During Welcome Week you will get to know our university and students from all over the world. As an exchange student, you will need to deal with a number of organisational matters. We will be happy to accompany and support you every step of the way to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

enlarge the image: Group of students walking through the corridor in the Humanities Centre
Get to know the University and other students! Photo: Christian Hüller

Academic induction

Your enrolment takes place during Welcome Week. Make the most of your first days at Leipzig University to get to know your faculty and meet other students!

The official enrollment takes place in person on site in Leipzig. Please bring the following documents with you:

  • valid ID card or passport
  • valid visa for study purposes, if necessary
  • Proof of health insurance valid for your stay in Germany
  • Certificate of Arrival/Stay of your home university for signature, if applicable
  • your address in Leipzig

Participants of the language and orientation course

  • Date: 11 March 2024
  • Time: from 9 am to 12 pm and 1 to 4 pm
  • Place: SSZ – Student Service Centre, Goethestraße 3 – 5, ground floor, 04109 Leipzig
  • Mandatory appointment booking via the booking system.

All international exchange students

  • Date: 2 and 3 April 2024
  • Time: from 9 am to 12 pm and 1 to 4 pm
  • Place: SSZ – Student Service Centre, Goethestraße 3 – 5, ground floor, 04109 Leipzig
  • Mandatory appointment booking via the booking system.

Buddies

There are students at your faculty – known as buddies – who are on hand to support you in your everyday studies. The information about each of our courses tells you which faculty is responsible for you.

Buddies will

  • answer your questions or help you find someone who can
  • assist you with understanding and answering letters and documents involving your studies or from the authorities
  • be happy to accompany you to important appointments
  • offer you help with questions about working academically, such as preparing a presentation, or questions about the structure of coursework and much more.

Buddies speak German and English – and some of them Spanish, French and other languages. You can find the buddy responsible for you and your degree programme on your faculty’s website.

Studying itself as well as student life may involve great demands and challenges, especially for students with disabilities. Study difficulties, personal conflict situations or mental stress are nothing unusual. Leipzig University and the Studentenwerk Leipzig offer extensive support and information on organizing your studies.

You can contact the respective counselling centres at any time and receive professional advice and individual support in solving your personal problems!

Office for Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Family

Studying with Disabilites

Counselling services offered by Leipzig University

Counselling services offered by Studentenwerk Leipzig

To promote inclusion and diversity, find out about the possibilities of additional financial support for students in special circumstances at your home university!

Once you’re in Leipzig

Leipzig will be your new home during your exchange programme. At the beginning of your stay, you will have to take care of a few administrative things. We will be happy to support and advise you in the most important matters.

Watch the video to find out what you need to do after enrolment!

Registration at the Resident Services Office

International students are obliged to register their presence in Leipzig with the city administration immediately after their arrival. During your enrolment, we will arrange an appointment for you at the Resident Service Office. Appointments will be available from 8 April 2024. Please do not book separate appointments.

You will need the following documents when registering:

Registration at the Foreigners’ Authority

If you do not come from an EU or EEA country, you will need a residence permit immediately after enrolment. You can get the necessary forms from the Foreigners’ Authority. Upload the documents only via the online application of the Foreigners' Registration Office. Additionally, please check all the necessary information on the following website.

The following documents are required:

  • enrolment certificate
  • passport copy
  • two biometric passport photos
  • rental agreement and landlord’s certificate (Wohungsgeberbestätigung)
  • proof of health insurance
  • fees (currently €110.00 for non-EU citizens when first issued)
  • financial declaration (scholarship confirmation, proof of a blocked account, or similar)

You can find further information in our residence title guide

We recommend that you open a bank account with a bank in Germany. You will need the following documents to open an account:

  • registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) from the Resident Services Office
  • identity card or passport with residence permit
  • enrolment certificate from our university

Students do not usually have to pay for a bank account.

Organising your studies is important, but so is your leisure time. Take advantage of the many opportunities to meet other students at our university. There’s something for everyone, including sports, music and other activities:

Take us with you on your voyage of discovery!

You can expect to make a lot of valuable memories during your time abroad. You will discover a new country, meet people from all sorts of cultures, and advance your academic career. And we would love to hear about your experiences. Blogs and reports are a great way for you to get other students excited about studying abroad. For example, use our German Instagram hashtag #entdeckerbleiben so that we can see your photos. Alternatively, drop us an email at interkomm(at)uni-leipzig.de if you’re interested in being featured as an Entdecker on our university’s Instagram feed.

Erasmus+ Worldwide: Organising Your Studies

To be able to successfully complete your studies on the Erasmus+ worldwide programme, please take care of a few organisational matters during your stay:

Would you like to participate in different courses than previously planned? At the beginning of your studies, it is possible to change your course choice.

  • Enter the corresponding changes in the second section of the Learning Agreement.
  • Then have the document signed by the person responsible at your home university and by your academic supervisor.
  • Submit the signed Learning Agreement to your contact person at the International Centre no later than four weeks after the start of the semester.

You will have gained a lot of experience by the end of your time as an exchange student. Record your views in an Erasmus+ report and help us to improve what we offer, for example in terms of the quality of our support services.

After your stay, you will receive an automatically generated email sent by EUSurvey (please check your spam folder). This email contains a link to the participant report.
Please complete your report online within 30 days.

At the end of your exchange programme, have a Transcript of Records issued and signed by your Erasmus+ subject coordinator.

The Transcript of Records lists all modules you passed along with the respective grades. Please submit a copy of the signed document to our International Centre as soon as possible. The Transcript of Records is intended to simplify recognition of your academic achievements in Leipzig by your home university.

At the End of Your Stay

Your exchange stay here at Leipzig University is coming to an end and we are happy that you have chosen Leipzig for your time abroad! Before leaving Leipzig, your home for the last months, there are some things to take care of.


Re-enrol by paying the semester fee

If you are spending another semesters here, you pay the semester fee for the second semester via AlmaWeb.

Re-enrolment period for the winter semester: 1 June –15 August
Re-enrolment period for the summer semester: 1 December –15 February

It is not possible to issue a direct debit order via someone else’s account, such as that of your parents.

Re-enrolment by SEPA direct debit

  • On the AlmaWeb portal, click on “Studies” and then “Re-enrolment”. You will first be shown your current balance.
  • To issue a direct debit order, please enter your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Business Identifier Code). After entering your data, a one-off direct debit authorisation will be generated. The mandate reference is then displayed. Then confirm your data using an iTAN.

Please note that not all banks in the SEPA area participate in the direct debit scheme and that problems may occur under certain circumstances. It is not possible to issue a direct debit order via someone else’s account, such as that of your parents.

Re-enrolment by bank transfer

  • If you are unable to pay by direct debit on the AlmaWeb portal, please pay the semester fee by bank transfer. Please use the following bank details:

    Recipient: Universität Leipzig
    IBAN: DE91860555921100156760
    BIC:   WELADE8LXXX

    Enter your enrolment number, your full name and the semester for which you are re-enrolling (for example WS2019/20) as the payment reference.

Please deregister at the end of your time as an exchange student. To do this, submit the Application for removal from register to the International Centre. You will receive your certificate of “Exmatrikulation” via your AlmaWeb account.

Exchange students are obliged to deregister with the city authorities in Leipzig at the earliest one week before the end of their stay. You can deregister at any one of Leipzig’s Resident Services Offices.

You may also like

After studying

Read more

Akademic calendar

Read more

Course catalogue

Read more