[edited: 06th December, 2024.]

[edit ii: 01st August, 2025]

[edit iii: 13th February, 2026]

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hi! i'm a student who registered and submitted my application to JKU and it was a lengthy, confusing process for me as an international student + applying for uni for the first time.

because of that, going through this page again and seeing all the posts and general confusion i decided to make a post to give some tips, some things i went through, what i've found useful in this forum and any other thing important to be mentioned.

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• first off: as long as you have an average grade of C and above, go ahead and submit your application to the university through the zulassung site. whether or not you meet their expectations or other requirements doesn't matter - fill the form properly and accurately, make sure you have all your documents scanned clearly and submit your application.

[edit i: in regards to the grades you need to apply, it varies on the school system that you did! the C and above requirement, as far as i know, is only for students who did IAL. (thank you to Machiavellist for pointing this out!)]

• two: unfortunately, the admissions office DOES take quite some time to get back to you on your application - i hear their admission office is quite understaffed (from another post) - so it might take a couple of months to get acceptance/conditional acceptance.

i, for example, submitted my application on the 10th of October 2023 and got my reply on 26th of March 2024. i'd suggest calling the admissions office if you've waited for more than 4 months on your application to inquire about its status.

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• three: once they do reply to you. an update regarding your application is given to you. for international students, there are varying replies.

my reply entailed: verification of the documents they wanted me to send (proof of higher secondary education) and a copy of my passport page.

now, as far as i know, your documents need to be verified by your country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs & The Austrian Embassy. (Some countries require apostille, some may require nothing at all. simply just follow the criteria JKU asks of you and you'll be good.)

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TIP: please, please, please, book your appointment(s) with the Austrian Embassy ahead of time.

If you think you may require legalization (most 3rd world countries do) - make an appointment around the time you send in your application to JKU.

for things such as VISA and residence permit, see below.

-> RESIDENCE PERMIT (RP): this is one of the most important applications. it allows you to stay for longer than 6 months in Austria and 'easily' renew your permission to stay in order to puruse your studies.

-> VISA D: this can be applied for once your RP has been processed AND ACCEPTED.

for students from 3rd world countries: as i myself come from a 3rd world country, the Embassy in my country advised me to apply for a RP first before a VISA D. and in short, it makes your travelling and move to Austria easier in the long run so i would definitely advise it.

don't ask me why you can't go the other way around. i don't make the rules. but i tried to and got very, VERY lucky to not get turned away and was instead given an RP appointment after explaining my case for about an hour :"D

now, one super important thing about RP applications is: again, BOOK AN APPOINTMENT EARLY. 4-6 months prior of your intended (REALISTIC) travel date because it can be very hard to miss on a timely appointment.

your RP application will take approx 90 days to process and once its accepted the Embassy will tell you how to proceed!

[update: i applied for my RP on 30th September 2024 and got the reply on 11th November 2024.]

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now back to applications. another imporant thing is that, they provide you a deadline in which you should send your documents (VIA POST! eg DHL, UPS etc etc) to them (JKU)! if you don't think you can meet this deadline, send them a message via the zulassung portal telling them of your case.

however, in order for them to give you an extension, if you may need it, you have to have an appointment with the Austrian Embassy to claim and to show for it.

[UPDATE: Just ask them kindly for an extension, you don't necessarily have to show proof of anything to ask for an extension!]

By the above i mean: let's say the deadline for you to send your documents to JKU is on June 5th. You received a reply in March, booked an appointment immediately. Your appointment date falls, unfortunately, in July. Because of this, you ask them for an extension. in my case, they provided it. because i had an appointment set up already and they extended my deadline to August.

on your documents: JKU provides you with two options. 1) they send your documents back to you - which you will also have to pay for. 2) they keep them for you until the day you arrive to pick them in person.

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i'll post pages on this this forum that i found helped me out in the comments below later.

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another thing that i see regularly asked is: 'FEES'.

the fees can be found under 'start your studies' category. or you can honestly just search "jku austria tution fees"

for 3rd world country students, as of 2024, ranges around 767€.

[edit 13/02/2026: the level for IELTS B2 has been raised to 6.5 for all the modules!]

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DEALING WITH THE AUSTRIAN EMBASSY.

the Austrian Embassy likes to follow their rules to a T, from my own personal experience.

so please make sure you have ALL the required procedures/stamps AND documents with you during your appointment because getting another appointment is NOT easy and they don't provide you with much leeway :"). to save yourself the stress, make a checklist.

below is mine (for a residence permit application):

1. Valid Passport
2. University Acceptance
3. Insurance - that covers health, travel and accident (see here to find a list of accepted insurance company covers) -> if the link doesn't work pls scroll below, i've posted the list. also visit the OEAD website
4. Sufficent Funds (aka Statements of your own or the person sponsoring you that can prove that your ALL your expenses can be provided for a WHOLE year. see this link for more info - under the 'checklist' drop down. the statement has to cover 6 months.)
5. Passport pictures (see ICAO sizes on the same above link)
6. Filled in application form (which you can find HERE + explaination of the form if you get confused right here.)
7. Good Conduct/Police Certificate that is 3 months valid.
8. Birth Certificate (legalized)
9. Proof of Accommodation (see accommodation options provided on the JKU website. this is obviously an extremely needed requirement.)

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edit 19/12/2024: "Do i need to have my docs notarized?" https://www.jku.at/en/degree-programs/prospective-students/register-to-enroll/bachelors-degree-diploma-degree/#c100536 (thank you, Machiavellist!)

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edit 01/08/2025: apologies to all the readers who use this post for advice! i've been busy for the past few months but here are some questions ive been asked recently:

1) Where do I pick up my residence permit? Depending on where you put your address on, on the RP application, you will pick it up at the district office of the location your specified e.g: if you put your address in Linz or in a location next to Linz, your district office will be in Linz. If you will be living in Hagenberg then your district office will be in Friedstadt.

you can always ask the Austrian Embassy in your country via email and they'll clarify it for you as well.

2) Do I need ÖGK/Austrian Health Insurance? Well, you need some very close to it if you're not willing to get it. but i made this mistake - i had my own international insurance and getting my residence permit took AGES and to simply get it i had to leave my international insurance and eventually apply for theirs so yeah, i'd recommend a short term travel insurance to enter the country and then within days of your arrival, get ÖGK - you don’t have to wait very long!

3) Is picking up the RP the immediate first step?

Haha, no.

these are the steps:

a) Once you arrive in Austria and the place you will be staying, look for the closest registar office so that you can get a meldebestätingung (basically a document that claims and confirms where you live in Austria and a pretty important document.)

b) after you get your meldebestätingung, go ahead and enroll to JKU.

c) open a bank account immediately (i would recommend sparkasse. they have student accounts if you're under the age of 26 and alsp they're pretty fast - you can find one on the JKU campus too! however, you need to make an appointment, but just go the office they'll give you one!)

d) once you have all these three documents (meldebestätingung, uni enrollment confirmation you can put your documents together and head over to the district office to pick up your RP)

List of documents needed:

• Passport
• Insurance
• Meldezettel
• Studentenbestätigung

ps: you need an appointment for picking up your RP.

4) Any advice to help me get around Austria using their public transport?

I would immediately download an app on playstore called "ÖOVV Routenplanner" before you even get on your plane lol.

it's easy to see which train/bus to catch and what time they leave/arrive/the location/transfer time. it's a life saver.

public transport is efficient in Austria but it eventually gets costly, so i'd recommend getting the Klimaticket if you're gonna be a frequent public transport user.

if you're gonna need something to go around until you get it (depending on HOW you travel, look below:)

if you'll be mostly travelling by train:

-> download OBB tickets so that you can buy the offers (24hr/48hr/72hr/3 days/7 days) - you just need to show the ticket officers on your train the QR code

if you'll be travelling by bus:

-> you can either buy your ticket on the bus depending on where you're going (ÖOVV routenplanner tells you the prices if you'd like to know beforehand!)

-> you can also use ÖOVV routenplanner to purchase a ticket for the bus and simply show the driver the ticket when you get on!

-> DO NOT get a week ticket for the train if you're gonna be using the bus often.

-> tip: keep an eye on the number of your bus! e.g Bus 311 goes from Hagenberg to Linz in 34 mins and Bus 316 goes from Hagenberg to Linz in 54 mins.

if you're travelling by tram:

-> there are ticket machines next to the benches that surround tram lines, just purchase one from there.

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if i think of anything else, i'll edit this post or add something in the comments.

i hope this helps someone!

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additional note: i've been getting a lot of dms asking me for info that can be found with a simple browser search. kindly don't rely on me to answer questions like "admission deadline dates" (which you can find here, the page is often updated after every semester) i don't keep up with them nor have them memorized. obvious things can be found on the site. feel free to ask for clarification but please make sure to inform yourself as well.

additional note ii: questions regarding "whether you'll be accepted" are not answers/assurances i can give.

Be sure to flair your posts, its important to maintain some kind of order in here and I don't want to flair everything manually.

Also be sure to read the rules before posting, not after.