Getting Started at TU Darmstadt

Documents to bring to Darmstadt

  • Copy of birth certificate
  • Copy of degrees
  • Transcripts of grades (University and High School)
  • Passport photograph for university employee card
  • Possibly a statement of having no criminal record from your home country (needs to be checked!)
  • Marriage certificate (if you're married)

Bureaucratic things to take care of

When you come to TU Darmstadt, especially from another country, there are a few things you have to take care of. For international researchers especially, the TU Darmstadt Welcome Center is the first place you should register. They will support you with any required preparation of documents, applications for permits, finding accommodation etc.

The following presents a (probably non-exhaustive list) of organizations and authorities you should visit before or quickly after moving to Darmstadt. The list attempts to present the tasks in chronological order and to identify possible preconditions for every task, but check this in any case!

Once you move to Darmstadt or when you know the date you're moving

  • Register with the civic authority at the Einwohnermeldeamt. For this, an appointment needs to be made online up to 10 days in advance. Appointments fill up quickly so you might need to check online early morning to find any free slots. Check with TU Darmstadt Welcome Center if they have any walk-in appointments for university students/employees. Bring your passport and rental agreement for the registration appointment. Make sure you don't go there before you actually move in. If you're married, take your original marriage certificate, and preferably a certified German translation.
  • You also need a "Führungszeugnis" (statement of having no criminal record in Germany) which you need to request for at the Einwohnermeldeamt. It's best to do this during your city registration appointment. If asked, you may also need such a statement from your home country in some specific cases. The "Führungszeugnis" is directly sent to the university by the Einwohnermeldeamt. You need to know the postal address of TU Darmstadt which is: Karolinenplatz 5, 64289 Darmstadt. Also tell them the name of your contact person, which is at the moment Ulla Slawik, Dezernat VII B. (The contact person will be the same HR person as in your TU Darmstadt contract)
  • Non-EU researchers will need to apply for a German researcher visa (18d) before arriving in Darmstadt. Once here, you need to apply for a residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde. Appointments for this are difficult to get so it is best to go through the Welcome Center.
  • If your initial German visa is going to expire before the residence permit gets done you need to apply for a Fiktionsbescheinigung:
    https://www.intern.tu-darmstadt.de/verwaltung/dez_viii/referate_internationales/artikel_details_de_en_referate_viii_267840.de.jsp

After you've registered at the civic authorities / Einwohnermeldeamt

  • Get a tax number at the Finanzamt. They normally automatically send you the tax number by post after registration at the Einwohnermeldeamt. Report this tax number to HR soon to start getting your salary.
  • Opening a bank account. Different banks need different documents/ID proofs for opening an account.

When you know your contract starting date

  • Registering for insurance at a Krankenkasse (public insurance, as opposed to private insurance for incomes above 49.950). As far as I know, you could apply to any Krankenkasse but TU Darmstadt co-operates the Techniker Krankenkasse. For some reason, they'll only insure you from the date your contract starts.

Finding accommodation

Get the following:

  1. username: <YOUR-TU-ID>@tu-darmstadt.de
  2. password: password of YOUR-TU-ID
  • A key by asking our secretaries about sending a mail to transponder@informatik.tu-darmstadt.de with the numbers of rooms to which you want to have access.
  • An 'Athena Card' (this serves as your ID card, used for buying food at the canteen (mensa), library card etc.)
  • If you're an employee of TU Darmstadt, you get the LandesTicket Hessen

Insurance

In Germany, apart from compulsory health insurance, there are several other optional and different insurances. The question is, should you join them and which type of insurance to join? This is a kind of grey zone but you should be aware of the "Private Haftpflichtversicherung" and the "Hausratsversicherung" to start with. You can read more here:
https://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/topic/97713-haftpflichtversicherung-liability-insurance/

You can check and compare insurances (or anything else really) at check24: https://www.check24.de/privathaftpflicht/

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