I have compiled a checklist for new comers to Berlin:
Stay connected...
- Cell phone, internet surfing card, phone/online service contracts: In Germany, period-based contracts have to be cancelled more than 6 months before the agreed extermination date, or else the contract would be automatically extended. In very rare cases is 3 months before. Please pay very close attention to timing.
(i.e. cell phone contracts are usually for 24 months, you have to notify to the service provider that you want to cancel the contract when you are 18 months into the service payment period, or else your contract would be extended for another 24 months and money would be automatically withdrawn from your account.)
Looking for housing...
- On newspaper ads
- On http://www.wg-gesucht.de/ website
- Asking around, asking friends or people who would know...
- School has an association that would help student applying for student dormitories (usually much cheaper than apartments).
Once you've found a place to stay...
| Student's health insurance (by law every student has to have health insurance in Germany) (Popular health insurance companies such as TK, AOK and etc.) | Before your first registration at TU Berlin | |
| Resident's registration in Berlin at a Bürgeramt (Wohnsitz anmelden) (When you move to a new place in Germany, you also have to unsubscribe or "abmelden" from the old location to the new one: abmelden info, fill in the form "Abmeldung bei der Meldebehörde") | within 1 month of moving-in | |
| more info Bring: - the housing lease paper - your proper identification (passport) - fill out the form for the registration application ("Formular zur Anmeldung bei der Meldebehörde") - money (first-timers have to pay a small amount, I forgot how much) Bürgeramt locations in Berlin | ||
| German visa application or extension not appliable if you are from Switzerland, countries in EU and EEA | 3 months (for Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and the U.S.A.) other countries might need the student visa prior to arrival to Germany | |
| more info Bring (requirements on the website): - the passport - the original student certification (AND it would be ideal to have a proof that PEESE requires you to do an internship and a thesis, you have to ask Professor Wozny's secretary for this proof "Bescheinigung zum Pflichtpraktikum und zur Masterarbeit". Then you can ask the visa processing person in the office to put these requirement statements onto your student visa, it'll safe you a lot of trouble when you apply for internships and theses.) - the original residence registration (just in case) - a proof of your health insurance - a bank account statement OR a certificate of your scholarship (that provides at least €600/month) - 2 passport photos (just 1 for visa extension)  - €60 (first time visa application) (and €30 for visa extension) - fill out the form ("Aufenthaltstitel-Erteilung") Ausländerbehörde Berlin (Foreigner Affairs Office) Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24 13353 Berlin (map) Opening Times: Monday, Tuesday 7:00 - 14:00 Thursday 10:00 - 18:00 Closed on Wednesday and Friday Telefoniche Sprechzeiten: Wednesday and Friday 9:00 - 12:00 Tel: 030-90269-4000 FAX: 030-90269-4099 | ||
| You are invited to collect Berlin new comer "welcome money" ("Begrüßungsgeld") applicable to anyone who moved to Berlin for higher education, German or foreigner. In the case of a German, the original main residence has to be outside of Berlin. | submit after getting all above paper work done... | |
| more info - fill out the form ("Antrag auf Gewährung von Begrüßungsgeld") - turn in the form to TU Berlin's "Campus Center" | ||
Registering for the new semester at TU Berlin:
- Pay (transferring the fund) the stated registration fee (usually around €250 - 280) to TU Berlin. Remember to state who is paying for the fee.
- After registration, a newly registered students would have a package sent to them. This package has a paper with a bar code telling them to take a picture. The picture taking place is on the ground floor of the main building, in the main front hall, near the elevators behind the staircase (if you are facing the elevators, it is to your right). You have to scan the bar code on the paper and you would have 3 chances to take the student ID picture. After that, you would have to continue going "right" if you are facing the elevators (go towards the direction of Prüfungsamt) to the ID card office.
- Once you received the package for new students, you could already register online to get an e-mail account and VPN access (see School Online Resources for more info!!!) to school resources. (Your e-mail account will be @campus.tu-berlin.de and also @mailbox.tu-berlin.de) You have to choose your log-in name and password (needs to contain at least 8 digits, at least one capitalized letter and at least 4 alphabets, if I didn't remember it wrong)
- Please sign on to the digital lecturer-student environment on ISIS: https://www.isis.tu-berlin.de/ and find "PEESE - Process - Energy - Environmental Systems Engineering" (on the top left, there's a "Kurse suchen" function to search for classes, enter "PEESE" and you'd find it). IT IS IMPORTANT for you to click into PEESE on ISIS and click into "PEESE - News" and "PEESE - Questions and Answers" and SUBSCRIBE TO THE FORUMS (on the very very top right hand corner), this give you updates in your e-mail when someone posts important informations online.
Once you are done with all these things, or perhaps you'd like to think about it even before or while doing all these things...
- Plan out what classes to take in during what semesters, and for some of the classes, you could already add it on your ISIS profile! You can find a class reference in Current Student Resources here! AND you can find a Course Planner here!
- Plan out how to finish and when to finish the program by planning out what semester you'd like to start your thesis and internship. For more information about thesis and internships, look for Internship and Thesis blog post here!
- Ask previous students about how the classes are and if the planned study load is reasonable.
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