Route: language course (§ 16f)
Under § 16f (1) AufenthG you can come to Germany for an intensive German course that does not prepare for a specific degree programme.
What the Embassy Hanoi asks for
- Enrolment in a course of at least 18 lessons a week – no evening or weekend courses – lasting 3 to 12 months, with the fees paid (Embassy page).
- €1,091 a month for the stay, by blocked account, scholarship or declaration of commitment.
- Health insurance and a visa fee of €75. Appointments go through a waiting list at VFS, see Visa application.
Not a back door. The Embassy page says nothing about work or about switching to another permit in Germany. By law (§ 16f (3) sentence 4 AufenthG, since 1 March 2024) you may work up to 20 hours a week with a language-course permit. The statutory ban on changing purpose now covers only school attendance and school exchange, not language courses; a change of purpose still needs a new permit and is checked case by case, and there is no settlement permit under § 9. Ask the Embassy and the Berlin immigration office before you plan on either.
If you want to study afterwards
Do the APS procedure first. With APS and an admission (or conditional admission), the preparatory German course is part of a study visa (§ 16b), see Study.
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