on my policy for no extra charge. For those curious.)
2. Proof of enrollment.
God this took forever. They didn't want to register me until I had an address (that's another story), and when I finally convinced them I seriously wouldn't have one until it was way too late, they put my file on the stack. I finally got an ID card about the second week of class.
3. Proof of residence
OK, so they didn't actually require proof of residence, but I had 90 days to get a visa before they kicked me out of the country, and a much shorter time to find an apartment before I went completely insane. I lived in a hostel for almost a month, which was cool because it was social, and not cool, because I had a grad-student amount of homework to do. Plus it was just weird at times. Like when a bunch of Belgians came in for a stag night (more like stag week?) and didn't wear clothes the whole time. Anyway so not a strict German requirement, but definitely a personal requirement.
4. Deal with the Immigration office.
As an amateur student of comparative immigration, I know this was relatively easy, but I think I got my fair share of frustration. I got a little piece of paper that named my immigration officer, and said they preferred emails to calls. So I sent an email... and heard nothing for two weeks. So I though, sorry mate, you're gonna have to deal with me on the phone. But they'd got me beat there, too! I called the number, and after a few rings a recording informed me that this particular customer was no longer reachable. AAAAAA what?? This is the city office! They've freaking got to have some kind of phone bill waiver right! After another week and no email, I decided the situation required a personal visit. After wandering the halls, desperate and confused, speaking alternately in apologetic English and shit German, I found the secretary and explained my situation. I think another dialogue would best illustrate:
Me: I tried to email this guy, then I tried to call him but the line was disconnected.
Secretary: What guy?
Me: This guy, the one that's officer for surnames Pu-Um.
Secretary: What's your name?
Me: ...Smith.
Secretary: OK, that's the guy. You should email him.
Me: Yeah I did that, but he hasn't responded and it's been three weeks now, so.
Secretary: Oh. Hm. Well, how about you email him again.
Me: :-O .... :-O
Secretary: Just fill this form out.
Me: OK, I've done that.
Secretary: Oh, really? Then I'll just give it to him and you'll hear from him in a while.
Me: :-D Yay!
I did hear from him in only a couple more days, and he gave me an appointment in only two weeks, and miraculously, on my day off of class!
My appointment was at 10:00 and I got up at 8, because I wanted to be there early, and also because I wanted to be there extra early since I needed a passport picture and that's where the machine is. I got there right at 9, got my photo in about ten minutes, and made it to outside Herr Officer's office by 9:15. He noticed I was there pretty quick and totally let me in early, and I was out by 9:45. So the bottom line here is that I made it out of a government office BEFORE I WAS EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. That beats my personal record by like four hours.
By the way, I don't know if passport picture machines are just way better in Germany than at Walgreens, but the quality of my visa picture is like 10x my passport picture. Check it out:
Passport: Visa:
OK, so these could be photos of two different people, one a free-spirited college sophomore with a broken razor, one a guy who just walked off the set of Geek Twilight and hasn't washed off his make-up yet. But despite this, the fidelity differential is clear.
So now you know how to get a student visa in Germany. Maybe now, armed with this knowledge, you'll be able to get yours before you have to start worrying about deportation.
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