Information for International Scholars

Hochschule Bielefeld – University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) is a modern university with more than 10,000 students in East Westphalia-Lippe, one of the strongest business locations in Germany.

Our profile

• Interdisciplinary research at six faculties: Design and Art, Minden Campus, Engineering and Mathematics, Social Sciences, Bielefeld School of Business, Health
• Practical approach: successful cooperation with industrial, business, social, and cultural communities
• International network: more than 150 partner universities in about 50 countries
• Sustainable campuses: ample green space and outdoor amenities at all locations
  
• Family-friendly: certified as a family-friendly university

 

 

To come to HSBI as a lecturer or researcher, you can either apply for one of the job postings or finance your stay at the university through a scholarship. You can find suitable funding programmes here:

• Funding programmes for employees at Erasmus+ partner universities
• Scholarships Database of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
• Sponsorship programme search of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
• Funding programmes overview of the initiative Research in Germany

 

If you do not have an employment contract with HSBI, you will need to be invited by a host at the university. If you do not have a host yet, you can find out about our faculties,  research institutes and ongoing research projects to find a suitable person or send us a description of your teaching or research focus at welcome@hsbi.de and we will help you.

In the overview of visa requirements or exemptions, you can check whether you need a visa to enter Germany. For stays up to 90 days, apply for a Schengen visa; for longer stays, apply for a national visa.

On the Federal Foreign Office’s website, you will find information on applying for a visa and a visa navigator for determining the national visa that is suitable for you (in most cases a Research Visa or a Blue Card EU). We, too, will be happy to advise you and provide the necessary documents ("Hosting Agreement" for Research Visa and "Declaration of Employment" for the Blue Card EU).

The visa must be issued before entering the country at the German diplomatic mission in your home country or country of residence. Processing of the visa may take up to three months. Therefore, you should apply for a visa as early as possible.

If your family members intend to come to Germany with you, they might also need a visa. For the application you must provide proof that the livelihood of all family members is secured (e.g. through savings, a scholarship or employment contract).

Health insurance is mandatory in Germany for you and all family members who accompany you to Germany. You must have health insurance as soon as you arrive in Germany and already provide proof of it when applying for a visa. We recommend that you obtain travel health insurance for your entry into Germany, covering the period of arrival. Which insurance is suitable for you afterwards, depends on which of the following groups you belong to. We will also be happy to advise you personally.

 

You do not have to take out German health insurance if you do not have an employment contract with HSBI and your health insurance from your home country is recognised in Germany.

• This is possible if you come from an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland and hold/apply for a European Health Insurance Card.
• This is also possible if you come from a country with which Germany has a social insurance agreement for health insurance (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Morocco, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Tunisia).
• In these two cases, please contact your health insurance provider in your home country. They will explain how you can have your health insurance recognised in Germany.

 

If the health insurance from your home country is not recognised in Germany, you will need one of the following three types of health insurance:

• If you stay in Germany for a maximum of 90 days with a Schengen visa, you only need travel health insurance. It has to be valid throughout the Schengen area and needs a minimum coverage of 30,000 euros.
• If you have an employment contract with HSBI, you need to take out statutory health insurance. Statutory health insurances have uniform benefits. The contributions depend on how much you earn and are automatically deducted from your income. Family members (partners and children) who come to Germany with you and do not have their own income can be insured free of charge. You can choose freely from all statutory health insurance providers. On Bielefeld Campus, for example, there is a branch of the Techniker Krankenkasse.
• If you have a research visa or research residence permit, you can take out statutory health insurance (see above) OR substitutive health insurance from a private provider (here is a comparison). Statutory insurance is particularly worthwhile if you are coming to Germany with your partner or child(ren) or need a lot of (expensive) treatment due to a chronic illness. For single travelers without chronic illnesses, private substitute insurance may be cheaper. It is offered by various providers, such as Dr. Walter, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and more.
• In all other cases, you will need substitutive health insurance from a private provider (see above).
  

In Germany, you can be held liable for accidental damage, for example, if you accidentally scratch someone else’s car. In such cases, private liability insurance applies. As insurance claims like these occur frequently, you should definitely take out private liability insurance.

You have to take out the insurance yourself because you will not be insured by the university. Many insurance providers offer affordable liability insurance either for you alone or for your entire family (approx. €50 per year).

If you take out substitutive private health insurance, the liability insurance is sometimes already included in the insurance plan.

Due to housing shortage, it has become difficult to find accommodation in Germany. Therefore, you should start looking for accommodation as early as possible.

HSBI does not own any dorm rooms or apartments, but in our Guide for International Scholars a HSBI, you find detailed information and advice on finding accommodation in Germany and formalities that go along with housing.

If you stay with us for only a few days, you can book a hotel. You will find various options in this hotel list.

For your convenience, we have compiled the most important travel information for your arrival in Germany and at HSBI. You will also find maps of all HSBI campuses and a map showing barrier-free entrances to the main building.

In our Guide for International Scholars at HSBI, you find additional and more detailed information on how to travel to and within Germany.

If you stay in Germany for more than 90 days, you must register at the registration office of your city within 14 days of your arrival. For this, your address and other personal and family information is collected. If you come to Germany with your family, all family members must come to this appointment. Registration is free of charge.

We will be happy to help you with the documents, arrange an appointment for you and accompany you to the appointment if desired.

 

Documents you need to bring

• All available identification documents for accompanying family members
• Landlord’s confirmation of residence, filled out by the landlord in Germany
• If you are married, divorced or widowed: certified German translation of the marriage certificate or divorce certificate or death certificate of deceased partner(s)
• If you come to Germany with children: if necessary, certified German translations of underage childrens’ birth certificates; if necessary, certified German translation of declaration of parental custody for unmarried parents; if necessary, written consent if the other parent is not in Germany

 

Appointment must be arranged in advance

• In Bielefeld
• In Minden
• In Gütersloh

If you are not a citizen of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland and your visa is not valid for the whole period of your stay, you will need a so-called “residence permit” for a stay of more than 3 months. The application is submitted to the Foreigners’ Registration Office and costs €100 per adult and €50 per child. 

Depending on the residence title you, and if applicable your family members, would like to apply for, you need to bring different documents. We will be happy to assist you in compiling the necessary documents and making an appointment. On request, we will also be happy to accompany you to the appointment.

Appointment must be arranged in advance:

• In Bielefeld
• In Minden
• In Gütersloh

If you work in Germany or receive a scholarship from a German institution, you usually need a bank account in the SEPA area. SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area) comprises the 28 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Monaco and Switzerland and facilitates payment transactions in and between these countries. Bank accounts from these countries are thus easily accepted in Germany. Bank accounts in the SEPA area have a so-called IBAN (International Bank Account Number), which you need to use when making payments.

If you want to open an account with a German bank, you usually need proof of residence in Germany. Some online banks offer the possibility to use a SEPA account even if you are not an EU resident. This means that you can take care of a SEPA bank account before you arrive in Germany.

Further information is available in our Guide for International Scholars at HSBI.

If you are staying in Germany as a researcher for more than 90 days and your children are accompanying you, you are generally entitled to child benefit and your children are, depending on their age, entitled to a place in a daycare facility or school. We have compiled detailed information on this in our Guide for International Scholars at HSBI.

After registering your residence, you will receive a lifetime tax identification number by mail within approximately two weeks. Keep this number safe, as you may need it in the future.

If you have an employment contract with HSBI, forward the number to the Personnel Department when you receive it. You will pay regular tax and social insurance contributions automatically. After the end of a calendar year, you can submit an income tax declaration to the tax authorities, that will then check whether you have paid too much tax and are entitled to a refund.

If you finance your stay at HSBI through a scholarship, you are usually not subject to German income tax and social insurance contributions. However, please check with your scholarship provider whether there is tax liability in the respective donor or in your home country.

Further information is available in our Guide for International Scholars at HSBI.

At HSBI’s library, you can use the freely available PCs and read or borrow books. In addition, the library has acquired access to numerous digital texts. If you have any questions, the library team will be happy to help you and also to offer you advice on literature processing programmes such as Citavi.

HSBI’s library has three locations: at Bielefeld Campus, Minden Campus and Lampingstrasse. In Gütersloh, you can order books from the other locations via Gütersloh’s municipal library.

 

Students, employees and guest researchers at HSBI have an HSBI user account that is used to access the HSBI email account, the campus Wifi eduroam and the Learning Management System ILIAS. In our Guide for International Scholars at HSBI, we have compiled the most important information about these services.

If you have any technical questions or problems, it is best to contact the IT Service Desk, which offers support by telephone or on site in Bielefeld and Minden. If you have any questions about ILIAS, please contact the ILIAS service team at ilias@hsbi.de.

We offer a German course or coaching for international scholars who are new to HSBI. Contact welcome@hsbi.de if you are interested in participating.

On this website, you will find a variety of options for learning German in Bielefeld outside HSBI: German for work, German for parents, informal get-togethers or apps – there is something for everybody. Bielefeld’s community college (Volkshochschule or VHS for short) also offers courses.

If you would like to study a foreign language online and at your own pace, you can also benefit from self-study courses for German, English, Spanish, French and Italian that you can find in HSBI’s ILIAS (log in first, then click on the link again).

For technical terms in the field of higher education, HSBI’s university glossary can be helpful.

Terminate your accommodation contract in writing and in good time (usually at least three months before you move out). Arrange an appointment for handing over the apartment/flat with your landlord; if necessary, ask a person who speaks German to be with you during this appointment to avoid misunderstandings. Clean the apartment/flat thoroughly for the handover date, otherwise a part of your deposit may be retained. Also talk to your landlord about how the deposit should be returned to you. The landlord is allowed to withhold the deposit for up to 12 months after departure.

Read your electricity and gas meters and terminate your contracts within the notice period. With the termination, please communicate the meter readings and your future address to the provider.

Also terminate your contracts for insurance (health insurance, liability insurance, accident insurance, etc.), Internet, telephone and television, and other subscriptions that you may have taken out (e.g. gym).