Germany Student Visa for Indian Students 2026: APS, Funds, Fees and Steps

  • Last Updated on: October 17, 2026 by
  • Swapna Kanchikacherla
Germany Student Visa
Germany Student Visa

Indian students need a German national (D) study visa to study in Germany, and most files need an APS certificate and a university admission. You also need EUR 11,904 for the first year, in a blocked account or an accepted alternative, and an online application on the Consular Services Portal. In 2026, the Germany student visa for Indian students follows seven profiles, each with its own APS, test and money rule.

Written by
Swapna Kanchikacherla
Head of European Desk
Specialises in Germany and France student admissions and visa documentation, with a focus on Campus France, APS, blocked-account and proof-of-funds files.
9 Years, 1100 Visas
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • The visa fee is EUR 75 (INR 8,300) if you are over 18, and it is not refunded.
  • A blocked account needs EUR 11,904 (about INR 12.68 lakh), released at up to EUR 992 (about INR 1.06 lakh) a month.
  • With Indian marks or degrees, you almost always need APS, costing INR 18,000.
  • Master’s applicants with an Engineering, Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Economics or Business bachelor’s take the dMAT (EUR 150, about INR 15,980) from the Summer 2027 intake, unless exempt.
  • Telangana and Andhra Pradesh students apply under the Chennai consulate.
  • There’s no online tracking, and status questions get no reply in the first three months after filing.
Table of Contents
Germany Student Visa Route by Student Profile Scroll here ↓ APS Certificate and dMAT for Indian Applicants Scroll here ↓ Germany Student Visa Documents Checklist Scroll here ↓ Germany Student Visa Application Steps from India Scroll here ↓ Germany Student Visa Fee, Blocked Account and Upfront Cost in INR Scroll here ↓ Germany Student Visa Processing Time and Refusal Reasons Scroll here ↓ Residence Permit, Work Rights and Staying On After Study Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Germany Student Visa Route by Student Profile

Find your row before you open the portal: a wrong answer to its first questions means deleting the application and starting again.

Your profileAPS certificateExtra test or ruleMoney to showWhere you book
Master’s applicant with an Indian bachelor’s in Engineering, Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business or ManagementYesdMAT, from the Summer 2027 intake (see note 1)EUR 11,904 (INR 12.68 lakh) blocked, or an option in note 3VFS, under your state’s mission
Master’s applicant with an Indian degree in any other fieldYesNoneEUR 11,904 (INR 12.68 lakh) blocked, or an option in note 3VFS, under your state’s mission
Bachelor’s or Studienkolleg applicant after Class 12YesAt least 70% overall in Class 12, from Winter 2026/27 (see note 2)EUR 11,904 (INR 12.68 lakh) blocked, or an option in note 3VFS, under your state’s mission
PhD or postdoc applicantNo (note 4)NoneEUR 11,904 (INR 12.68 lakh) blocked, or an option in note 3VFS, under your state’s mission
German or EU public scholarship holderNo (note 4)NoneScholarship of at least EUR 992 (INR 1.06 lakh) a monthVFS, under your state’s mission
Private university applicant paying tuitionYesFirst two semesters’ tuition paid, plus your level’s testEUR 11,904 (INR 12.68 lakh) plus fee invoice and payment proofVFS, under your state’s mission
Student at an institution awarding non-German degreesNo (note 4)NoneEUR 11,904 (INR 12.68 lakh) blocked, or an option in note 3Embassy or Consulate, not VFS

This is the national visa for study, and it also covers a preparatory college or language course taken before your degree.

Not admitted yet? A student-applicant visa lets you search for a place with at least EUR 1,091 a month in your own funds. Class 12 students can compare routes in our guide to study in Germany after 12th.

APS Certificate and dMAT for Indian Applicants

Start APS before you shortlist. The APS certificate (APS India’s check that your Indian papers are genuine) costs INR 18,000, non-refundable. It takes at least two weeks and may take longer at busy times or if your board or university is slow to reply. It’s a visa upload, and the booking link comes only after all uploads.

With Class 12 or a degree from India, you almost always need it. The PhD, scholarship and non-German-degree rows above are exempt, as are holders of a foreign non-Indian degree or an international Indian certificate such as the IB.

The Digital Master Test (dMAT) is a new APS step for masters in Germany applicants. From the Summer 2027 intake, its dMAT introductory phase covers master’s applicants with a bachelor’s in Engineering; Commerce, Accounting, Finance or Economics; or Business or Management. APS India will announce an updated field list.

  • The dMAT fee is EUR 150; the next tests are in mid-January and mid-March.
  • A low score doesn’t automatically block APS.

In an affected field, register for the dMAT as soon as registration opens, because APS India issues the certificate only after your result is in.

Germany Student Visa Documents Checklist

Skip the apostille. German authorities don’t recognise it or attestation for visas, though they may check papers are genuine. Upload:

  • Passport issued in the last 10 years, with at least 2 empty pages.
  • Admission letter and APS certificate, or anabin or ZAB proof (a recognition check) if exempt.
  • Class 10 and 12 mark sheets (bachelor’s or preparatory course), or degree and semester sheets (master’s or PhD).
  • Proof of money.
  • Health insurance from your arrival date. A later insurance start moves your visa start too.
  • Language proof: generally C1 for a degree in German or English; B1 German or B2 English for a preparatory course.
  • A motivation letter you write yourself and a table-form CV, in English or German.

Only some language tests count for the visa. IELTS, or a test from an ALTE member (Association of Language Testers in Europe), works for English. Goethe-Institut (Max Mueller Bhavan), ÖSD or telc work for German, under the German Missions in India student visa checklist. Duolingo, PTE and TOEFL Home Edition don’t count in India, so pick IELTS over PTE.

An MOI letter (proof your degree was taught in English) is not accepted, and a university waiver counts only if the university tested you itself and confirms it for your case. German-taught degrees commonly ask for TestDaF or DSH, as our guide to requirements to study in Germany explains. Bring originals or German-certified copies, not copies certified by Indian authorities or notaries. Most guides also advise bringing about three biometric photos and two full sets of papers.

Germany Student Visa Application Steps from India

Say you live in Hyderabad. Your file goes to the German Consulate General Chennai, which covers Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The Germany student visa process from India runs in five steps:

  1. Fill in the questionnaire on the Consular Services Portal (CSP, the online visa system).
  2. Pick the mission for the state you live in, not your family’s. If you pick the wrong mission, your application won’t be processed.
  3. Upload every paper and finish the portal’s pre-check (its completeness check) to get the booking link.
  4. Book one appointment the day the link arrives. It can’t be moved earlier, except in extreme medical or humanitarian cases.
  5. Attend your appointment (VFS Global for most students; check your table row) and pay the fee. Most guides say you give fingerprints and attend a visa interview.
MissionWhere you live
Consulate General ChennaiAndhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
Consulate General BengaluruKarnataka, Kerala
Consulate General MumbaiMaharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Consulate General KolkataWest Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh
Embassy New DelhiDelhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Minicoy and Amindive

Germany Student Visa Fee, Blocked Account and Upfront Cost in INR

The German national visa fee for students in India is EUR 75 (INR 8,300) for applicants over 18 and EUR 37.50 (INR 4,200) under 18. The larger cost is proof of money, EUR 11,904 (about INR 12.68 lakh) for the first year. For a Germany student visa for Indian students, arrange the deposit first; the fee is the small part.

ItemAmountIn INRWhen you pay
Visa feeEUR 75 (EUR 37.50 under 18)INR 8,300 (INR 4,200)At the appointment, not refunded
APS feeINR 18,000INR 18,000When you apply for APS, not refunded
dMAT, affected master’s applicantsEUR 150INR 15,980At dMAT registration
Blocked account, first yearEUR 11,904INR 12.68 lakhBefore you apply; released at up to EUR 992 (INR 1.06 lakh) a month
Expatrio set-up (example provider)EUR 119 plus EUR 9 a monthINR 12,680 plus INR 960 a monthWhen you open the account
Upfront total, affected master’s applicantAdult fee, APS, dMAT, deposit, set-upAbout INR 13.23 lakhBefore the visa

Parents: nearly all of that total is your child’s own living money, paid out to your child each month from the blocked account (Sperrkonto, a German account releasing a fixed sum each month). If the visa is refused, the refusal letter unblocks the money. It is the largest line in the full cost of studying in Germany.

An Indian affidavit cannot replace the blocked account. A Verpflichtungserklärung (a formal promise by a sponsor living in Germany to cover your costs) can, and so can a German or EU scholarship of at least EUR 992 a month; see scholarships in Germany. A loan doesn’t replace the blocked account; you show it as well, with its own proof, so fund the account first. Providers include Fintiba and Expatrio, compared in our Germany blocked account guide; the missions prefer none.

Germany Student Visa Processing Time and Refusal Reasons

Processing a Germany student visa for Indian students may take several months, with no online tracking. Status questions get no reply in the first three months after filing. That is the real downside: you can’t chase a file, so a late file can mean missing your intake.

Work backwards from your winter intake in Germany dates.

These can get a file refused:

  • Incomplete papers, or refusing to attend a visa interview.
  • False information or documents, which can also bring an entry ban.
  • An unrecognised language test, or an MOI letter instead.
  • An Indian affidavit instead of a blocked account or sponsor letter.

India has no remonstration (formal objection): you can reapply any time, or file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court in Berlin within one month of receiving the refusal. Reapplying with the gap fixed is usually more practical.

From our counselling desk: Our Head of European Desk has 9 years in European admissions and over 1,100 student visa approvals, Germany and France above all. Fix three things before booking, in order: APS, the blocked-account confirmation, then a recognised English test. All three are uploads, so missing any one means no booking link.

Residence Permit, Work Rights and Staying On After Study

After you arrive, register your address within two weeks of moving in. Go to the local registration office (Anmeldung at the Meldebehörde, often called the Bürgeramt).

The visa usually lasts 90 days to a year. After arriving, apply for a residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) at the Foreigners’ Authority (Ausländerbehörde, the local immigration office). The permit usually runs two years, or the course length if under two years.

  • Work: 140 working days a year. A day of up to four hours counts as half a day. A term week of up to 20 hours, or any week outside term, can instead count as two and a half days. University student jobs don’t count. Pay and job types are in our guide to part-time jobs in Germany.
  • After graduation: a job-search permit for up to 18 months, if you can support yourself, with no extension. The full post-study work visa in Germany route starts here.
  • Family: spouse and children can join if you married before the visa and will stay over a year.

Start learning German in year one, because good German shortens the wait for permanent residence.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

The fee is EUR 75 (INR 8,300) if you are over 18, plus a VFS service fee. Add INR 18,000 for APS and EUR 11,904 (about INR 12.68 lakh) in a blocked account, released at up to EUR 992 (about INR 1.06 lakh) a month.

No, but you need a recognised certificate, and IELTS counts for applications in India. PTE, Duolingo and TOEFL Home Edition don’t. An MOI letter never replaces a test. A university letter counts only if the university tested your English itself and confirms it for your case.

There’s no fixed time. Processing may take several months, with no reply to status questions in the first three months. There is no online tracking either, so apply once admission, APS and funds are ready, and book your appointment the day the portal link arrives.

A complete, true file is the base, but it doesn’t guarantee a visa. Files fail on missing papers, a skipped interview, unrecognised language tests or false documents, which can also bring an entry ban. No official success rate is published for Indian students, so distrust online percentages.

Possibly. With sufficient German, an EU Blue Card holder (a work permit for graduates with a qualifying salary) can get a settlement permit after 21 months, with pension contributions; with basic German it’s 27 months. If you studied in Germany and then work as a skilled worker, it’s two years in that job, with 24 months of contributions.

Start APS first, fund the blocked account early, and book the day your link arrives. AOEC India has handled 12,000+ visas from its offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati, and our counsellors check each Germany file against the German Missions checklist before you book.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

Show 19 more sources

Everything you need to study abroad, in one place.

Explore articles and guides that help you prepare with confidence, covering scholarship applications, financial planning, and tips for adapting to a new culture. We have built comprehensive resources to get you ready for your educational adventure.

See other Study guides
Germany Student Visa Process from India

Germany Student Visa

Germany Student Visa for Indian Students 2026: APS, Funds, Fees and Steps Indian students need a German national (D) study