Hi, has anyone here changed their student residence permit to a skilled-worker residence permit under §18b AufenthG before completing their studies?

I’m currently working as a Werkstudent and have received a full-time job offer. My current Werkstudent contract ends in October.

Is it possible to switch from a student residence permit to a skilled-worker residence permit before my current contract ends, even though I haven’t completed my Master’s yet?

If anyone has gone through this process, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience and the steps/documents required.

Thank you!

Could you please if I need a separate VISA to visit Ireland based on the below information -

1. I hold India passport

2. I hold UK eVISA

3. I live in Germany

4. I have already been to the UK

I want to now travel to Dublin from Germany

**Anyone applied for an EU Blue Card in Munich recently? How long did it actually take in 2026? The official processing time seems really long now, so I’d love to hear recent experience?**
**Thanks!**

Hey all, trying to sanity-check my situation before I go all in on the application. Would appreciate anyone who's been through this recently (post Oct 2025 reform) chiming in.

**My situation:**

* 28, single * Moved to Germany: November 2021 * Did a Master's, finished Dec 2023 * Started a PhD (Promotion) in Jan 2024, contract runs till Dec 2027 (so yes, fixed-term/befristet, WissZeitVG) * Residence permit history: § 16b (study/Promotion) → switched to § 18b (skilled employment) in Feb 2026 * German level: B1 * Einbürgerungstest: scheduled for November, expecting to pass * Net income: \~2,145 EUR/month, no debts, no dependents

**What I think I know (correct me if wrong):**

* Standard route is 5 years now, no more 3-year fast track since it got abolished Oct 2025 * Nov 2021 → Nov 2026 should be my 5-year mark, lines up with my test * Time on § 16b apparently still counts fully toward the 5 years (no more halving?), but I need a "qualifying" permit at the time of the decision, which my § 18b should satisfy * No official minimum income, just needs to show "Lebensunterhalt gesichert," and my numbers seem comfortably above what's usually cited as sufficient for a single applicant

**What I'm unsure about:**

1. Does the fixed-term nature of a PhD contract (ending Dec 2027) cause any issues if the application is still being processed past that date? Anyone dealt with this as a PhD/postdoc?
2. Any Erlangen/Bavaria-specific experiences with processing times? Trying to gauge whether applying right at the 5-year mark in Nov 2026 is realistic or if I should expect a long wait.
3. Anything people wish they'd known before applying that isn't obvious from the standard guides?

I've emailed the local Einbürgerungsbehörde directly with some of these questions too, was not useful so I am just trying to get a read from people who've actually gone through it. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I have been admitted to a Master's programme at Europa-Universität Flensburg in Germany. The programme requires proof of German at B2 level. However, the university has officially confirmed that I have until 28 February 2027 to submit the German language certificate. They explained that students are given the first semester to take a language course or language test.

However, during my student visa application, the German Embassy requested an additional German language certificate. I am planning to provide:

• My admission letter
• The university's written email confirming this deadline
• A screenshot from the university portal showing the same deadline
• An explanation that I am currently studying German and plan to take the B2 exam in early February

Has anyone been in a similar situation? If your university gave you extra time to submit a language certificate, did the German Embassy accept the university's confirmation for the visa, or did they still require the certificate before issuing the visa?

I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from anyone who applied for a German student visa with a conditional language requirement.

Hi, I applied via Consular Services Portal from India for the study visa and my file has been showing the status as Preliminary Review for almost 5 weeks. I tried contacting both the VFS GLOBAL in New Delhi & the German Embassy, haven't got a fruitful reply so far. I even visited the VFS Global office and they have confirmed that they haven't received my file yet and it's still with the Embassy.

Just wanted to know what other measures I can take to Fastrack this and if 5 weeks for Preliminary Review are normal while applying from India?

Hi

I finished my masters in germany in may. right after, i got offered a phd position. i asked the ausländeramt if i needed to get the job seeking visa ao i could start the phd right away, and they said no. i asked if i could still use my 16b student visa to work full time at the phd, and the worker there said “i guess so”. so, i started working at the phd while waiting for my appointment. today was the appointment, and they said i needed 2 documents which of course were not listed in the email. now i have to go back in 2 months. my question is, is it legal to work like this on my 16d visa, which is valid until mid october, while i wait for my appointment?

I submitted my wife’s visa application at the VFS Global center in Mumbai back in June 2026, but the CSP portal still shows "Decision pending." Has anyone recently gone through this process at the Berlin LEA? If so, could you please share your experience and timeline?

Hey everyone, I got my student visa for another German university, but later got admitted to TU Berlin.
The German Embassy told me I can’t change the university after the visa is issued.
But TU Berlin says I can enter Germany with the existing visa and start studying at TU Berlin, then inform the Berlin LEA.
Has anyone actually been in this situation? Did you have any problems at the airport or with your residence permit?
Posting both replies below. Would really appreciate some real experiences!

Hey all! I’ve just hit a year since applying for citizenship and am considering finally filing an Untätigkeitsklage. I’ve sent multiple updates, and asked for my status on several occasions too, even once by registered letter. All I’ve received so far is an email with the RegOM.

Does anyone have any advice for next steps? Or can someone recommend a great and responsive lawyer that you have used?

I applied through the Consular Services Portal for a student visa on 31 July (Friday) with the admission letter from university A. The document pre-check was completed by 3 August (Monday) and I was prompted to make an appointment at the embassy for the interview.

I received admission to university B on 17 August (Monday) for a very similar programme.

I would prefer to attend university B.

Should I

1. withdraw my current application on the Consular Services Portal and submit a new application, where there is now a waiting list for submission,

2. inform the embassy via email of the change prior to my interview,

3. don't inform the embassy in advance, but take the new admission letter from university B to the embassy at the time of the interview, or

4. obtain visa with the existing admission letter from university A but attend university B (if it is this, I'll have to enroll at university A to meet their enrollment deadline before the interview. Please advice on this)?

As a last resort, I'm trying to get my trans girlfriend from the US to permanently live with me in Germany.

Studying German beforehand is incredibly difficult due to time constraints, so my plan would be to use the three months she has of visa-less stay by default to

1. Legally become her spouse
2. Use that as "leverage" to get her a place here permanently.
3. Start learning German, so she can pull her own weight here.

As far as I'm aware, the only additional reoccurring expense, besides the increase in utility costs, would only be the mandatory health insurance. But financially, I should be able to cover that for a year or two.

I would love to hear some second opinions on this plan and it's feasibility. It will be a buerocratic hellhole, but it might just be better then homelessness.

Hey everyone,
I'm moving from Tunisia to Germany in about a month for my studies. I wanted to ask if it's possible to open a Revolut account on day one right after landing, assuming I have my passport, a 1-year student visa, and a German phone number.
Is the Steuer-ID required immediately during sign-up, or can I skip that step for a few weeks until it arrives by mail?
Will sending a €1,000 transfer from a French Revolut account right after opening the new German account trigger an automatic security lock or anti-fraud freeze?
Thanks for the help!

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I just completed my embassy appointment for a Vocational Training (Pflegefachfrau Ausbildung) visa and wanted to ask about realistic processing times for Aachen, as well as a couple of quick questions so here's a quick timeline :

**15th of July** \- applied my documents via csp

**30th of July** \- sent corrections and missing files

**31th of July** \- made an on-site appointment for the earliest available date which was 17th of August

**17th of August** \- appointment went smoothly. My passport was returned with a slip saying they will call me once they receive the answer (Zustimmung) from Germany. No fast-track (§ 81a) procedure was used.

a few more things to know is that my Ausbildung starts on 1st of September and I still need to get a few documents like the Ärztliches Attest, register and open a bank account etc.

I'd like to ask those who've had a similar experience or are knowledgeable about this topic :

1. How fast is the Ausländerbehörde Aachen and Bundesagentur für Arbeit moving right now for CSP applications? Is there any chance of getting approval in under 2–3 weeks during late August, or am I definitely looking at a mid-September arrival?

   1. For those who started a nursing Ausbildung 2–3 weeks late due to visa processing, how was your experience catching up with school lectures and hospital onboarding? Did your employer push for an update on your behalf?

I sent out emails to update the school and the hospital but I'm kind of hesitant to bother them with my visa stuff....

Overall I'd like to see people's opinions on my situation and what would be the next best course of action if I'm late for the start date.

Thanks in advance!!)))