International Office
Entry, visa, residence permit

Entry, Visa and Residence Permit for Visiting Scholars

For your stay in Germany, the legal regulations according to the Residence Act of the Federal Republic of Germany apply. Whether you need a visa for your entry to Germany and a residence permit for your stay depends on your country of origin.

In the following, we will provide you with some hints as a first general orientation. Binding information can be obtained from the German Federal Foreign Office, the German embassies and consular authorities abroad or from the Immigration Office of the City of Chemnitz.

Please note that some websites are available in German language only. We indicate this by using *. You may contact us at visitingscholar@tu-chemnitz.de if you need assistance.

In general, persons who are citizens of a member state of the European Union (EU) or the EEA do not require a visa or residence permit for entry to and stay in Germany.

Citizens of EU member states enjoy the right of freedom of movement and can freely choose their place of work within the EU. Citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are on equal terms with nationals of EU member states and thus enjoy freedom of movement as well.

Please note: Within 2 weeks after your arrival in Chemnitz you have to register your residence at the one of the Citizen Service Points of the City of Chemnitz. This is necessary if you want to stay longer than 90 days in Chemnitz. Further information on registering your place of residence directly from the City of Chemnitz is available in German only.

Once you have entered Germany without a visa, you need a special, purely declaratory residence permit for your stay in the Visiting Scholar Program. First, please register your residence in Chemnitz within 14 days of your arrival in Chemnitz. You will receive a registration confirmation from the Citizen Service Point, which you will need in order to obtain the residence permit.

Afterwards, please report your stay within 90 days to the Foreigners Authority of the City of Chemnitz.

For this purpose, please fill in the residence form for Swiss nationals. As attachments to the application you will need

  • copy of your passport
  • registration certificate of the Citizen Service Point
  • hosting Agreement of Chemnitz University of Technology

Please submit all documents to the Immigration Office of the City of Chemnitz either by post or in the Immigration Office’s mailbox (Düsseldorfer Platz 1, next to room 3.032). The Immigration Office will send you an appointment for a personal interview where you will receive your residence permit.

Nationals of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America may enter Germany without a visa. However, they require a residence permit for stays longer than 90 days.

Please note that you may only start your research activities from the date when you have received a valid residence permit for Germany. To ensure that you receive your residence permit as quickly as possible, we have agreed the following procedure with the Immigration Office of the City of Chemnitz:

  • All preparations are already made before your trip to Chemnitz.
  • Please fill in the application form for the granting or renewal of a residence permit.
  • You add to the application a scan of your passport, of the letter of invitation and the hosting agreement.
  • Please submit all documentation on the TUCcloud to the International Office.
  • The International Office forwards all documentation to the Immigration Office of the City of Chemnitz.

If you want to carry out the coordination with the Immigration Office on your own responsibility, please contact the International Office.

The Immigration Office will examine your application and contact you if they have any questions. After this examination, the following steps are still necessary:

  • Registration of your residence in Chemnitz
  • Personal visit to the Immigration Office, where your biometric data will be recorded and the residence permit ordered

The two appointments at the Citizen Service Point and the Immigration Office of the City of Chemnitz can be combined.

In order to be able to conduct your research as quickly as possible, we recommend that you attend both appointments as soon as possible after your arrival in Chemnitz. We would be delighted to arrange an appointment for you and accompany you upon your request. Please contact us at visitingscholar@tu-chemnitz.de for more information.

Please note that you will have to pay fees for the issue of the residence permit.

Persons with the citizenship of all other countries require a visa for entry if they stay in Germany for more than 90 days. Please apply for a D-Visa at the German Embassy or a German Consulate. The D-Visa is also known as the "national visa".

The D-Visa can be issued to guest researchers for a period of up to 12 months. In that case, it would not be necessary for you to apply for a residence permit for the duration of your stay at Chemnitz University of Technology.

How to apply for a D-Visa

In order to be allowed to conduct research in Germany, you absolutely need a D-Visa for research purposes. A C-Visa (also known as a tourist or Schengen visa) is not sufficient! You apply for the D-Visa at a German consular authority abroad. The German Federal Foreign Office provides an overview of all German representations abroad.

Please use the forms provided by the German consular authorities. Please add as attachments:

  • letter of invitation
  • hosting agreement
  • proof of health insurance for Germany

You will receive the letter of invitation and the hosting agreement from Chemnitz University of Technology.

Please note that the processing time for issuing a visa is between 4 and 6 weeks. Sometimes longer waiting times are required. We recommend that you apply for your visa as soon as possible. Please note that you will have to pay fees for the issue of the D-Visa.

If you have obtained a D-Visa for the entire period of your stay in Chemnitz, you do not need a residence permit anymore.

 

If you do not obtain a D-Visa for the entire duration of your stay

If the German consular authority only issues your D-Visa for a maximum of 90 days, you will need a residence permit for your stay in the Visiting Scholar Program.

In order to apply for your residence permit, you must register with the Citizen Service Point of the City of Chemnitz within 14 days of your arrival in Chemnitz. You will then receive a so-called registration confirmation. This registration confirmation is mandatory for your application for a residence permit.

We recommend that you apply for your residence permit immediately after registering your residence in Chemnitz. For the application you need

Please submit all documents to the Immigration Office of the City of Chemnitz. You can use the mailbox of the Immigration Office (Düsseldorfer Platz 1, next to room 3.032) or send everything by post to the Immigration Office. The International Office will gladly take over the coordination with the Immigration Office for you as part of its services.

The Immigration Office will examine your application and contact you if they have any questions. In order to obtain the residence permit, you must appear in person at the Immigration Office. You will receive an appointment from the Immigration Office. During the appointment, your biometric data will be recorded and the residence permit issued. You will receive your residence permit in the form of a multifunctional card in credit card format.

If you wish, we can accompany you to your appointment with the Immigration Office.

Please note that you will have to pay fees for the issue of the residence permit.

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