First Steps

Home is where you’re welcome.
    
    
    The Welcome Center for International Researchers offers support
    in all non-academic matters to international professors, PhD
    candidates and postdocs coming to Siegen. This includes support
    before their stay, after arrival, while living in Siegen and
    before leaving. We want all international researchers to get
    settled and feel at home in Siegen as quickly as possible. As
    soon as you enter the preparation stage of your stay, we invite
    you to get in touch with us via our 
    contact form.
What are the different steps?
Finding a place as a researcher
        You are interested in doing your PhD or being a researcher
        at the University of Siegen? We can help you with all
        non-academic matters. But before you register with us, you
        should make sure you do the following:
        
        
        » Finding a host
        
        » Financing your stay
        
        
        To get a better idea about research at the University of
        Siegen, please watch our image film for a short introduction.
Registering with the Welcome Center
        The decision to become an international researcher brings a
        lot of opportunities but, at the same time, some
        challenges. In Germany, which is well-known for its
        bureaucracy, this includes many regulations and visits to
        authorities, to which we can accompany you. This is why you
        should register with us at an early stage so there is still
        plenty of time to plan and organize everything. You can
        find our contact form 
        here.
Preparations
        Before your stay you should deal with the following points:
        
        
        » If
        applicable: Registration as PhD student
        
        » Visa and
        entry regulations
        
        » Accommodation
        
        » If
        applicable: Planning family matters
        
        » How
        to get here
        
        
        On our website you can find more information and we are
        always happy to give you some advice. Feel free to contact
        us via or email or
        
        Phone.
Registration and getting settled in
        Once you have arrived in Siegen, you will need to take a
        number of administrative steps:
        
        
        » Registering at the town
        hall
        
        » Taking out health insurance
        
        » Opening
        a bank account
        
        » Getting your residence
        permit
        
        
        The Welcome Center is also happy to help you with that. We
        will advise and accompany you to the appointments where
        needed and provide you with linguistic support.
Life, Research and networking
        On our website we offer you information on activities and
        services offered by the university as well as cultural activities and
        local culture. Additionally, we are looking forward to
        getting to know you at our monthly organized events where
        you can also meet other international researchers from the
        university in a fun and informal setting. Events are
        usually family-friendly, low or no cost, and are a great
        opportunity to see places in Siegen or take part in new
        activities. You can subscribe to our mailing list via our
        
        contact form.
Departure und "See you soon!"
        Your stay in Siegen is already coming to an end? Depending
        on the duration of your stay different pre-departure
        matters have to be taken care of:
        
        
        » Canceling your (inurance) contracts
        
        » Contacting your bank
        
        » Deregistering at the town hall
        
        
        Together we can check what has to been done in your
        particular case. You can also register
        as a an alumnus/ae in order to stay in touch and we
        kindly ask you to fill out our feedback
        form .

