Nationals of Andorra, Brasil, El Salvador, Honduras, Monaco and San Marino do not need a visa, if they do not intend to take up gainful employment throughout their stay. Certain study-related employments are exempt from this regulation. If you are planning to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit at the Foreigners' Registration Office of your place of residence in Germany within the first 90 days of your stay.

Nationals of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Germany, if their stay does not exceed three months (90 days) and if they do not intend to take up gainful employment: 

• Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Grenada, Guatemala, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City and Venezuela.
  
  
• Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, provided that they are in possession of a biometric passport.
  
  
• Hong Kong, Macau, Peoples' Republic of China, Serbia and Taiwan, provided that they are in possession of a passport with certain properties. Please enquire the details from the responsible diplomatic mission abroad.
  
  

N.B.! Your stay cannot be extended if you have entered Germany without a visa. You will definitely have to leave the country after three months (90 days).

If you are a national of the aforementioned countries and you are planning to stay longer than three months, and/or to take up gainful employment in Germany, you will have to apply for a National Visa before entering the country.

If you are a citizen of an EU member state, of an EEA member state (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or of Switzerland, you do not need a visa to enter Germany. A valid ID or passport will be sufficient. After entering the country, you will have to register with your local Residents' Registration Office ("Einwohnermeldeamt") within the first 90 days of your stay.

Citizens of these states do not need a visa to enter Germany. If you are planning to stay longer than three months, you will have to apply for a residence permit at your local Foreigners' Registration Office within the first 90 days in Germany.

If you have not yet been admitted to study at a university in Lower Saxony or to Niedersächsisches Studienkolleg, you should apply for an Applicant Visa ("Visum zum Zweck der Studienbewerbung" §16 (1a) German Residence Act). 

This allows you to enter Germany for three months, in order to meet the admission requirements for a study programme in Germany (e. g. taking a German course). You may extend your visa for up to another six months, if the original period turns out to be too short to meet the requirements. Overall, the maximum length of the stay for application purposes is nine months.

If you are admitted to a university or to Niedersächsisches Studienkolleg within this period, you can apply to your local Foreigners' Registration Office to have your visa converted into a residence permit for study purposes.

If you have already received your admission to a university or to Niedersächsisches Studienkolleg, you should apply for a Student Visa ("Nationales Visum für den Aufenthalt zu Studienzwecken" § 16 (1) German Residence Act). This type of visa is usually issued for the duration of three months. Within this period, you will have to apply for a residence permit at your local Foreigners' Registration Office.