Social Counselling for International Students at the HGB

E-mail Distribution List for International Students

You don’t want to miss any news and events of the Studentenwerk Leipzig for international students? Then you can subscribe to our e-mail distribution list. To do so, please send an e-mail to sozialberatung@studentenwerk-leipzig.de. You can unsubscribe at any time by sending a short e-mail to the same address.

Question and Answers

• I received a letter from the fee collection service ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. What do I have to do?

  In Germany, every apartment has to pay the broadcast license fee (Rundfunkbeitrag). This will finance the public broadcasting institutions.

  • The license fee is currently at 17.50€/month.
  • The fee must be paid from the 1st month from which you are registered in Germany.
  • You must register yourself with the fee collection service. If you do not do this, the service will write  to you by post after a few months and demand the unpaid contributions.
  • Only students who receive BAföG can be exempted from paying contributions. International students have to pay the fee, regardless of how long they will stay in Germany and how they finance themselves.
  • Whether your room in the dormitory counts as an individual apartment or whether you can register a shared apartment with your roommates differs from dormitory to dormitory.

  A lot of information about the broadcast license fee (explanatory videos,  information for students,…) and registration can be found on the website of the service.

• How many hours am I allowed to work with my residence permit while I am studying?

  NON EU/EEA

  • International students who do not come from the EU or the EEA are allowed to work 120 full days or 240 half days per year. In this case you do not need the separate consent of the employment agency (Agentur für Arbeit). A half day is considered up to 4 hours working time and everything that goes beyond 4 hours is considered a full day. Half and full days can be combined and days off or sick days are not considered working days.
  • However, international students who do not come from the EU cannot simply work on their own or on a freelance basis. This must be discussed in advance with the Foreigners’ Authority.
  • Students with a part-time job must have proof of how many days a year they work
  • If you want to work more than 120 full days or 240 half days, you need the consent of the Foreigners’ Authority.
  • An exception is the work as a research assistant or student assistant: As long as the studies are not endangered, they can be carried out indefinitely. However, the Aliens Department must still be informed if you want to work as a research assistant or student assistant.

  EU/EEA

  • In principle, students from the European Union and the European Economic Area are practically equal to German students and have free access to the German labour market. You are to be considered a regular student and not an employee if your job does not exceed 20 hours per week during the lecture period.
  • Since May 2011, students from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary can also work on the same conditions as German students.

  STUDY PREPARATION

  • During your preparation for university (language course, preparatory course), employment is only permitted during the semester break and the approval of the Foreigners’ Authority and the employment agency is required.

  If you are looking for a job, we recommend Studentenwerk Leipzig’s Student Job Office.

• Do I have to register with the City of Leipzig at the beginning of my studies?

  All important information can be found on the website of the City of Leipzig.

• Do I need health insurance?

  According to German law, all students, including international students, studying at a university or academy in Germany, need a statutory or private health insurance. To register at a university in Leipzig, you need your health insurance certificate and must present it for enrolment. Sufficient insurance cover is very important so that you do not have to bear the costs yourself in case of e.g. necessary surgery, required psychotherapy or the birth of a baby in the hospital. This can be very expensive. Therefore, you should inform yourself very well regarding what cost your health insurance company covers and do not enter into the cheapest contract right away.

• Where can I find support for study difficulties, personal conflict situations or psychological strains?

  Studentenwerk Leipzig’s Psychosocial Counselling provides support with study difficulties, personal conflict situations or psychological strains. The offer is confidential, free and tailored to your personal needs.

• Do I have to go to the Foreigners’ Authority?

  People coming from an EU member state or Iceland, Lichtenstein or Norway do not need a residence permit as long as the right to freedom of movement under the Freedom of Movement Act/EU exists.

  Everyone else has to make an appointment with the Foreigners’ Authority. However, the first step is to register your residence/new address with the City of Leipzig. You will be handed a registration letter. More information here on the City’s website. 

  After receiving your registration letter, go to the Foreigners’ Authority to register your stay for study purposes in Leipzig.

• What is the difference between Social and Psychosocial Counselling?

  In general, Psychosocial Counselling deals with questions concerning the handling of stress and difficult situations in study related and everyday life. Social Counselling  deals with financing options, studying with residence permits, studying with children, studying with chronic disease, etc.

  Generally speaking, there are many concerns that are relevant for both Social Counselling and Psychosocial Counselling. For example, the question as to whether a semester off due to illness or heavy workload makes sense includes not only the aspect of how one can use the time to feel better and be able to study again (Psychosocial Counselling), but often also the question of financing during this time (Social Counselling). For this reason, Psychosocial Counselling and Social Counselling work closely together on many issues – given the students consent.

  If you are unsure to which of the two counselling services you should go to (first), you are welcome to write an e-mail with your concern to sozialberatung@studentenwerk-leipzig.de in order to receive feedback of our counsellors.