Erasmus in Berlin – stay, daily life, and coming back later

1. EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals

Right of residence: Union citizens with a right of free movement have the right to enter and reside under the FreizügG/EU (§ 2 Absatz 1). Those entitled to free movement include Union citizens who wish to reside as workers or for vocational training (§ 2 Absatz 2 Nummer 1), and non-employed Union citizens under the conditions of § 4 (§ 2 Absatz 2 Nummer 5): sufficient health insurance coverage and sufficient means of subsistence. Under § 12 FreizügG/EU, the act also applies to EEA nationals. The FreizügG/EU does not apply directly to Swiss nationals; that they also need no visa for studying is evidenced here only by university information pages (Leuphana, Uni Münster). Union citizens need no visa for entry and no residence title for residence (§ 2a Absatz 1 Satz 1 FreizügG/EU, via § 12 also for EEA nationals). For Swiss nationals, the EU–Switzerland Agreement on Free Movement applies.

Registration (Berlin implementation): Anyone moving into a home must register with the registration authority within two weeks of moving in (§ 17 Absatz 1 BMG); service.berlin.de states "14 days". Registration is free of charge, at any Berlin Bürgeramt by appointment or online (BundID, eID with PIN, AusweisApp; only for Germans and EU citizens aged 18 and over, not with an eAT). The landlord must cooperate and confirm the move-in in writing or electronically within the deadline (§ 19 Absatz 1 BMG); a rental contract does not replace the confirmation. If the landlord refuses, the person obliged to register must inform the registration authority without delay (§ 19 Absatz 2 BMG). Exception: Anyone who otherwise lives abroad and is not registered in Germany does not need to register for a stay of no more than three months; after that, the two-week deadline of § 17 Absatz 1 BMG applies (§ 27 Absatz 2 Satz 3 BMG). For exchange semesters of four to six months, the registration obligation therefore regularly applies.

Health insurance: Students at state or state-recognized universities are subject to compulsory insurance only "if they have no entitlement to benefits in kind under supranational or intergovernmental law" (§ 5 Absatz 1 Nummer 9 SGB V); the obligation applies at most until the age of 30. Anyone with entitlements to benefits in kind via the EHIC therefore does not fall under compulsory student insurance; EU coordination law is decisive. If compulsory insurance applies, an exemption on application is possible (§ 8 Absatz 1 Satz 1 Nummer 5 SGB V), within three months of the start of the insurance obligation at the health insurer, only with proof of other coverage; it is irrevocable (§ 8 Absatz 2 SGB V).

Work: Entitled to free movement as a worker (§ 2 Absatz 2 Nummer 1 FreizügG/EU); there is no working-day limit as under § 16b. Working-student jobs are therefore unrestricted under residence law; for social insurance and tax questions, see the linked pages.

Deregistration: When moving out without a new home in Germany, within two weeks after moving out, at the earliest one week before (§ 17 Absatz 2 BMG).

2. Third-country nationals in the Erasmus+ program

a) Short-term mobility under § 16c AufenthG – only for persons who hold a valid residence title of another EU member state for study under Directive (EU) 2016/801. For a study stay of up to 360 days, they need no residence title if the host educational institution has notified the BAMF and the competent authority of the other member state of the intention. To be submitted: proof of a Union or multilateral mobility program or a university agreement, admission, copy of the passport, proof of secured means of subsistence (§ 16c Absatz 1). Time of the notification: at the time when the foreigner applies for the title in the other member state, or – if the intention is not yet known then – as soon as it becomes known to the institution (§ 16c Absatz 1). § 16c Absatz 2 names no waiting period before entry; the federal administration portal, by contrast, names an "application deadline" of 30 days and a processing time of 30 days. The portal gives no reference point for this; in the procedure description it says only that the notification takes place "before entry". For planning, 30 days' lead time is safer. The BAMF may object within 30 days of receipt of the complete notification (§ 19f Absatz 5, for the grounds under § 19f Absatz 5 Nummer 1 and 2); if no objection is issued, it issues a certificate (§ 16c Absatz 4). If there is an interest in expulsion, the foreigners authority objects without being bound by this deadline. Entry and stay are permitted only as long as the residence title of the other member state is valid (§ 16c Absatz 2); in case of objection, studies must be stopped without delay (§ 16c Absatz 3). After that, the foreigners authority – in Berlin the LEA – is responsible; changes in the conditions must be reported by the student and the university (§ 16c Absatz 5). Procedure according to verwaltung.bund.de: online via MoNa (university registration via DeBeV), free of charge, documents other than passport and residence title in German; exception: Ireland and Denmark. Work: § 16b Absatz 3 applies; for less than 360 days only the correspondingly proportionally reduced number of working days (§ 16c Absatz 2).

b) Residence permit for study under § 16b AufenthG – for all other third-country nationals (e.g. Erasmus+ mobility from partner countries outside the EU). Issued for full-time studies upon admission by the educational institution; mandatory internships are part of the purpose of residence (§ 16b Absatz 1). Period of validity generally two years, at least one year; for participation in a Union or multilateral mobility program or university agreement at least two years; if the studies last less than two years, the permit is issued only for the duration of the studies (§ 16b Absatz 2). For an exchange semester, this means by its wording a validity for the duration of the study stay; how the LEA handles the relationship between the two sentences for Erasmus+ is not documented. Work: up to 140 working days per year (working-day account); a day of up to four hours counts as a half day, alternatively counting by week, whichever is more favorable applies; student side jobs are not counted (§ 16b Absatz 3).

Berlin implementation (LEA): Application online only, at the earliest four months before the current title expires; requirements according to service.berlin.de: enrolment or conditional admission, 992.00 euros per month or 11,904.00 euros per year (2026 value), German statutory or comparable private health insurance, main residence in Berlin ("A second home in Berlin is not sufficient."). Fees: sticker 56.00 € (extension 49.00 €), eAT 100.00 € (extension 93.00 €). With funding from German public funds, a German foundation, or an EU-funded program, the fee is usually refunded after processing. An eAT is ready for collection after 4 to 6 weeks. Responsible: LEA, Keplerstraße 2, 10589 Berlin, tel. 90269-4000.

Internship after the exchange: A voluntary internship outside the studies can run under § 16e AufenthG (study-related internship EU): studies aiming at a degree or a university degree within the last two years, internship agreement, subject-matter fit, declaration of cost coverage by the institution, consent of the Federal Employment Agency (unless consent is not required); at most six months (§ 16e Absatz 2).

3. Daily life

Erasmus+ framework: Study mobility lasts at least 2 and at most 12 months (12 months per study cycle); Erasmus+ students are exempt at the host university from fees for tuition, registration, examinations, and laboratory and library access; a small amount for insurance and student union may apply (European Commission). Semester fee/Deutschlandsemesterticket: There is no confirmed information on this (amount and composition at Berlin universities for winter semester 2026/27). Rundfunkbeitrag: 18.36 euros per month per home, regardless of the number of persons and devices; in a shared flat, only one adult needs to be registered. In a student residence, a room with access to a generally accessible corridor counts as a home of its own. Erasmus students and other scholarship holders generally have to pay; EU students may be exempt if they receive a scholarship from their home country comparable to BAföG (Beitragsservice). Tax ID/side job: For data protection reasons, the tax identification number is communicated only by letter (BZSt); for details on its issuance, see the page on tax ID and payroll tax. Bank account: Ask your university or a bank which documents you need. Housing: The Studierendenwerk Berlin allocates student residence places exclusively through its housing portal; there is a procedural rule on preferential allocation to international program students (InfoCenter Wohnen: tel. +49 (0)30 93939-8990, [email protected]). No fraud warning of its own from the Studierendenwerk was found. The Berliner Mieterverein lists as typical features of sham rentals, among others, advance payment of rent or deposit, supposedly absent landlords, time pressure, offers that are too cheap, and ID copies before the viewing; advice: no advance payment.

4. Coming back later

No § 20 AufenthG without a German degree: The residence permit for job search (up to 18 months, § 20 Absatz 2) is granted under § 20 Absatz 1 Nummer 1 to anyone who has successfully completed a degree "in Germany" during a stay under § 16b or § 16c. Erasmus students with a degree from abroad do not meet this by its wording. Anyone who later completes a full master's degree or a doctorate in Berlin (§ 16b), on the other hand, can use this route.

EU Blue Card (§ 18g): Skilled worker with academic training, employment appropriate to the qualification, salary of at least 50 percent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling of the general pension insurance; 45.3 percent with the consent of the Federal Employment Agency for certain ISCO-08 occupational groups or if the university degree was obtained no more than three years before the application – relevant for career starters after a degree abroad. Euro amounts: see the page on the Blue Card. Skilled worker with academic training (§ 18b): Residence permit for any qualified employment; general requirements under § 18 Absatz 2 include: a concrete job offer, consent of the BA (where required), a license to practice if applicable, equivalence or comparability of the degree. A skilled worker is someone who holds a German degree, a recognized foreign degree, or a foreign university degree comparable to a German one (§ 18 Absatz 3 Nummer 2).

Chancenkarte (§ 20a) and prior stay: Issued to skilled workers or, with a sufficient score, under the Annex (§ 20a Absatz 3); minimum score six points (Annex to § 20a Absatz 3 Nummer 2 / § 20b). For the points variant, among other things, a foreign university degree recognized by the state in the state of issue as well as at least basic German or English at least at level B2 (§ 20a Absatz 4 Satz 3 Nummer 2). § 20b Absatz 1 Nummer 11 awards points if the foreigner "has lawfully and without interruption stayed in Germany for at least six months in the past five years"; interruptions are harmless if the center of life, viewed overall, remained in Germany. According to the Annex, Nr. 11 gives 1 point. An Erasmus year or a stay of at least six months in a row can justify this point; § 20b names no excluded purposes of residence. On whether § 16c stays (exemption, no title) are recognized as "lawful" in this sense, there is no confirmed information on authority practice. Application from within Germany only with a title under Section 3 or 4 (§ 20a Absatz 4 Satz 2). Search Chancenkarte of up to one year; employment of up to 20 hours per week on average and trial employments of at most two weeks each (§ 20a Absatz 2, 5).

Recognition of the foreign degree: First check in anabin: comparable only if the university is listed as H+ or H+/- and the degree corresponds to or is equivalent to a German one. If there is no entry or it is insufficient, qualification assessment by the ZAB: 208 euros, at most three months with complete documents. For entry as a skilled worker from a third country, an anabin printout is sufficient if comparability is proven; EU/EEA/Switzerland need no recognition for non-regulated professions (anerkennung-in-deutschland.de).

EU citizens: Return at any time under the FreizügG/EU; only re-registration within two weeks. Bridges during the stay: A mandatory internship or thesis at a Berlin company is part of the study purpose for § 16b students; working-student job within the working-day limit; German certificate (counts for the Chancenkarte, § 20b Absatz 1 Nummer 2–4). Alumni networks (e.g. DAAD/Alumniportal Deutschland): no reliable current primary source is available on this.

Federal law vs. Berlin implementation

FreizügG/EU, AufenthG, BMG, and SGB V apply nationwide. Berlin-specific are the Bürgerämter (registration, also online), the LEA at the Keplerstraße 2 location with online application and fee refunds for EU-funded programs, and the Studierendenwerk Berlin. The mobility notification under § 16c runs centrally through the BAMF.