Since 01.11.2025, CERes does no longer provide advice on visa and residence permit issues for doctoral researchers. The responsibility for these matters is in the International Office. Please contact Ms Eva Woltering (eva.woltering@uni-muenster.de) if you need advice on visa or residence permit issues.
International doctoral researchers and postdocs are an enrichment not only for the academic environment at the University, but also for life in the city of Münster. At the same time, a research stay abroad – whether for the entire doctoral degree, or just as a visiting researcher – also represents a special challenge. One key factor, particularly at the beginning, can be that of having a contact person. Münster’s Centre for Emerging Researchers (CERes) is there to provide personal advice and support for you. In addition to numerous English-language workshops and networking opportunities open to all doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, CERes also offers tailored services to international doctoral researchers, as well as information for orientation in the doctorate, the university and the German research landscape.
If you would like individual advice or support in getting acclimatised at the University or the doctoral research phase, do please make an appointment to talk to us. All discussions take place in strict confidence.
Contact: Sabine Schneider, Room 109, ceres.international@uni-muenster.de.
Are you doing your doctoral research at a university abroad and are interested in a research stay at Münster University? A research stay as part of your doctoral degree is possible – however, in most cases you will have to organise this yourself.
In order to be admitted for doctoral research, it is important not only to have a recognised university degree with good grades, but also to provide an outline of your dissertation topic and to find suitable academic supervision.
Specific admission requirements are defined in the doctoral regulations.
An initial assessment for evaluating a degree gained at a foreign university can be found in the anabin database maintained by the Kultusministerkonferenz (Regional State Education Ministers’ Conference).
If you have a written supervision agreement and have been accepted by the faculty to do your doctoral research, you should then get yourself enrolled at the University. The following deadlines apply for enrolment:
February - 15 May (enrolment for the summer semester)
August - 15 November (enrolment for the winter semester)
You can find more information on enrolment – in particular, a list of the documents to be submitted and the form to be completed for online enrolment – on the website of the Student Admissions Office (Studierendensekretariat).
Whether you need a visa – and, if so, which one – depends on your nationality, the purpose of your stay and its duration. Nationals from EU or Eurozone countries, from Switzerland and from countries with which there is a corresponding agreement, do not need any visa in advance.
As a rule, doctoral researchers who do need a visa should apply for one for the purposes of their study. In individual cases, a researcher’s visa may be an option. More information on the topic can be found on the website of the German Foreign Ministry (Auswärtiges Amt) and of the German embassy in the home country.
You can of course contact us if you need advice. However, we have no influence on the allocation of appointments at the embassy.
Please note that a tourist visa only allows stays of up to three months, and it does not entitle the holder to pursue any gainful employment; nor, as a rule, can a tourist visa be converted into a residence permit for the purposes of study or research – this means that we cannot, as a rule, recommend travelling on a tourist visa.
Please also take note of the rules on gainful employment which are linked to your visa and check these before you accept any job. A visa or a residence permit for the purpose of studying entitles the holder as a rule to take on part-time employment.
A list of FAQs on the question of right of residence can be found here.
The visa entitles you to enter Germany and stay for a period of up to three months – or, in some cases, up to 12 months (long-stay visa). For any further stay you must apply for a residence permit in Münster (or with the authorities responsible for your place of residence).
Before you can make any application for a residence permit, you need to have registered your place of residence in Germany. Which local authority is responsible for issuing the residence permit depends on your place of residence. Please make an appointment as early possible if you wish to apply for a residence permit.
If your place of residence is Münster, you should register it in one of the Bürgerbüros (Citizens’ Service Centres) – within the first days after your arrival, if at all possible.
If your place of residence is Münster and you wish to apply for a residence appointment, you can request one online with the Amt für Migration und Integration (Immigration and Integration Office).
