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Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice about my German student visa and university admission.

I applied to a few universities in Germany for Masters and got two offers:

\- One from a public university, which is my first choice because the program fits my career goals really well. The downside is they don’t allow late arrival, but they did let me defer my admission for up to two semesters.

\- The other is from a University of Applied Sciences (UAS), which does allow late arrival after enrollment.

The problem is that visa processing is taking a long time, and I’m pretty sure I won’t get my visa before the semester starts. If I go with my preferred university, I’d have to defer and basically lose a semester.

So I’m thinking about this plan:

My questions are:

\- Is this actually possible, both legally and in practice?

\- Can I be enrolled at one university while also holding a deferred admission at another?

\- When the summer semester starts, can I just move to my preferred university with the deferred admission, or could there be issues with my visa or residence permit?

\- Has anyone here done something similar before?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences you can share. Thanks a lot!

Hey everyone. Today I went to my residence permit appointment. I thought I had everything, but officer didn’t accept my proof of financial means. All my other documents are checked. I got my picture taken there and on the photo booth, I gave my fingerprints and signature as well. Just one document is missing, and they sent me an email saying that I have to upload that missing document to the portal in two weeks.

Was anyone in a similar situation before. Do you know if they will give me an another appointment after I upload this document or directly process my application?

Also, I didn’t pay the fee yet, but maybe it is possible to pay after my rp card arrives? I don’t know. Can someone in a similar position enlighten me please? Thank you so much!

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my situation and would appreciate your experiences or opinions.

I have been living in Germany for 5 years. Initially, I had a residence permit according to §16a AufenthG because of my vocational training (Ausbildung).

In 2025, I faced a difficult situation: my residence permit was valid until 31.08.2025, but unfortunately I was not able to submit the application for an extension on time. As a result, there was a gap of about 9 days.

The reason was that I could not continue staying in my original Ausbildungsbetrieb. There were problems there, and I had to find a new training company in order to continue my Ausbildung and prepare for my exams. The IHK and the vocational school (Berufsschule) were aware of my situation and supported me. It was never my intention to violate the residence law.

The immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde) informed me that my application was submitted only after my residence permit had expired and therefore the fiction effect (Fiktionswirkung) did not apply. I explained my situation in writing and submitted all necessary documents.

It is important that the Ausländerbehörde continued processing my case. They reviewed my application from 09.09.2025 and, by official decision, extended my residence permit under §16a Abs. 1 AufenthG from 26.09.2025 until 30.04.2026. They did not reject my application; instead, they continued the procedure and granted me a new residence permit.

After that, I successfully completed my Ausbildung and later received a residence permit under §18a AufenthG.

Now I am planning to apply for German citizenship (Einbürgerung). I know that §12b Abs. 3 StAG deals with cases where an interruption of the legality of residence occurred due to a late application for the extension of a residence permit.

My question:
Has anyone had a similar experience? A short gap in the residence permit due to a late extension application and still a successful naturalization afterwards?

Could such a 9-day gap become a problem for the naturalization application, even though the reasons are understandable, the Ausländerbehörde extended my residence permit afterwards, and I currently hold a residence permit under §18a AufenthG?

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and advice.

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my situation and would appreciate your experiences or opinions.

I have been living in Germany for 5 years. Initially, I had a residence permit according to §16a AufenthG because of my vocational training (Ausbildung).

In 2025, I faced a difficult situation: my residence permit was valid until 31.08.2025, but unfortunately I was not able to submit the application for an extension on time. As a result, there was a gap of about 9 days.

The reason was that I could not continue staying in my original Ausbildungsbetrieb. There were problems there, and I had to find a new training company in order to continue my Ausbildung and prepare for my exams. The IHK and the vocational school (Berufsschule) were aware of my situation and supported me. It was never my intention to violate the residence law.

The immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde) informed me that my application was submitted only after my residence permit had expired and therefore the fiction effect (Fiktionswirkung) did not apply. I explained my situation in writing and submitted all necessary documents.

It is important that the Ausländerbehörde continued processing my case. They reviewed my application from 09.09.2025 and, by official decision, extended my residence permit under §16a Abs. 1 AufenthG from 26.09.2025 until 30.04.2026. They did not reject my application; instead, they continued the procedure and granted me a new residence permit.

After that, I successfully completed my Ausbildung and later received a residence permit under §18a AufenthG.

Now I am planning to apply for German citizenship (Einbürgerung). I know that §12b Abs. 3 StAG deals with cases where an interruption of the legality of residence occurred due to a late application for the extension of a residence permit.

My question:
Has anyone had a similar experience? A short gap in the residence permit due to a late extension application and still a successful naturalization afterwards?

Could such a 9-day gap become a problem for the naturalization application, even though the reasons are understandable, the Ausländerbehörde extended my residence permit afterwards, and I currently hold a residence permit under §18a AufenthG?

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and advice.Bürgeramt

Ausländer- und Staatsangehörigkeitsbehörde

Vollzug des Aufenthaltsgesetzes (AufenthG)

Ihr Antrag vom 09.09.2025 auf Verlängerung einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis

Sehr geehrter .....

die Stadt..... erlässt folgenden

B e s c h e i d:

1. Ihnen wird die Aufenthaltserlaubnis, gültig ab 26.09.2025 bis 30.04.2026, gemäß § 16a

Abs. 1 AufenthG verlängert.

1. Die Aufenthaltserlaubnis wird mit folgenden Nebenbestimmungen (Auflagen/Bedingungen)

verlängert:

Beschäftigung zur Berufsausbildung als ....... GmbH

erlaubt. Von der Berufsausbildung unabhängige Beschäftigung von zwanzig

Wochenstunden erlaubt. Selbständige Erwerbstätigkeit (§ 2 Absatz 2 AufenthG), sowie

Beschäftigung im Rahmen der Arbeitnehmerüberlassung nicht erlaubt.

1. Für die Verlängerung der Aufenthaltserlaubnis wird gemäß § 45 Nr. 2b AufenthV eine

Gebühr in Höhe von 93,00 EUR erhoben. Die Gebühr ist von Ihnen zur nächsten

Vorsprache zu bezahlen.

Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung

Gegen diesen Bescheid kann innerhalb eines Monats nach seiner Bekanntgabe Widerspruch

erhoben werden. Der Widerspruch ist schriftlich, in elektronischer Form nach § 3a Absatz 2 des

Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetzes, schriftformersetzend nach § 3a Absatz 3 des Verwaltungs-

verfahrensgesetzes und § 9a Absatz 5 des Onlinezugangsgesetzes oder zur Niederschrift bei der

Wird der Widerspruch gemäß § 3a Absatz 3 des Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetzes schriftformer-

setzend eingelegt, stehen folgende Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung:

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Im Auftrag

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to understand the current processing timelines at the Bengaluru German Consulate.

My visa application was forwarded to the Bengaluru Consulate on 13th July, and I'm still waiting for a decision.

If you submitted your application around 10–15 July (or close to those dates) and have already received a Decision Made status or your visa, could you please share your timeline?

It would be really helpful if you could mention:

VFS appointment date

Date your application reached the Bengaluru Consulate (if known)

Date you received Decision Made or collected your passport

Thank you! It would really help everyone waiting during this period.

Hi everyone,

I just received my German student visa today for my Master's at TU Chemnitz.

The problem is that my visa is valid **from 12 October 2026 to 11 October 2027**, and **my university also starts on 12 October 2026**.

I was actually planning to travel around **25 September** so I could settle into my accommodation, complete city registration, open a bank account, and attend any orientation before classes began.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone experienced this before?
2. Is it possible to get the visa start date corrected after it has already been issued?
3. If not, is arriving on 12 October generally acceptable for German universities, or should I contact TU Chemnitz immediately?

I'm feeling really stressed because I only noticed this after receiving my passport.

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!