Menu
Search
Immigration by international students to Germany ,
Source: BAMF
The study offers an overview of the legal framework and practical measures to attract students from third countries. It also analyses statistical data on residence permits that have been issued for study purposes, as well as on persons taking up their studies, students and graduates.
The legal framework for international students has been continually liberalised in recent years in order to make Germany more internationally attractive as a place to study. The legal provisions for immigration by students from third countries are supplemented by practical measures from the Länder, higher education institutions and intermediary organisations.
The number of third-country nationals with a residence permit for study purposes was at a constant level of roughly 120,000 between 2007 and 2010, falling to about 112,000 in 2011. The most common countries of origin are China (with a considerable lead), Russia, South Korea and Turkey.
The political efforts to counter the shortage of specialists and to attract international students as specialists for the German labour market are proving successful, i.e. international students are taking up the appropriate legal possibilities to immigrate: In 2011 roughly 4,000 individuals received a residence title for employment purposes following on from a residence permit for study purposes, and roughly received 3,500 a residence permit for job-seeking after graduation.
Since the winter semester 2010/2011, persons from third countries who have acquired their entitlement to study outside Germany have also been permitted to participate in EU mobility programmes such as the Erasmus programmes. However, only a small number of third-country nationals take up these possibilities.
Working Paper 47 was drawn up by the German EMN Contact Point at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees as a sub-report to a comparative European study, and was co-funded from funds from the EU.
The study was drawn up by: Matthias M. Mayer, Sakura Yamamura, Jan Schneider and Dr. Andreas Müller