Onboarding - Welcome to Erfurt!

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Finally arrived?

You will need to complete a few formalities after your arrival. The International Office and your buddies will help you find your way around!

On this page you will find:

ToDos at the University of Erfurt
Information on the Thoska (student ID card)
ToDos in the city of Erfurt
the onboarding programmes (intensive course and orientation week)

The onboarding programmes are only published shortly before the start of the Intensive Course and the Orientation Week.

To-Dos at the University of Erfurt

Enrolment

Before you can apply for enrolment, you will receive a request for enrolment from the International Office. You CANNOT enrol without the information in this email.

You must first apply for enrolment online via the HisInOne portal. The portal will guide you through the enrolment process step by step.

You must enter information and upload the following to the portal:

documents (Transcript of Records, language certificates)
a photo for your student ID card (Thoska)
proof of payment of the semester contribution

You will only be enrolled once all the required documents have been uploaded and the enrolment steps have been completed.

HisInOne portal

Enrolment step: Payment of semester contribution

In order to enrol and receive your student ID card (thoska), you must pay the semester contribution.

The semester contribution includes payments for:

Student Services (Studierendenwerk Thüringen)
the student council (StuRa) of the University of Erfurt
Germany semester ticke
Culture ticket
the student ID card

The amount of the semester contributionvaries each semester. We will inform you in good time about the amount of the contribution and when you have to pay it.

Semester contribution

Enrolment step: Proof of health insurance

Krankenversicherungspflicht (Non-EU)

All students are obliged to apply to a German statutory health insurance fund for electronic notification of their health insurance status for enrolment.

Students under 30 are subject to compulsory insurance. You must take out statutory health insurance in Germany.
The statutory health insurance company will then report your health insurance status (=insured) to the University of Erfurt.

Students over 30 are not required to take out statutory health insurance, but must take out private insurance. Compare different offers from private insurance companies.
You must have your health insurance status (=not legally insured) reported electronically by a statutory health insurance company.

Krankenversicherungen aus Ländern mit bilateralem Abkommen mit Deutschland

The health insurance of some countries with which a bilateral agreement exists is recognised in Germany, i.e. you can remain insured in your home country if you present a corresponding certificate from your home health insurance fund to a German statutory health insurance fund. The authorisation certificates are currently (as of 04/2017):

European Health Insurance Card EHIC (EU countries & EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) & Switzerland
BH 16 (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
JU 6 (Serbia, Montenegro)
RM/D 11 (Macedonia)
AT/11 (Turkey)
A/TN 11 (Tunisia)

Health insurance policies from other countries and travel health insurance policies are generally not recognised, i.e. students must take out health insurance in Germany.

Elektronische Meldung des Krankenversicherungsstatus'

All students are obliged to apply for an electronic notification of their health insurance status from a German statutory health insurance company in order to enrol.

The International Office organises:

electronic notification for exchange students with EHIC or AT11
electronic notification for non-EU exchange students who take out insurance at a central appointment during Onboarding
- will be announced in time

The International Office does not organise:

electronic notification for non-EU exchange students who have already taken out health insurance abroad as that is done automatically by the respective health insurance company)

Information on health insurance

You will only receive your student ID card (Thoska) after you have completed all the enrolment steps. We will send you an e-mail as soon as you can collect your Thoska from the International Office! You can find more information about the Thoska below.

Retrieve Germany semester ticket

The Germany Semester Ticket is included in the semester contribution!

With the Germany semester ticket, you can use public transport throughout Germany free of charge:

use local public transport
use regional transport

After enrolment, you must access the Germany Semester Ticket separately via an app:

Retrieve your Germany semester ticket

Activation of the University account

After online enrolment, you will find the account details of the University of Erfurt in the HIS portal.

Please follow the instructions linked in the portal to activate your university account!

If you have problems with activation, the service team in C21 Communication and Information Centre (KIZ) will help you:

Service Team

Activation of the campus WiFi

After online enrolment, you will find the account details of the University of Erfurt in the HIS portal.

Please follow the instructions linked in the portal to activate your university account!
You can then log in to the campus WLAN network Eduroam with your university account details.

If you have any problems with activation, the service team at the C21 Communication and Information Centre (KIZ) will help you.

Please note the different instructions for Android and IOS:

Setting up Eduroam

The Thoska

Small card, many functions!

Student ID card
Payment card in the facilities of the Studierendenwerk (Mensa | Glasbox | Hörsaal 7)
Library card (extra registration required)
Culture ticket
Print and copy card

Have you lost your Thoska or do you have questions about the Thoska?

Please contact the Thoska service office. Please note the opening hours!

Thoska service office

To-Dos in der city of Erfurt

Registration in the Resident Registration Office

After arrival, all exchange students must register at the Residents' Registration Office within a few weeks.

We organise a group appointment for exchange students during the Intensive Course and during the Orientation Week.

You must present these documents at the appointment:

Passport / identity card
Tenancy agreement + landlord's confirmation of residence (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)
- you receive these documents when signing the contract after arrival

After registering at the Bürgeramt, you will automatically receive your tax ID (Steuer-ID) by post. You will need this, for example, to open a bank account or if you want to work in Germany.

If you miss the group appointment, you must book an appointment online yourself or with the help of your buddy.

Registration at the Foreigners' Registration Office (Non-EU)

Exchange students from non-European countries without a multivisa or a mobility certificate (REST Directive) must apply for a residence permit at the Erfurt Foreigner Registration Office.

The International Office will help you with this!

Procedure:

Prepare the documents required to apply for a residence permit.
Bring the documents to the International Office.
The International Office will check the documents for completeness.
The International Office will send the documents to the Erfurt Foreigners' Registration Office.
The Foreigners' Registration Office will contact you by e-mail with further instructions.

Required documents:

Application form (fill in and sign)
copy of passport
one biometric passport photo (headshot)
Certificate of enrolment (available after enrolment)
Proof of health insurance
Certificate of registration
- Meldebescheinigung you receive from the Resident Registration Office)
Proof of sufficient financial means to cover living expenses for the duration of your studies in Germany
- Use blocked account services, for example, as support

Deadlines for submitting documents to the International Office:

Winter semester for arrival in September: 15.10.
Winter semester for arrival in October: 15.11.

Summer semester for arrival in March: 15.04.
Summer semester with arrival in April: 15.05.

As a rule, you have 90 days to apply for a residence permit at the Foreigners' Registration Office
However, prepare the documents as soon as possible after your arrival, as the official processes can take a very long time!

Opening a bank account

We recommend that all exchange students who do not have an account with an IBAN and BIC open an account in Germany.

Non-EU exchange students who have a blocked account as proof of funding must open an account.

Advantages of a German bank account:

no fees for domestic transfers
monthly payments conveniently debited by direct debit
good overview of expenditure

To open a bank account, you will need, among other things:

Identity document (Passport)
Registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) from the city of Erfurt
Tax ID
- will be automatically sent to you by postal mail after registerin in the city
Non-EU only: Multivisa / residence permit / mobility certificate (REST Directive) (can usually be submitted later)

Examples of banks:

Sparkasse
Commerzbank
Postbank
Deutsche Bank
…

The list of banks does not constitute a recommendation. The choice of bank is entirely up to you.