How Does the Section 17 Study-Place-Search Visa Work? (2026)
The verdict
Nine months in Germany to find a study place, or a training place under the parallel training-search route. You must prove EUR 1,091 a month. You may work 20 hours a week plus up to two weeks of trial employment, and the permits it converts into are named exhaustively in the Act.
Legal basis: AufenthG section 17 · Visum zur Studienbewerbung
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Do You Qualify?
- Study-place search, subsection (2): you already hold, or will acquire within the permit, the academic and language prerequisites for admission to a German university, and your living costs are secured.
- Training-place search, subsection (1): you are under 35, hold a German school-leaving certificate from a school abroad or an equivalent qualification, have adequate German, and your living costs are secured.
The Steps, in Order
- 1
Establish that you meet the admission prerequisites, or exactly which of them you still need.
- With
- The universities you are targeting, and the assessment service that evaluates foreign school certificates
- Bring
- School-leaving certificate, transcripts, language certificates, translations
- Fee
- None at this step
- Takes
- Varies by institution
- 2
Prove your living costs for the search period, normally through a blocked account.
- With
- A blocked-account provider, or your sponsor
- Bring
- Blocked-account confirmation, or a Verpflichtungserklärung
- Fee
- None at this step
- Takes
- Days, depending on the provider
- 3
Apply for the national visa under section 17 at the German mission in your country of residence.
- With
- The German embassy or consulate responsible for where you live
- Bring
- Passport, the application form, biometric photos, and the proof of funds for this route; Your own mission's checklist: there is no national document list, each mission publishes its own
- Fee
- EUR 75
- Takes
- Not centrally published. Appointment and decision times are set per mission and vary from weeks to months, so book the appointment before anything else.
- 4
Convert the visa into a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) after you arrive and register.
- With
- The Ausländerbehörde of the city you registered in
- Bring
- Meldebescheinigung from the Anmeldung, passport with the visa, biometric photo, proof of health insurance
- Fee
- EUR 100
- Takes
- Set by each city, not nationally. Apply before the visa expires: a booked appointment is what protects your status if the date falls later.
After you arrive: The Anmeldung within two weeks, the Steuer-ID by post after it, and the residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde before the visa expires. Every deadline of the first 3 months.
What You Must Prove
EUR 1,091 a month (2026)
A blocked account (Sperrkonto)
Also accepted
- A declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung)
Work and Duration
Working
Up to 20 hours a week, plus trial employment totalling at most two weeks. Both search routes carry the same allowance under subsection (3).
Duration
Up to nine months, for both the study-place and the training-place search. A renewal of the training-place search requires a stay abroad of at least the same length first.
What It Turns Into
The Act names the targets exhaustively: sections 16a (vocational training), 16b (studies) and 19c(2), or a case of statutory entitlement. Anything outside that list is not available during the permit. Procedurally you may apply from inside Germany under AufenthV section 39 no. 1.
What This Route Does Not Allow
- It is not a study permit. You may look for a place, not enrol and study on it.
- It does not convert into a general work permit. The target list in the Act does not include ordinary employment.
- The training-place search has a hard age limit: the Act requires that you have not yet turned 35.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the German study-place-search visa valid?
Up to nine months. The same maximum applies to the parallel training-place search under subsection (1), which additionally requires that you have not yet turned 35.
What can a section 17 visa be converted into?
The Act lists sections 16a, 16b and 19c(2), or a case of statutory entitlement. In practice that means a training permit, a study permit, or the narrow 19c(2) case, and nothing else during the permit.
The Other Routes
Not the right one? Compare every route.