🇩🇪 Germany — German Embassy Seoul / Ausländerbehörde

Germany Student Visa — Korean Documents Required

Korean documents for studying at a German university go to different bodies, and each asks for something different. Korean nationals can enter Germany without a visa and apply for a residence permit for study at the Ausländerbehörde of their place of residence, or apply for a German student visa (Studienvisum) at the German Embassy in Seoul before departure. For the university application, uni-assist asks for certificates in the original language with a certified translation into German or English. The embassy's study visa pages ask for all documents in the original. Neither mentions an apostille for school documents.

Required Korean Documents

Academic Transcript

성적증명서Required

uni-assist asks Korean applicants for the overview of subjects and grades together with the school and university certificates. Submit the Korean original with a certified translation into German or English; a translation issued by the school is accepted, and none is needed if the school issues the document in German or English. The embassy asks for proof of previous studies, if any, in the original. Neither mentions an apostille.

How to apostille this document

May Also Be Required

University Degree Certificate (if applicable)

학위증명서

Submitted to the university or uni-assist if you apply to a German master's or doctoral program based on a prior Korean degree. uni-assist asks for the original-language certificate with a certified translation into German or English, and needs no translation if the university issues the certificate in German or English. It does not mention an apostille, but each university sets its own admission requirements, so check your university's rules.

How to apostille this document

Basic Certificate (Birth Certificate)

기본증명서

Not on the embassy's study visa list, and no official source confirms it is needed for address registration (Anmeldung). It comes up later, at a German registry office (Standesamt) for a marriage or a birth registration, or for family reunification. The registry office decides whether a foreign document needs an apostille (Berlin's pages say it is required for some countries). For Korean public documents the method is the apostille, issued by the Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA).

How to apostille this document

Step-by-Step Process

1
Check whether your university uses uni-assist and what it requires — not every university does, and each university sets its own admission requirements
2
Apply with your Korean school and university certificates in the original language plus a certified German or English translation (no translation needed if the school issues them in English), and receive an admission letter (Zulassungsbescheid)
3
Prepare proof of financing — the embassy lists a blocked account (Sperrkonto), a scholarship award or a formal obligation letter (Verpflichtungserklärung) from Germany. Check the current required amount in the embassy's blocked account leaflet
4
Choose where to apply: for a student visa at the German Embassy in Seoul before departure, or enter Germany without a visa and apply for the residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde of your place of residence within the set period. The embassy recommends contacting that Ausländerbehörde before you travel
5
If you apply at the embassy, bring every document in the original: admission letter, proof of financing, proof of previous studies (if any), proof of the language of instruction, motivation letter and health insurance
6
After arrival in Germany, register your address (Anmeldung; check the deadline with the city where you will live) and apply for or extend your German residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) at the local Ausländerbehörde

Tips & Common Mistakes

If you apply at the embassy, book your visa appointment as early as possible — appointment availability in Seoul can be limited
The amount required as proof of financing changes — check the current figure in the embassy's blocked account (Sperrkonto) leaflet
Ask your school first whether it issues certificates in English — uni-assist accepts German or English, so submitting them together with the Korean originals usually settles the translation question. The embassy's study visa pages do not ask for German translations either; if a document exists only in Korean, ask before you apply
Get an apostille only if your university's admission rules name one. Later, a Standesamt (marriage or birth registration) or a family reunification application may ask for one on Korean family documents; it is then issued by the Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA)
If a university asks for proof that your Korean degree is comparable (an anabin lookup or a ZAB Statement of Comparability), for example for a doctoral program, start that before you apply

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Korean academic transcript need to be translated into German for a German university application?

A translation may be needed, but it does not have to be German. uni-assist asks for certificates in the original language with a certified translation into German or English, and says no translation is needed if your school also issues the certificate in German or English. It accepts translations by persons or institutions authorised to translate under oath (in Germany, a vereidigter Übersetzer) and translations issued by the school or university itself; it does not accept non-certified translations from standard translation agencies. Not every university uses uni-assist, so check your university's own requirements as well.

I am applying to a German university for an English-taught master's program. Do I still need German translations of my Korean documents?

The embassy's study visa pages do not say so. The German Embassy in Seoul asks you to bring all documents in the original — admission letter, proof of financing, proof of previous studies (if any), proof of the language of instruction and so on — and does not mention German translations. If a document exists only in Korean, ask the embassy before you apply. If you apply at the Ausländerbehörde after entry, that office decides the document list and format.

🇩🇪

EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU)

Germany

🇺🇸

F-1 Student Visa

United States

🇯🇵

Highly Skilled Professional Visa (高度専門職)

Japan

🇩🇪 All apostille services for Germany

Documents, services, and requirements for sending Korean documents to Germany

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