Before traveling to Germany, have you known the most necessary things that you need to bring as well as what are the first important things to do when you arrive in this country?

Being prepared for the information as well as things to do when you arrive in Germany will be highly recommended because you can take the initiative and avoid some complicated problems. So let Phuong Nam Education show you what you need to have and to do when coming to Germany.

Look for information about places to study and to live

You have took for information about the place where you want to live

• After you apply for a visa, you already know what is the city, state or region of Germany in which you live and study. You need to search information via media, platforms or consulting centers about that place including which city you will live, how to travel in the city, how much it costs and how to shop. This is the first important thing that needs to be done when you study in Germany.
• Look for the way to get home from the airport.
• Contact the international student association in Germany, get to know them and maybe ask for help with some urgent matters when you first arrive in Germany.
• Look for things to be done when you arrive in Germany.
• Get to know the weather in Germany and prepare suitable kinds of clothes.
• The amount of cash needed when you first arrive in the city.

Bring important certificates

You should take as many certificates as you can because it will be hard for you 

to come back once departing

Make sure that you bring important certificates related to self-identification such as Visa, Passport, identity card, birth certificate, etc.

In addition, you have to bring all academic certificates such as original diplomas, translated copies and school documents. Especially remember that these documents should be translated into as many copies as possible because it is very expensive to work on these documents in Germany.

So please work on the documents from your country as much as possible. Because you will probably need these certificates a lot later. Especially for those who prepare for the first pre-university exam since you may need them for the next time.

Books and documents are supposed to be compressed into files and uploaded to the mail. You should bring only necessary books because the weight of luggage is limited.

All other certificates must also be compressed to a file and uploaded to the mail in case you lose them.

Get German mobile phone SIM card and activate 4G internet SIM

Just like in Vietnam, when you come to another country to live, work and study, it is necessary to use a phone. Therefore, you need to have a phone number in that country so as to register documents or notify related issues, then a phone number is a must-have item for you.

Communicating via phone is not popular here, people will communicate via social networks such as facebook, skype and whatsapp instead.

In Germany, when purchasing a SIM card, customers must register with an ID and provide proof of a German residential address. SIM cards can be found in most supermarkets, electronics stores and in many small mobile phone stores with different packages. There are a large number of providers in different networks such as:

• VODAFONE

• TELEKOM

• ALDI TALK

• LIDL CONNECT

You can buy a SIM card in many places such as kiosks, supermarkets and electronics stores 

Because you are a newcomer in Germany, you may not have enough documents to get a SIM card to access the internet. Then you can go to a Turkish store to buy the card and ask your Turkish friends to activate the mobile phone SIM. Prices range from 15-20 euros for 16GB of Internet and calls for 1 month.

Contact relatives and the Vietnamese student union in Germany

It will be easier and less confusing for newcomers who have relatives in Germany. They will help you settle down and guide you in your first days in Germany so that you can quickly adapt into life in Germany.

For those studying abroad without relatives, please contact the international student association as soon as you arrive in Germany. In Germany, the international student association will support you hard. For example, the Vietnamese student union can pick you up at the airport as well as guide you to take the train to your city. And the international student union will become a safe place to support you with any difficulties you face in Germany.

In addition, each city you live in has a Vietnamese student association. So please contact and get to know each other. By doing that, you feel less lonely and easily integrate at first.

Look for a house and sign a house contract

It’s more convenient for international students who are admitted into a specific school to get a place to live before you come to Germany. So after you arrive in Germany, you just need to move to the address you rented, contact the landlord, inspect the house and finally sign the contract regarding your tenancy.

However, for international students of university or pre-university, it may be more challenging. If you have relatives, you should live at their houses for the first time about 1 month after you have completed the exams at school.

After 5 to 10 days, you will get the results. Then you know where you will live and start looking for accomodations. Once you can find a house, you quickly go through the procedures to register the contract to receive verification from the landlord and then continue to register for temporary residence in the place where you live.

Finding a house will be more difficult for those studying in the big cities in western Germany, so you need a lot of renting information in the cities, as well as the support of the student union in the city. That will help you a lot.

Types of accommodations such as:

Dormitory: You must apply as soon as possible, especially for those who have just passed the test.

Shared apartment (Wohngemeinschaft): Each apartment has about 3 bedrooms, you can rent the whole apartment. So one bedroom is occupied with one person, kitchen, living room and bathroom are shared.

Tags: study abroad in Germany, procedures to Germany, German university, housing in Germany, German SIM, German SIM card, certificates for study abroad, German accommodation