To the Overview of Fees and Charges per Semester

Students Exempt from the Obligation to Pay Tuition Fees

The following international students are exempt from the obligation to pay tuition fees for international students in the amount of EUR 1,500:
  • Students of EU/EEA citizenship
  • International students who have passed  the German “Abitur” in Germany or at a German school abroad
  • Students coming to KIT under cooperation programs with partner universities (Erasmus Mundus, ERASMUS+, double-degree students, EUCOR, direct exchange partnerships, state programs for students exchange)
  • Doctoral students
  • Students with a scholarship from Baden-Württemberg Stiftung
  • Students in the Master's program Regional Science at KIT are exempted from paying the tuition fees for international students in case they are DAAD scholarship holders or are citizens of one of the member states of AKP (Pdf) or are citizens of one of the least developed countries on the UN-list (Pdf).
  • Students who started their degree studies before the winter semester 2017/18 will be allowed to complete their current degree program at their university without the obligation to pay tuition fees. Please note: If students switch to a new study programme they generally have to pay tuition fees. This includes beginning a Master's programme after completing a Bachelor's programme at KIT or beginning a study programme after completing a German language course at KIT.)

The students listed above do not have to submit an application. 

Contact
Jochen Mohrhardt

Students with established living conditions in Germany (Article 5, LHGebG)

According to Article 5 LHGebG, international students who have come to Germany not because of their studies (stays with family/spouse, several years of professional activity in Germany, etc.) are exempt from the payment of tuition fees. To prove this status, however, these students are obliged to submit additional documents:

► International Students Information Request Form

Submission deadline: In case of admission, please download the form and send it, together with the necessary documents, to the International Students Office by September 15 / March 15 (please see the form for more details). 

 

Students who have completed one of the following degrees in Germany

The above-mentioned students of first-degree studies (first bachelor’s and first consecutive master’s / Diplom degree / Staatsexamen / Magister) are exempt from the obligation to pay tuition fees.

However, students are obliged to pay tuition fees for studies for a second degree!

► International Students Information Request Form

 

Refugees

Depending on their current residence status, refugee students can request exemption from the payment of tuition fees (1) or are exempt from the payment of tuition fees (2). In either case, you have to submit additional documents to the International Students Office in case of admission!

  1. Foreign refugees of Eritrean, Syrian, Somalian or Afghanistan citizenship who have a temporary residence permit with pending asylum procedure (“Aufenthaltsgestattung”) and have not yet been recognized as refugees may request exemption form the obligation to pay tuition fees. Upon your admission, please fill in the request for exemption from the obligation to pay tuition fees and send it, together with the listed documents, by regular mail to the International Students Office (address, see request). The request form has to be submitted at latest before enrollment resp. re-registration. 
  2. Under certain circumstances, foreign refugees (tolerated foreigners, foreigners recognized as refugees, etc.) are exempt from the obligation to pay tuition fees according to Article 5 LHGebG. The conditions are outlined in the form on exceptions according to Article 5 LHGebG. In case of your admission, please download the form and send it, together with the necessary documents, by regular mail to the International Students Office by September 15/March 15 (address, see form). ► International Students Information Request Form

 

Students with Disabilities

International students who have a disability that considerably aggravates studies as outlined in Article 2 of Volume 9 of the Social Insurance Code can request exemption from the obligation to pay tuition fees according to Article 3 LHGebG. Upon your admission, kindly send the completed request form, together a copy of your pass for the severely disabled (“Schwerbehindertenausweis”) or proof from the Representative for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Diseases, to the International Students Office (address, see form) by regular mail. The request form has to be submitted at latest before enrollment resp. re-registration. 

Applying for a Pass for the Severely Disabled:

The pass for the severely disabled ("Schwerbehindertenausweis") may be applied for with the responsible Versorgungsamt (maintenance office) in Germany. For persons living in the city or district of Karlsruhe, the responsible office is Landratsamt Karlsruhe – Amt für Versorgung und Rehabilitation, Wolfartsweierer Straße 5 (office hours Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 8 – 12 a.m., Thursday 2 – 5 p.m., closed on Tuesdays). At these offices as well as at social security offices (Sozialamt) and citizen offices (Bürgerbüros) of the city of Karlsruhe, you may obtain application forms for a pass for the severely disabled. This form can also be downloaded here (in German only).

For application for a pass for the severely disabled, please submit the following documents:

  • Application form
  • Medical evidence in German, English, French, or Spanish
  • Residence permit (please note that for application, you must be registered in Germany)

Application for a pass for the severely disabled is cost-free.

More information can be found here (in German only)

 

Other Possibilities of Exemption from the Obligation to Pay Tuition Fees

Leave of Absence according to § 61 LHG

Students who are on leave for one or two semesters may request exemption from the payment of tuition fees, provided that this request is submitted prior to the start of the lecturing period.
Reasons for leaves of absence can be found on the pages of the Students Service.

Exemption from the obligation to pay tuition fees due to a practical semester (Bachelor of Education/Master of Education)

Students who have to pass a practical semester in accordance with their studies and examination regulations (only applies to Bachelor of Education or Master of Education) may request exemption from the obligation to pay tuition fees. The request must be submitted prior to the start of the lecturing period.

Request form will be available soon.

 

 

Reimbursement

Tuition fees according to Article 3 LHGebG will be reimbursed entirely in the following cases:

  • De-registration within one month upon the start of the lecturing period

  • If the requirements outlined in Article 5 (international students with established living conditions in Germany) were met prior to the registration already and could not be proved until registration/re-registration without any fault on the part of the student

  • If the requirements for exception according to Article 5 LHGebG are met within one month upon the start of the lecturing period

If the requirements outlined in Article 5 LHGebG are fulfilled later than one month upon the start of the lecturing period, no tuition fees will be reimbursed for the current semester. In this case, kindly submit the form and documents for students with established living conditions in Germany (Article 5 LHGebG) (LINK) prior to re-registration for the next semester in order to request exemption from the obligation to pay tuition fees as from the following semester.

 

Remission of Tuition Fees According to Article 7 LHGebG or Article 22 LGebG 

Due to potential restrictions of studies (so-called undue hardship) as a result of the Corona pandemic, international students of KIT may apply for remission of tuition fees. Decisions on the applications received will be made once per month.

Current notice: Applications according to article 7 LHGebG (financial hardship) for the summer term 2025 can be submitted from December 01, 2024 onwards. Please note the deadline here is January 15, 2025. Please also note that during this time we will prioritize applications according to §7 LHGebG.

Remission of Tuition Fees According to Article 7 LHGebG (Act on Fees in Higher Education of the State of Baden-Württemberg)

After starting your studies, you are facing a financial hardship without your fault and unforeseeably (due to the Corona crisis) due to a loss of funds, because your student or side job can no longer be pursued or because your parents, who funded your studies, can no longer work due to the pandemic. 

Note: Applications according to Art. 7 LHGebG may only be approved, if tuition fees have not yet been paid. In case tuition fees are paid, financial hardship ceases to exist. Moreover, you are obliged to use other means of funding, such as the Überbrückungshilfe (interim financial aid). The deadline for applications according to Art. 7 LHGebG is January 15 for the summer semester and July 01 for the winter semester. Applications according to Art. 7 LHGebG cannot be approved for the first study semester, because the financial hardship occurred before taking up the studies. 

► Application (PDF)

 

Remission of Tuition Fees According to Art. 22 LGebG (Act on Fees of the State of Baden-Württemberg)

Your studies have been delayed, unpredictably and through no fault of your own, by one or more semesters. For example, for the following reasons:

a) You cannot enter Germany due to the Corona crisis and you cannot participate in the online courses of the university. 

b) You start your studies and cannot enter Germany due to the Corona crisis and, as a result, you cannot participate in examinations and on-campus courses (e.g. laboratory exercises). 

c) Contrary to your plans, you had to re-register again due to canceled examinations.  

d) You cannot pass the required courses or coursework due to closures of laboratories or closures of childcare facilities and schools and the resulting need for childcare etc. in the summer semester. 

The application deadline according to Art. 22 LHGebG is October 14th  for the summer semester and April 14th for the winter semester. Contrary to applications according to Art. 7 LHGebG, applications according to Article 22 LGebG may also be approved, if tuition fees have already been paid.  

► Application (PDF)

 
Contact
Jochen Mohrhardt
 

Please note: 

  • The mandatory semester fees (administrative charge, charge for Studierendenwerk, and charge for the General Students Committee) must be paid in any case in due time (at the time of the re-registration deadline) irrespective of your application and its approval or rejection. 
  • Students on leave are exempted from the obligation to pay tuition fees for the semester on leave according to Article 6, par. 2, No. 1, LHGebG. Applications for leaves have to be submitted to the Students Office of KIT. 

 

Tuition Fees for Studies for a Second Degree (Article 8 LHGebG)

Students who already have a German bachelor’s degree and register for a second (or another) bachelor’s program will have to pay second-degree tuition fees in the amount of EUR 650 per semester from winter semester 2017/18 on. International students who already pay tuition fees for international students will not be obliged to pay tuition fees for second-degree studies.

Students who already have a German master’s degree and register for a second (or another) consecutive master’s program will be obliged to pay second-degree tuition fees in the amount of EUR 650 per semester as from winter semester 2017/2018 on. International students who already pay tuition fees for international students will not be obliged to pay tuition fees for second-degree studies.

Transition regulations: Students who started their studies for a second degree before the winter semester 2017/18 will be allowed to complete their program without the obligation to pay tuition fees for the second degree.

The wording of the law can be found on the website of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts (in German only). 

Report on the use of tuition fee revenue

Only available in German on the German variant of this website.