Smiling traveling student at the airport

Before Your Arrival at THWS

Congratulations! You have received your admission to study at THWS. In the following section, we have summarized important steps you need to do before you arrive at THWS.

You can find information about the enrolment procedure on the following link, step 6 and 7:

https://www.thws.de/en/services-and-support/application-enrolment-exams-internship/application/process-in-thws-campusportal/

Step 2) Accommodation

Please note that THWS, like all German universities, cannot offer accommodation for its students. Being accepted as a student at THWS does not mean that you automatically have accommodation! 

It is very difficult to find accommodation in Würzburg and in Schweinfurt. Therefore, we recommend you to apply for accommodation as early as possible in your home country. Make sure to look for several alternatives, too. Do not rely on just one accommodation offer! Note: In Germany, only a contract in writing is legally binding!

Rental contract
 Please be aware of the fact that once you have signed the contract and sent it back to the Studentenwerk or other student residences, you can cancel the rental contract only within the next 14 days. After this time you are bound by the contract, which means that you have to pay the rent and that you cannot withdraw from it even if you decide e.g. in September not to come to Germany or if your visa application was rejected.

The contract regulations allow you to cancel due visa rejection but if the student residence does not find a new tenant, you are bound by the contract until the end of the contract. That is why it is important to read the terms and conditions carefully before you sign a rental contract. You can find a sample of the rental contract in English on the following link:

www.swerk-wue.de/fileadmin/old_instance_all/Daten/PDF_Wohnheime/Muster-Mietvertrag/Neue_Mietvertraege/wohnen_muster-mietvertrag_ab-sw_en.pdf

Please note:

The rental contracts of the Studentenwerk are temporary contracts. These fixed-term rental contracts of the Studentenwerk can be terminated in writing with a two months' notice before the following deadlines: 31.03. or 30.09. for student residences in Würzburg 28./29.02. or 31.08. for student residences in Schweinfurt

Deposit
 The landlord/lady usually demands a deposit (max. three basic rents), to protect themselves in case of damages, etc. The deposit is due together with the first rent. You will get the deposit back when you move out. However, the landlord/lady can keep a certain part of the deposit (at first), in order to fix potential damages or to pay additional incidental costs (heating, water, etc.). After that, you will receive the rest of the deposit. 

Student accommodation at Studentenwerk

Studentenwerk is an institution independent from THWS that offers student accommodation.

General information about the student residences in Würzburg and Schweinfurt:
Würzburg: https://www.swerk-wue.de/en/wuerzburg/accommodation
Schweinfurt: https://www.swerk-wue.de/schweinfurt/wohnen

  • Apply online on the Studentenwerk website. Mind the deadlines!
  • Apply as early as possible! There is only a limited number of rooms! Apply online under the following link:https://www.swerk-wue.de/en/wuerzburg/accommodation/move-in-guide#tab-3183-1
  • After you have successfully applied, you will receive an email containing the details of your application. Check the data and click on the link in the email, if your data are correct. Only then, your application is complete!
  • If there are free rooms, you will receive a room offer via email. The rental contract and the payment instructions are attached to this email.
  • After you have received the rental offer via email, you have to accept the offer within a few days. Please mind the deadline! In order to accept the offer, you have to print the rental contract, sign it, scan it, and send it back to the student residence via email. Additionally, you should send the payment proof in this email, too.
  • Total costs at the student residence:
    • Approx. € 250-300 per month
    • Rent includes: electricity/heating
    • If your consumption exceeds the usual amount, you might have to make additional payments.
  • All rooms are furnished
  • Students have to provide the following items themselves:
    • Cutlery, cooking accessories, bed sheets, blanket, pillow
    • and food
  • Film: Studentenwerk Würzburg

Information about living in a student residence: Wohnheimwörterbuch des Studentenwerks

The demand for rooms in student residences is very high. Therefore, we recommend you to mind the deadlines! Apply as soon as you have received your letter of admission

Video tutorial about online application at Studentenwerk

In our video tutorial you will receive detailed information about the online application process at the Studentenwerk.

By selecting this option, you will start a video tutorial for the application for an accommodation at Studentenwerk

Student residences of other institutions in Würzburg

  1. 522 Apartunities
  2. Green Living Inn (just for Bafög recipients)
  3. More student residences

Student residences of other institutions in Schweinfurt

  1. AWO-Studentenwohnheim
  2. Student residence "Dornbau"

Private rented flats:

  • Looking for a private rented flat can take a long time (up to several months).
  • You can look for private rented flats:
    • On the Internet
    • In local newspapers
    • On the Blackboard of THWS
  • The flats are usually not furnished (neither kitchen nor lights). It is possible to buy the kitchen from the previous tenant.
  • The rent does not always include costs for electricity, heating, and water. Please check carefully in your rental contract or ask the landlord/lady, which costs are included in the rent.
  • You have to pay the rent to the landlord/lady.
  • You have to pay the electricity and heating costs to a company. The landlord/lady will tell you, with which provider you have to register.
  • Please note: Electricity and heating costs can be very expensive in Germany. It is up to your consumption behavior, how much you have to pay.
  • It's often cheaper if you are not looking for an apartment directly in Schweinfurt or Würzburg. In Schweinfurt, suburbs can be reached by bus very fast. For this reason we have created for you a special map with the connections to THWS in Schweinfurt.

What is a WG (Wohngemeinschaft)?

  • It is a cheap accommodation option
  • It is very popular amongst German students due to the cheap rent and social contacts.
  • In a Wohngemeinschaft (shared flat), several people share the same private rental flat or house and share the rental costs.
  • Every person has their own room. Usually, all people share a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, a washing machine, a telephone, or a TV.

Useful links 

  1. https://www.wg-gesucht.de/en/
  2. www.wuewowas.de/anzeigen/immobilien/#/Suche=0/ (Würzburg only)
  3. https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/stadt/wuerzburg/
  4. Facebook group: Uni Würzburg WG Börse
  5. Facebook group: Wohnungsmarkt Schweinfurt/Umgebung
  6. www.swg-schweinfurt.de/de/Mieten-53.html (Schweinfurt only)
  7. www.wuerzburg.homecompany.de
  8. www.postbaugenossenschaft-sw.de
    Note: They only rent flats, not single rooms. Applicants should be able to speak German.
  9. www.immoscout24.de
  10. www.immowelt.de 
  11. www.immopool.de
  12. https://www.ebg-schweinfurt.de/
  13. sascha.zaps[at]gmx.de
    Individual rooms for students in Schweinfurt (500 euro, address: Hohmannstarße 6, everything is included, possible to take the room for two people)
  14. Shared appartment in Obbach (offer in German only)

 

 

 

  • Youth hostels are a temporary solution if you need accommodation for a few nights, until you can move into your room.
  • Costs: € 20–27 per day (more expensive with breakfast)

Würzburg

  1. Youth hostel Würzburg
  2. Babelfish Hostel: https://www.babelfish-hostel.de

Schweinfurt

  1. Youth hostel Schweinfurt

Step 3) Visa

Please check the Visa requirements for your country and get informed if you have to apply for a student visa.

 

General information about visa procedure for Germany.

Applicants from the following countries do not require a visa: 

  • EU member states
  • Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland

Please contact the German embassy in your home country before coming to Germany and ask about specific entry requirements for students who want to come to Germany.

Applicants from non-EU member states partly require a visa for their study stay in Germany. Please inform yourself at the German embassy in your home country, if you require a visa.

  • Apply for a visa at the German embassy in your home country, as soon as you have received the letter of admission from FHWS. Please submit ONLY the letter of admission with the other required documents in the visa application procedure. The declaration of acceptance should not be submitted to the German embassy but to the FHWs via post (see point 1). Otherwise, problems or misunderstandings can occur during the visa procedure.
  • The visa process can take several weeks or months.
  • During the application, you will have to proof that you have sufficient financial means for the whole study stay. The German embassy in your home country will provide information about the type and amount that is required.

Further information for a visa application

No accommodation at the time of visa application

If you do not yet have an accommodation in Germany when you apply for visa, you can provide the THWS address. Students studying in Schweinfurt should provide the FHWS address in Schweinfurt. Students studying in Würzburg should provide the FHWS address in Würzburg.

Address Campus Schweinfurt

Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS)
Würzburg-Schweinfurt
Ignaz-Schön-Str. 11
97421 Schweinfurt

Address of the THWS site in Würzburg

Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS)
Würzburg-Schweinfurt
Münzstr. 12
97070 Würzburg

You can find more information, addresses of embassies and consulates, as well as visa requirements, on the homepage of the Federal Foreign Office.

Current account (Girokonto): As an international student at THWS you should open a bank account. You will need it to transfer the semester fee and for the SEPA Direct Debit Mandate of your student residence. Even if it is possible to transfer the semester fee from a foreign bank account (non-German bank) at the start of the study (please note the exact information on the request for payment in the application portal!), a German bank account is required at the latest for re-registration in the following semester in order to be able to participate in the SEPA direct debit procedure. Cash can be withdrawn free of charge from many ATMs. Please search the Internet about the possibilities to open a bank account in Germany. We will be happy to help you open a bank account after your arrival during the orientation programme at THWS.

Blocked account (Sperrkonto): If you applied for a visa for Germany, it may be that you have to open a blocked account. After your arrival in Germany, you then have to activate the blocked account. Blocked accounts are offered by Deutsche Bank, Expatrio or Fintiba. They often offer so-called value packages. Depending on the provider, these packages may include the opening of a blocked account, current accounts or health insurance.

For more information, please see the providers’ websites:
Expatrio
Fintiba
allyWays

Please be very careful when choosing a blocked account provider and double check the provider.

Please note that if you have presented a blocked account to obtain your student visa, you will still be asked to prove your financial status when you apply for a residence permit at the local Foreigners office after you have entered Germany. This means that you will have to have a valid blocked account during your whole study time.

Step 5) Acquiring a health insurance

All students studying in Germany need a valid health insurance which is recognized in Germany.

  • You cannot enrol at THWS without a health insurance.
  • You can apply online for a health insurance before coming to Germany and ask the health insurance provider to start paying the monthly contribution fee after arrival to Germany.
  • You can take out a German health insurance by contacting by email one of the public health insurance companies like TK, AOK, DAK or Barmer. Contact of these health insurance providers, you can find under step 5/Public health insurance in Germany.
  • Once you have made a online contract with a German health insurance provider, the provider will send a confirmation to the THWS directly. In case you need a confirmation for the residence permit or other purposes, you should contact your health insurance provider directly and request a confirmation paper.
  • In Germany, there are two different types of health insurance: public and private health insurance. Until the age of 30, or the 14th semester, you have to be insured with a public health insurance.
  • You can be insured with a private health insurance only in exceptional cases.
  • Please note: Once you are insured with a private insurance, you cannot switch to a public health insurance druing your whole study time (from Bachelor to PhD degree)!

We recommend that you take out health insurance from a German statutory health insurance company online before your arrival in Germany in order to be able to enrol successfully. The health insurance that you have when you apply for the visa for Germany is usually travel insurance that is not valid for the duration of your studies and is not accepted.

You can contact one of the statutory health insurance providers in Würzburg and Schweinfurt by email:

  • Monthly costs for students: approx. € 120. It covers the basic health services.
  • Some health insurance providers offer insurance for the period of time before the start of the study programme.

Please note:
Persons over 30 years of age cannot have the public health insurance system at a student tariff. Those persons have two other options:

  1. They can take out „voluntary insurance“ from a public health insurance provider. The monthly costs are twice as high as for students under 30 years of age.
  2. They can take out a private health insurance.

If you want to take out a private health insurance in Germany, you also need a confirmation about its validity from a public German health insurance provider like AOK, Barmer, DAK or TK. Please do not send the confirmation of private insurance to the THWS, but contact a public health insurance company that should check your private insurance. Once your insurance is valid for your study, the public health insurance provider will exempt you from the statutory German health insurance and will send this confirmation to the THWS directly.

Note: Once students start their study with a private health insurance, they cannot switch to a public health insurance provider for the whole duration of their study!

Citizens from the following countries can use a public health insurance from their home country:

  • European Union (EU): apply for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in your home country
  • Countries from the European Economic Area (EEA)
  • Countries that have a social agreement with Germany: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Tunesia

In this case, please contact the health insurance provider in your country and apply for the S1 form (or E-111, AT 11, ATN 11, BH6) in your home country. Please do not send the confirmation of your home country insurance to the THWS, but contact a public health insurance company (like AOK, Barmer, DAK or TK.) that should check the insurance from your home country. Email contacts of these providers are listed above under „Public health insurance in Germany“. Once your insurance is valid for your study, the German health insurance provider will exempt you from the statutory German health insurance and will send this confirmation to the THWS directly.

Note: Students, who have started their study with a health insurance from a country listed above, are allowed to change to a German statutory health insurance during their study.“

Step 6) Registration for the Orientation Programme

The participation at the Orientation programme is compulsory!

Important: If you want to participate in the orientation programme, please register via the Nuudel-survey.

Please choose Würzburg or Schweinfurt depending on the university site you will study. For a better planning, please register until 31. August 2024.

The Orientation Programme offers support with the following topics:

  • Information about THWS services
  • Academic course guidance
  • Support with administrative formalities (health insurance, enrolment, opening a bank account, registration at Registration Office)
  • Intercultural trainings
  • Free-time activities

Video tutorial about Orientation Programme at THWS

By selecting this action, you will start a video tutorial explaing the content and importance of the orientation programme

Orientation Programme for students in Englisch study programmes

Winter Semester:

Orientation Programme for students in German study programmes

Winter Semester:

Orientation Programme for exchange students

Winter Semester:

• Exchange students (students from our partner universities): September 2024

Orientation Programme for exchange students

Some faculties offer a Buddy programme for their international first-semester students.

Buddies are students who help international students:

  • They pick students up from the train station
  • They show them around town, at FHWS, faculties, study programmes, etc.
  • They plan free-time activities to help international students in getting to know the place and meeting new people

If you study International Management, you will be contacted by a buddy few weeks before the semester start. Please check your emails regularly.

The official Facebook page of the i-Campus is called "THWS i-Campus". You can gain an overview over upcoming events.

There is a Facebook group for each site of THWS. You can use it to ask questions, and students from higher semesters will be glad to help. Please make sure to join the group:

  1. Campus Würzburg: “FHWS – International Students Würzburg“
  2. Campus Schweinfurt: “FHWS - International Students Schweinfurt“

The nearest airports for travelling to Würzburg or Schweinfurt are:

  • Frankfurt International Airport
  • Nuremberg Airport
  • Stuttgart Airport
  • Munich Airport

1. By train

You can find the train schedule on the website of Deutsche Bahn: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

Deutsche Bahn provides train rides from Frankfurt Airport to Würzburg. If you want to get to Schweinfurt, you have to switch to a different train at Würzburg main train station.

2. By bus

You can reach Würzburg and Schweinfurt also by bus. Here are some long distance bus companies: http://www.european-traveler.com/germany/intercity-long-distance-bus-travel-in-germany/

Please note that the schedule is fixed, so you need to be punctual! You can find more information on the websites of the companies.

3. Transportation within the cities of Würzburg and Schweinfurt

Würzburg and Schweinfurt have well developed public transportation networks.

After you have enrolled at FHWS, you will receive your student ID card. It includes the semester ticket, which allows you to use buses and trains in the city of your stay for free. The bus lines bring you to the different FHWS campuses.

In preparation for your study stay in Germany, you can inform yourself about living costs in Würzburg or Schweinfurt on the website under the section Formalities and Finances.

In Germany, the majority of people pay cash, especially small amounts of money. Credit cards are rather popular, but usually not used for everyday purchases. However, lots of people pay via EC card.

Please find the information summarized in the checklist.