Please contact the Welcome Centre of TU Darmstadt first. Our employees will assist international researchers at TU Darmstadt and will offer competent consultation and practical assistance regarding non-research-related questions about life as an international researcher in Darmstadt. With your help, they will complete the required data for the Aufnahmevereinbarung / hosting agreement.

Two copies of the hosting agreement will be issued and must be signed centrally. This is done at the Unit VII E. The employees at the Welcome Centre will forward the hosting agreement to the Unit VII E.

The Welcome Centre receives the signed hosting agreement from the Unit VII E, as a scan copy first and as the original in two copies ready for signing by the researcher.

The hosting agreement must be signed by the researcher and must be presented to the embassy or consulate in the respective country of residence. When applying for a visa, proof of travel healthcare insurance must usually be presented. Issuing the subsequent residence title is the responsibility of the local Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ registration office), which is located in the town where the researcher lives in Germany. Proof of health insurance is required.

The hosting agreement is a contract under private law that speeds up the process of obtaining a visa and subsequent residence title as a researcher (Section 18d AufenthG [Aufenthaltsgesetz – Residence Act]). The issuing of the visa and the residence title requires in particular that the livelihood of the researcher is secured (a fixed minimum income is not required for this).

For more information, please refer to the Webpages of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) (mostly in German only).

For assistance and more information, particularly regarding alternative residence titles, please refer to the Welcome Centre of TU Darmstadt.