Study in Germany
from Turkey
You can study in Germany from Turkey with a Lise Diploması if you scored more than 180,000 points in the YKS and were placed in a university programme, and the German university decides how a Turkish bachelor’s degree counts towards a master’s. Most public universities charge no tuition, and for the visa you show €11,904 a year in a blocked account or a formal commitment from someone living in Germany.
Figures on this page come from the German Embassy in Ankara, uni-assist and DAAD. Links are at the bottom.
How Germany reads your Turkish diploma
A Lise Diploması alone does not open a German bachelor’s programme. What counts is the diploma plus what you did with it in Turkey. The German Embassy in Ankara sets out three routes to direct admission in its leaflet for Turkish applicants, last updated on 18 August 2025.
| What you have | What the embassy says you can do |
|---|---|
| Diploma from a 12-year general secondary school | Direct admission if you passed the Turkish university entrance exam with more than 180,000 points (the leaflet names the 2018 YKS-AYT) and were placed in a degree programme. Admission is for that subject or a related one. |
| Önlisans diploma | Direct admission to a subject-related degree, provided you completed the Önlisans programme successfully and can show the Önlisans Diploması. |
| General or vocational secondary school, then a place in distance education (Açıköğretim) | Direct admission to a subject-related degree once you can show two successful years of study. |
| Turkish bachelor’s degree (Lisans) | You apply for a master’s. The German university decides how your bachelor’s courses and grades are credited. |
If you do not fit any of these
Germany’s official study portal is blunt about it: if your certificate is not recognised as a university entrance qualification, you attend a foundation course (Studienkolleg) before you can enrol. Check your own case first in the DAAD admission database. It gives a non-binding result for bachelor’s programmes only, and the final decision always sits with the university you apply to.
What uni-assist asks Turkish applicants for
- · Your Lise Diploması.
- · The second part of your YKS placement result (Yerleştirme Sonuçları), which shows the university, faculty and point type.
- · A transcript if you are already enrolled at a university, preferably issued through e-Devlet.
- · If you entered a Turkish university through YÖS: the YÖS results and a letter from the university confirming which certificate your admission was based on.
- · Translations by a sworn translator. The stamp has to carry the Turkish words yeminli tercüman. A stamp in English or German alone is not accepted.
Want to see where your Turkish grades land on the German 1.0 to 4.0 scale? Try our German grade converter. If you apply through uni-assist, the handling fee is €75 for the first course you choose and €30 for each further one in the same semester.
Programmes you can search below
A month to show for the visa
Full working days a year on a study permit
Maximum job-search permit after graduating
Applying for the national visa from Turkey
You plan to stay longer than three months, so you need a national visa before you travel. One warning from the embassy first: a visitor visa issued in Turkey is not extended for study once you are in Germany. Do not enter on one and hope to switch.
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1
Pick the right visa type
The procedure separates two groups. A student applicant visa lets you enter without an admission letter to sort out what is still missing, for a stay of up to nine months. A student visa is for people who already hold an admission letter from a university or Studienkolleg, or a confirmation that a complete application has been received. The embassy notes that having this paper makes the check by the German immigration office easier.
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2
Register in the Auslandsportal
The German missions in Turkey handle visas for study and for finding a study place exclusively through the Federal Foreign Office’s online portal at digital.diplo.de/studium. Registering is not yet a legally effective visa application, so do not treat the registration date as your filing date.
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3
Plan for the wait
The missions currently state waiting times for study of between one and four months, depending on whether Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir handles you, and they say this can change at short notice. The visa section of the mission responsible for you examines and decides the application.
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4
Bring the documents the embassy lists
Proof of your Turkish university entrance qualification (certified copy and translation of the Lise Diploması and the ÖSYM result card), proof of funding, a passport valid for at least one year, and your registration for a language course if you are taking one. The leaflet also lists a residence certificate for your parents. The portal shows the current checklist for your case.
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5
Wait for the immigration office in Germany
The mission forwards your complete application to the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) in the city where you will study. According to the embassy leaflet the visa can usually be issued about four to six weeks after that, and it is generally valid for six months. You convert it into a residence permit for study at the same immigration office after you arrive.
iDATA is the only external service provider the German visa sections in Turkey work with. The missions’ national visa page lists an iDATA service fee of €39.92 and an appointment booking fee of €12, payable in Turkish lira, and which of them applies depends on your case.
Proof of funds and language tests
Two ways to prove €992 a month
The embassy names two. The first is a blocked account in Germany: you pay in €11,904 and one twelfth is paid out to you each month. You are free to choose the provider.
The second matters for many Turkish families. Someone living in Germany, a relative for example, can sign a declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) under sections 66 to 68 of the Residence Act and guarantee at least €992 a month for the length of your studies. It is signed at the immigration office where that person lives, and it has to say it is for a language course or studies.
You can earn on the side, but do not build your budget on it. A residence permit for study allows 140 full working days in a calendar year, plus student jobs.
German or English
For German-taught programmes the embassy names two exams: the DSH and TestDaF. Its leaflet says you can repeat the exam only once, and that a provisional admission lapses if you fail.
Here is the catch. Some universities do not accept applicants who cannot show German at the time they apply, and not every university runs German courses. The embassy’s advice is to learn German and take the exam while you are still in Turkey, which you can do at the Goethe-Institut in Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir.
English-taught programmes set their own English requirements, and they differ. Check the programme’s own page before you book a test.
What it costs, in euro
We have left lira out on purpose. The exchange rate moves too fast for a converted figure to stay true, so budget in euro and convert on the day.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition at public universities | None in most states. Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students €1,500 per semester, and TUM has its own fees for non-EU students. |
| Semester contribution | €70 to €430 per semester, depending on the university (DAAD) |
| Living costs | €900 to €1,200 a month, depending on the city (DAAD) |
| What students actually spend | €876 a month on average in the 2023 social survey, of which €410 is rent including utilities and €100 is health insurance, doctor’s fees and medication |
| Proof of funds for the visa | €992 a month, €11,904 for the year |
| uni-assist handling fee | €75 for the first course, €30 for each further course in the same semester |
The blocked account is not a fee. It is your own money, released to you month by month to live on. The embassy leaflet also reminds applicants that social and health insurance contributions are due every semester.
Two dates to plan around
Winter semester
For a start in October. Some programmes only begin in winter, so for those you get one chance a year.
Summer semester
For a start in April. Your application and every requested document have to be at the university’s international office by the deadline, or it is not processed.
These are the two dates in the embassy’s leaflet. Programmes can set their own, so look up each one in the programme finder and confirm the date on the university’s page. Given the one to four month visa wait, send your application early and start the visa as soon as you have your admission letter.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Turkish Students Studying in Germany
Not on its own. According to the German Embassy in Ankara, graduates of a 12-year general secondary school can be admitted directly if they passed the Turkish university entrance exam with more than 180,000 points and were placed in a degree programme, and then only for that subject or a related one. uni-assist asks for your Lise Diploması together with the second part of your YKS placement result.
Online first. The German missions in Turkey handle visas for study and for finding a study place exclusively through the Federal Foreign Office's Auslandsportal. Registering there is not yet a legal visa application. The visa section of the mission responsible for you examines and decides the application, and the missions currently give waiting times for study of one to four months, depending on the mission.
992 euro a month. Most applicants prove it with a blocked account in Germany holding 11,904 euro, from which one twelfth is paid out each month. The alternative the embassy names is a formal declaration of commitment from someone living in Germany, such as a relative, who guarantees at least 992 euro a month for the length of your studies.
At most public universities, no. The exceptions are Baden-Württemberg, which charges non-EU students 1,500 euro per semester, and the Technical University of Munich, which has its own fees for non-EU students. Everywhere you pay a semester contribution, which DAAD puts at between 70 and 430 euro depending on the university.
For German-taught programmes the embassy names the DSH and TestDaF, and warns that some universities will not accept you unless you can already show German when you apply. Its advice is to learn German and sit the exam in Turkey first, which you can do at the Goethe-Institut in Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir. English-taught programmes set their own English requirements, so check each programme page.
Use a sworn translator. uni-assist only accepts translations whose stamp carries the Turkish words yeminli tercüman, and a stamp in English or German alone is rejected. If you are already enrolled at a Turkish university, add a transcript, preferably one issued through e-Devlet. The handling fee is 75 euro for the first course you choose and 30 euro for each further one in the same semester.
Yes to both, within limits. A residence permit for study allows 140 full working days in a calendar year, plus student jobs. After you graduate you can apply for a residence permit to look for work, which DAAD says is issued for up to 18 months, and you may take any job during that time to cover your living costs.
The embassy's leaflet gives two dates: 15 January for a start in the summer semester (April) and 15 July for the winter semester (October). Your complete application has to be at the university's international office by then. Some programmes only start in winter, so you can apply for those once a year. Programmes can set their own dates, so confirm on the university's page.
Sources and official references
- · German Embassy Ankara, leaflet for Turkish applicants (PDF, in German, updated 18 August 2025): admission routes, funding, language, deadlines and visa types. A Turkish version is also available.
- · German missions in Turkey, study and study-place search: the visa procedure runs through the Auslandsportal.
- · German missions in Turkey, current notes on applying: waiting times and iDATA.
- · uni-assist, country information for Turkey: the documents and translations it accepts.
- · DAAD, costs of education and living: semester contribution, living costs and tuition fees.
- · DAAD Information Centre Istanbul: advice on studying in Germany, in Turkey.
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Not sure which route your diploma gives you?
Send us your Lise Diploması, your YKS placement result and any university transcript. We tell you whether you can apply directly or need a Studienkolleg first, and which programmes match your subject. The university makes the final decision, so we cannot promise an admission.
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