Bureaucratic Matters

Local Immigration / Visa office

After landing in Germany, one of the most important things to do is to register yourself at the local immigration office (the Bürgeramt in German). This is the place where you can go to extend your visa, apply for Loansteurkarte (used when applying for jobs for tax reasons), etc...

The office is very close to the Esslingen main station and can be reached by foot in 10 minutes.

Bürgeramt Stadtmitte
Beblingerstrasse 1 - 3
73728 Esslingen am Neckar

Telephone: 0711-3512-2235
Fax: 0711-3512-2408
E-Mail: buergeramt@esslingen.de

Opening hours
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 7.30 - 12.00
Tuesday, Thursday 7.30 - 18.00
Saturday 10.00 - 12.00

Health Insurance

It is mandatory to have health insurance in Germany, even if you are medically insured in your home country. At times your health insurance information is also required for official documentation, for instance when you have a job. The university will help you sign up for health insurance with one of the following companies:

• AOK
  www.aok.de
• TK
  www.tk-online.de

You will have to pay around 50 € per month.

Banks

Students should open a bank account as early as possible when they arrive in Germany. Bank account information is required for a number of things, for instance when applying for health insurance, for setting up telephone lines, for paying rent etc. Most major banks are located in and around the Esslingen main station and downtown.

The following banks are the ones most commonly used by students:

• Deutsche Bank
  www.deutsche-bank.de
• Kreissparkasse
  www.ksk-es.de
• Volksbank
  www.volksbankesslingen.de
• Postbank
  www.postbank.de
• Citibank
  www.citibank.de

You need to provide a few documents to open a bank account, such as your student matriculation confirmation (Bescheinigung), your current address, and your passport. After setting up the account, the bank will send you a debit card along with the rest of your account information.

All banks have automatic teller machines (Geldautomats) in various locations across Germany, which allows you to access your money 24x7. You can use your own bank's automats without paying a service charge, but using another bank's automat will usually result in some service fees. Some banks allow surcharge free use of their partner banks' automats.