Hi everyone! I'm an Indian final-year Bachelor's student going to a German public university from January to June 2027 for a research thesis that's part of my degree in India.

I have an offer letter from the research chair stating my monthly stipend and that German language skills are not required.

I'm unsure which visa category applies to my situation and would appreciate advice, especially from Indian students who have done a similar thesis.

My questions:

1. Visa category: Should I apply under study, internship/training, or research on the Consular Services Portal (CSP)? Since my thesis is part of my Bachelor's degree in India, which category would apply?
2. Admission letter: If I apply under the student visa category, can I use my offer letter from the research chair as my letter of admission, or do I need a separate admission letter from the university?
3. Stipend and ZAV approval: Does receiving a monthly stipend mean I need approval from the Federal Employment Agency (ZAV), or does this depend on the type of placement?
4. Health insurance: Would Dr. Walter's Educare24 insurance be sufficient for a German national visa for this six-month stay, or is a different type of insurance required?

I'll be applying from India through the CSP under the German Consulate in Chennai.

If anyone has completed a similar thesis or research placement in Germany, I'd really appreciate hearing which visa category you applied under, which documents you needed, and how long the process took.

Thanks in advance!

I had vfs appointment on 14 oct and Today I got my text already that ur decision has been made. I am scared if they rejected it too soon. Fuckk

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Hi everyone,

I’m an Indian student who was planning to pursue my master’s degree in Germany at Chemnitz University of Technology. However, due to financial circumstances, I’m reconsidering my decision and would like to close my Expatrio blocked account and get my money refunded.

Here is my situation:

- I have received the 06 Blocked Amount Confirmation from Expatrio.

- I have not applied for a German student visa and have not travelled to Germany.

- My blocked-account funds have already been credited to Expatrio.

- Expatrio support informed me that I may need a Sperrfreigabe or a Consular Certificate of a standard form to close the account and request a refund.

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has gone through a similar situation.

1. How did you close your Expatrio blocked account when you had not applied for a visa?

2. Did you obtain a Sperrfreigabe or a Consular Certificate? How did you get it?

3. How long did the entire refund process take, from submitting the documents until the money reached your Indian bank account?

4. What charges or deductions did Expatrio, intermediary banks, or currency conversion incur?

5. Did you receive the full amount you transferred, or was there a significant difference due to fees or exchange rates?

6. Were there any difficulties getting the refund without a visa rejection letter?

If you have personally completed this process, could you please share your experience and approximate timeline?

Thank you so much for your help!

Has anyones VFS tracking changed from
“In Transit” to “Under Process at the German Embassy”
after receiving the email last Friday?
If anyone has contacted VFS about this and received any information, please share. I tried calling them, but they didn’t answer.
Did anyone receive any updates today (Monday) regarding their German visa or VFS tracking status?

Guys is this a false notification, initially in VFS portal it showed "application in transit to Chennai operation centre" after few hours it changed to application is under process at German embassy 🤔🤔. Csp portal shows decision pending. Has any one tried contacting vfs regarding this , I tried no response from them!!

Hey guys, I have applied for a blocked account by expatrio, and now i am able to initiate my payment to top up the account.

However, they registered my name on the account by referring only to the first page of my passport, although I have a family name, It is not included in the biodata page (its on the next endorsements page).

They have stated on their website that they register our name by referring to the MRZ (bottom 2 lines of letters on the biodata page), but because my name contains 4 words, my 3rd given name is registered as my family name.

I'm afraid that this will cause rejections at the embassy, as the name contained in the blocked account statement wont be the same as other documents, and their contact support really takes their time answering my emails...

I'm really anxious about this because now i couldnt really apply for my visa yet, and im planning to take my first studienkolleg entrance exam in 10th of january...

Has anybody been in this similar situation, i really dont know what to do... any help will be much appreciated!

Is anyone still waiting for their student visa to be approved after their interview?If so how long have you waited for?

Hello everyone,

When I was doing my German student visa, I was constantly trying to find information about the German Embassy in Lusaka Zambia. Here is my timeline:

August 21st: Paid for tuition + funded my blocked account
August 24th: Received confirmation of full fees paid and an enrolment certificate. This is a public university. Please note enrolment cert isn’t needed for your student visa application. I just added mine as I received it.
August 25th: Received blocked account confirmation (Used EDUBAO) submitted my application for CSP preliminary review.
September 2nd: Preliminary review passed after just over a week with no corrections. Received a link to book an appointment. Nearest appointment was 16th September so I scheduled for then.
September 16th: Attended my appointment at the embassy. Provided biometrics, paid the application fee and that was it. I wasn’t asked anything really apart from my school certificates.
October 13th: Received email that my passport was ready for collection. Visa approved.

For appointments, from what I’ve seen they currently do visa appointments on Wednesdays only. I might be wrong but I didn’t see any appointments for other days. So, get your application in as soon as possible to get the earliest appointment. The embassy is very friendly and efficient. They process things as fast as they can. The hardest part is waiting.

All the best to current and future applicants! DM me if you have any questions.

Hi guys can I get student visa even without German B1 for VSI MINT Saarland University.

Before visa I will have A2 and my Consulate is Bengaluru .

Some say I don't and some say I can .

Hi everyone,

I submitted my German student visa application through VFS on 1 October 2026 from India.

My CSP status is currently showing “Decision Pending.” I’m waiting for an update and getting a little anxious about the processing time.

I wanted to ask if anyone who submitted their biometrics and passport on 1 October or around that date has received their visa or a “Decision Made” update.

If yes, could you please share:

Your VFS submission/biometrics date

Date you received the “Decision Made” update

Date you received your passport/visa

Your VFS centre and whether you applied for a student visa

Any updates would be really helpful. Thanks in advance, and best of luck to everyone waiting! 🙏

Hello all,

I am planning to apply for a German national visa under the Researcher category, based on a hosting agreement, Aufnahmevereinbarung, under Section 18d of the German Residence Act. Therefore, I would appreciate clarification on the following points from Indians who have faced a similar situation.

1. Is the minimum six-month stay in India at the time of appointment strict?: I have been residing in France for the past two and a half years as a postdoc, and I have my next postdoc in Germany. My last visit to India was in December 2025. My French residence permit is about to expire, so I need to return to India and am unable to apply for a German visa from France. The German visa information states that applicants should generally have been resident in the relevant jurisdiction for more than six months. Based on a few online discussions, I noticed that the words "resident" and "generally" are up for debate. Therefore, I would love to hear from people who faced a similar situation. Was it a problem for you?
2. Does the location of VFS within India matter?: I am a resident of Madhya Pradesh. As per the official website, M.P. falls under the Mumbai VFS office. The same rules apply to a French research visa, but in 2024, when I applied for a French research visa from Delhi, I didn't have any problems. At that time, I didn't even check the juridictions so I don't know if this is a new thing or it was always there but never enforced. Has anyone recently applied for their German research visa outside official jurisdictions?

P.S.: I contacted VFS Global, but they gave the standard answer (i.e., I shouldn't apply from India), but I have at least one data point where it wasn't a problem. I know that if I want to be safe, I should extend my French resident permit and apply from France, but for personal reasons, I would like to avoid this route, especially if the six-month stay criterion has not been an issue for most people.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Best regards,
Namrata Gupta

Hey everyone,

Today, I got notification of decision pending from vsf. I would like to ask how many days it took from decision pending to passport with visa dispatch from consulate.

Plz, help 🙏