The following list may help you to organise your first steps in Berlin.
Sign a rental contract with your student residence or private landlord. If you need assistance, please contact the International Office.
Collect your student ID from the International Office (Badensche Str. 52, Room A 3.02). Pay the fee for the semester ticket for local transport services if you have not already done so.
Germany has a legal requirement on registering your place of residence here. You can register in any Bürgeramt (City Hall) of Berlin, e.g. the Rathaus Schöneberg at John-F.-Kennedy-Platz (close to HWR Berlin)
Please make an appointment online beforehand and don't forget to take your passport and your rental contract with you!
New students in Berlin are entitled to Begrüßungsgeld (or literally 'welcome money'). The welcome money is € 50 and is paid on submission of an application form obtainable from the International Office at the HWR Berlin. The application form (Antrag auf Erteilung von Begrüßungsgeld) also has to be stamped by the registration authority and than be returned to the International Office.
All non EU nationals staying for longer than 3 months in Germany have to register at the Aliens Office within the first three months of their stay and obtain a residence permit.
You will need to take with you the completed application form (www.berlin.de/labo/formulare//formularserver.php), your official registration certificate, 1 biometric photo, passport, student ID, proof of health insurance and income, (bank statement or proof of scholarship or bursary from your home university or a letter of support from your parents) and € 100-110.
More details at:
Address: Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin
Subway stop: U 9 / Amrumer Str. or Westhafen
City railway: S 41/42 / Westhafen
Bus: 142, M27
You can open a student account at many banks in Berlin. You will need your passport, your student ID and your official registration certificate. There is normally no charge for opening a bank account! If you want to apply for the € 50 'welcome money', you will need a bank account as it is only transferred and not paid out in cash.