How to Arrive in Germany for Study

Arrival in Germany:

 

How to get to Schwerin:

The nearest airports to Schwerin are Berlin and Hamburg. We ask students to book their flights to Hamburg Airport. There are regular train connections to Schwerin (http://www.reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query2.exe/en). We do not pick up students from the airport. Only PSP participants will get picked up at the Airport as they are quite young and need assistance.

Do inform us at the latest 2 weeks in prior about your flight details, arrival in Germany so that your keys for the accommodation and other basic amenities could be taken care of. Plan it in such a way that you reach Germany during the daytime and during the office hours (Monday till Friday 09:00 – 18:00). If you reach Germany outside office hours or on a Saturday or Sunday or on a German holiday, you need to look for an accommodation for that day (many hotels are available in Schwerin) and have to pay for it on your own.

German Bank Account:

First thing you do is you go to the local Deutsche bank and get your account set. The bank will provide you the details of your account and with this you can sign the Hostel or apartment contract (You need to give in the authorization that the rent is automatically taken from your account every month).

German Hostel/Apartment:

PSP participants have fixed accommodations. They cannot choose/organize their own accommodation. ICPF students have the possibility to search their accommodation on their own. If ICPF students want IAS to organize their accommodation, IAS requires an accommodation request form at the latest two weeks before date of arrival. No single rooms possible then.

All rooms require an upfront payment of 2 or 3 months of rent as deposit. Once you reach Germany you should provide your bank details for the automatic rent transfer (look at point Bank Account). In general, make sure that you cancel your contract 3 months prior to moving out otherwise you will be paying both this and the new one for 3 months.

Note: PSP students cannot change their accommodation. ICPF students are requested not to change but they can when they follow the rules of cancellation.

Make sure that you keep your Room, Kitchen and the Bathroom always clean. A common Vacuum cleaner will be provided for the students. Take it very serious as dirty smelly rooms need to be refurnished and you may end up not getting your deposit and/or paying a hefty sum in the end.

Visa Renewal /City Registration:

When you have gone to the “Deutsche Bank” and have signed your rent contract afterwards you go to the “Stadthaus Schwerin” and apply for rewriting visa. With this new visa you are automatically registered in Germany.

To do this you need your passport, information about Blocked Account, the copy of your admission letter and your stay address (Hostel address or shared apartments etc).
Our international office will help you with this procedure.

Health Insurance:

Is a must in Germany? All students must have a Health Insurance during the course of the studies. Also we recommend students to get liability insurance.