Preparations for your stay abroad

Studying in the EU

As an EU citizen, you inherently have the right to live, study or work in other EU countries. If your stay abroad is less than three months, you only need a valid identity card. If you are staying abroad for more than three months, you generally have to register with the local authorities. To do this, you must prove

• that you are enrolled at a local university,
• that you are able to provide for your living expenses and have an income above the local social assistance rate,
• and that you have health insurance.

Outside of Europe, you need a visa

For all countries outside Europe, you need a student visa to enter the country if you wish to study there. The Federal Foreign Office and the respective embassies or consulates can provide information on the exact requirements. You must apply for a student visa at least two months, for the USA at least four months before the start of your studies. You will need a confirmation of a place to study from your host university.

Foreign embassies and consulates in Germany(Only in German)

Visa application service (CIBTvisas)

Studying in the EU

If you are studying in an EU country, you are covered by your statutory German health insurance, as long as you remain enrolled at TU Braunschweig during your stay abroad. You continue to pay your contributions as usual, and if you have non-contributory family coverage, it will remain non-contributory.

The extent of the benefits depends on the legal provisions in your host country. In most countries, co-payments are common, which you pay yourself. If you have to pay for a treatment in full, ask for a detailed invoice. The health insurance company in Germany will usually reimburse the costs up to the amount of the German contract rates. If the actual costs are higher, you will have to pay for the remaining amount. If you want to exclude this residual risk, you should take out additional private overseas health insurance.

To avoid problems with the coverage of medical costs, you should always ask your health insurance company to provide you with a European Health Insurance Card.

More information about the European Health Insurance Card

Studying in countries outside the EU

In most countries outside the EU, you will not receive any benefits from your statutory German health insurance. You will have to take out private insurance for this period, although your insurance in Germany will continue to exist. The extent of the private insurance should correspond to that of your statutory insurance. Please consult specialists for advice. Proof of health insurance often must be presented when you enter the country or apply for a visa already.

Private health insurance

The private health insurance covers you according to the individually agreed on range of benefits in your insurance contract. Therefore, you should carefully check before your departure whether your insurance is valid abroad and which benefits are covered. Also check whether your insurance is accepted by the host university. Ask your insurance company to provide you with a detailed list of benefits in English as proof for the university.

Foreign health insurance

Some universities, for example in America, Australia or New Zealand, require you to take out local private health insurance. These insurances do not always cover all costs. You should therefore take a close look at the benefits catalogue. It may be wise to take out additional insurance. You should also have travel health insurance for the first few days between your arrival in your host country and enrolment, as otherwise you will have no insurance cover at all during this time.

Counselling option

For individual counselling, please contact your health insurance provider. Directly on campus, Techniker Krankenkasse offers a counselling service that you can also use if you are not insured with them.

Campus Office of Techniker Krankenkasse

You will definitely need valid liability insurance for your stay abroad. Usually, you are covered by family insurance until you complete your first vocational training. Please check whether this insurance is valid in your destination country without restrictions and for the entire duration of your stay abroad.

What do I have to insure?

An important factor is the amount of coverage: the standard of the host country is essential here. In countries such as the USA, for example, it is far higher than the German average! Two important points to consider: First, the insurance should always cover damage to rented property. Second, if you will be working in rooms at your host university for which you will be given your own key or chip card, loss of keys should also be covered.

Foreign liability insurance

At some universities, you must take out liability insurance on site in order to avoid any problems with the validity of foreign insurance policies. You can get detailed information about this from your contact person at the host university.

If you are travelling abroad for a longer period of time, it is important that you can carry out your banking transactions online and have access to cash at all times. For stays in other European countries, a debit card is usually sufficient, for all other countries you will need a credit card. It also makes sense to arrange a certain amount of overdraft credit so that you are not suddenly left without money in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

If you pay tuition fees at your host university, these normally have to be paid at the beginning of the semester before you start your studies. The easiest and cheapest way to pay is usually by credit card.

Accommodation organised by the host university

Many foreign universities offer help in finding accommodation. This is especially true if you are going abroad as part of an exchange programme or if you are studying at a university in North America, Australia, New Zealand, or Asia.

The universities generally arrange rooms in student dormitories. Some universities have special dormitories for international students. This is convenient, because you can always get a room here, but not necessarily to everyone's taste, because you won't get to know any local students. When you sign the rental contract, please note that the contracts are generally binding and are often concluded on a semester basis, in some cases for the entire academic year.

Finding accommodation on your own

Where there is no accommodation service, you will have to look for accommodation yourself. As many students are looking for a room at the beginning of the semester, you should arrive relatively early, i.e. two to four weeks before the start of your studies. It is often helpful to make contact with exchange students who have just returned from abroad and can "pass on" their room to you.

The internet is also a good way to find a room. Your contact person at the host university will be able to tell you where to find the right internet addresses or the most promising notice boards at the university.

You can take a leave of absence from TU Braunschweig to study abroad. This will reduce your semester fee and save you the administrative fee. Any long-term study fees will also be waived if you take a leave of absence. Exemption from the semester ticket is optional, you can request it on your own from the AStA.

The leave of absence has no influence on your health insurance status. You are still enrolled at TU Braunschweig and remain covered by student health insurance. Please note, however, that despite your leave of absence, the semesters abroad will be counted as semesters of study if you earn more than 20 ECTS credits abroad and transfer them to Braunschweig. You can find the leave of absence form on the website of the Enrolment Office.

If you are staying abroad for only three months, it is generally not worth taking a leave of absence, as you will lose your student benefits and, if applicable, your semester ticket for the entire duration of the semester. As a rule, you can also only take examinations at TU Braunschweig if you are not on leave of absence, unless the stay abroad has already been completed at the time of the examination.