Over 42k Indian students studying in Germany, says Ambassador Philipp Ackermann

The highest number of foreign students in Germany are from India with over 42,000 students, a 25 per cent rise within a year, German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann said on Thursday.

“Great! 42,000+ Indian students in Germany, 25 percent more within one year. India now has the number 1 group of foreign students in Germany, much faster than expected! Germany is popular among Indian students – and Indian students are popular in Germany. I hear from professors very often,” Ackermann wrote in an X.

In an effort to keep up with the growing number of Indian students wanting to move to Germany on a student visa, the German Embassy’s Academic Evaluation Centre had in April announced that it would replace the mandate for paper-printed certificates with digital certificates.

“With the goal of accelerating processing times and making it easier for applicants to apply to a greater number of German universities, APS India is pleased to announce that starting from next week, paper-printed certificates will be replaced,” the centre said.

India and Germany had in December last year signed an agreement on comprehensive migration and mobility partnership, facilitating two-way movement of students, professionals and researchers, and also addressing the challenges of illegal migration.

This agreement has specific provisions to facilitate mobility and employment opportunities for fostering the exchange of skills and talents within both countries. These include an academic evaluation centre in New Delhi, eighteen months extended residence permits for students, three thousand jobseeker visas annually, liberalised short stay multiple entry visas and streamlined readmission procedures.