Got Questions?

Yes, public universities in Germany do not charge tuition fees (it is free). Only a symbolic fee called "semester contribution" (Semesterbeitrag) averaging between €150 and €350 is paid during registration renewal each semester. This contribution also covers the student transit pass valid for all public transport in that state.

Yes, you can. The most common method for students who do not speak German is to get Conditional Admission (Bedingter Zulassungsbescheid). This admission is the university's guarantee that "you can start your department when you bring your German level to C1". To receive conditional admission, you must obtain at least an A2 German certificate from Goethe/ÖSD/Telc and declare that you will receive language training from B1 to C1 in Germany.

Students whose high school diplomas are not directly equivalent to the German education system (such as Vocational, Imam Hatip, and Open High Schools) cannot receive direct admission to study in Germany. These students are required to attend a preparatory school called Studienkolleg for 1 year and pass the graduation exam (Feststellungsprüfung - FSP). The other alternative is to successfully complete the first year of a 4-year degree program in their home country without any failed courses.

The German government requires you to prove that you can support yourself when applying for a visa. The most common way to do this is to open a blocked account in your name. According to current visa requirements, €12,300 per year must be deposited into the blocked account. After you arrive in Germany, €1,025 is released to your account every month for living expenses. If you have a guarantor in Germany who can sponsor you, this blocked account requirement is waived.

Some departments in Germany do not accept students with conditional admission due to specific language requirements or additional exams. When applying to these departments, it is mandatory to submit a C1 German certificate directly:

• Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy: Almost all programs in the healthcare sector require direct final admission.
• Law (Rechtswissenschaften): Due to terminology and system constraints, language preparatory admission is not granted.
• Fine Arts & Design: Since portfolio review and special talent exams are conducted during application, language waiver is not offered.
• Teaching: C1 German is a prerequisite for internships and teaching in public schools.
• History, Archaeology, Philosophy: In addition to German, these departments may request ancient language certificates like Latin or Ancient Greek.

The German Consulate is very strict regarding language certificates. The language certificate of at least A2 level to be submitted for the conditional admission visa (§36f) must be obtained from the following official institutions:

1. Goethe-Institut exams
2. ÖSD (Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch) exams
3. Telc (The European Language Certificates) exams

Certificates obtained from private language courses, public education centers, or online academies are strictly rejected during the visa evaluation stage.

The conditional admission visa (§36f) provides a much stronger legal status as it falls under the academic visa category compared to a basic language course visa:

• Work Permit: With a conditional admission visa, you have the right to work legally for up to 20 hours per week even during your language training period. This permit does not exist for normal language course visas.
• Ease of Residence Extension: Since you have an official conditional acceptance link with a university, extending your residence permit at the immigration office in Germany is very easy.
• University Transition: Once you complete your language level, you can register directly at the university and start your education without any additional visa process.

No, you do not have to take the YKS exam or pass any thresholds to study undergraduate courses in Montenegro. Montenegrin universities base admissions on your high school graduation diploma and GPA (transcript). Necessary high school diplomas within the scope of the Bologna process are valid for equivalence.

University Donja Gorica (UDG) is a strategic partner of Arizona State University (ASU), the most innovative higher education institution in the US. Through this model, called "UDG Powered by ASU", ASU courses are integrated into the UDG curriculum. This partnership allows students to earn a Double Degree while studying at much more affordable budgets and access the opportunities of the global Cintana Alliance network.

The Vatel program is a prestigious hotel and tourism management education program based in France and a world leader. Conducted entirely in English at UDG, students receive intensive vocational training and French lessons. The biggest advantage is the requirement of internships in 5-star hotels like Hilton Podgorica or luxury hotel chains abroad every year from the 1st grade. Graduates receive both UDG and Vatel France diplomas.

Yes. Students pursuing undergraduate or graduate education in Germany have a legal work permit up to 20 hours per week, and full-time during holidays. In Montenegro, foreign students are granted work opportunities in certain internship programs and part-time jobs within the scope of legal student residence permits.

Yes, preparing visa files is one of the most important stages of our consultancy. For Germany, we handle blocked account opening or guarantor approval, motivation letter writing in German, health insurance provision, and appointment tracking. For Montenegro, once acceptance is received, we carry out all official document tracking in person with our local office to obtain residence and work permits.

Uni-Assist is the joint application portal used by many German universities to evaluate applications from abroad centrally. Your documents are pre-checked here for equivalence with the German education system. The portal fee is €75 for the first university and €35 for each additional university. This payment is made directly to the system by the student. Some universities do not use Uni-Assist and accept applications directly through their own portals; your consultant determines which route to follow.

Yes. Proof of financial means for the German visa can be provided in one of two ways: by opening a blocked account (Sperrkonto) or with a formal obligation letter (Verpflichtungserklärung). In the guarantor route, a relative residing in Germany with sufficient income obtains an official commitment letter from the local foreigners' office stating that they will cover your expenses. If you do not have a guarantor, opening a blocked account is the standard method.

Yes, but you cannot apply directly to a bachelor's programme — even if you were placed in a 4-year programme in Türkiye. For these high school types there are two alternative routes: (1) Studienkolleg: after university admission, attending a 1-year preparatory school in Germany and passing the Feststellungsprüfung (FSP) final exam. (2) Studying 1 year in Türkiye: if you successfully complete the first year of the 4-year bachelor's programme you were placed in without failing any course, you can apply directly to bachelor's studies in Germany.

The programme you were placed in in Türkiye is decisive. The major you will study in Germany must be the same as the programme you were placed in or equivalent to its score type (SAY, EA, SÖZ). For example, if you were placed in a quantitative engineering programme, you can also apply to quantitative fields in Germany. Whether the university you were placed in is state or foundation makes no difference.

All three are official German certificates recognised by the German consulate and universities, and all measure according to CEFR levels (A1–C2). The differences lie in exam format, scoring system and the skills they emphasise. All three are valid for the visa and conditional admission — which one is advantageous for you depends on your goal (university application, work visa, healthcare professions). See our detailed comparison table on the German Language Exams Guide page.

Yes. International students who graduate from a German state university are granted an 18-month job-seeking permit in their field. If you find a job within this period, you can switch to a work permit and then to long-term residence. During your studies you also have the legal right to work 140 full days / 280 half days per year (about 20 hours a week).

State universities in Germany are institutions recognised by YÖK. However, "recognition of the institution" and "diploma equivalence" are different procedures. To use your title in Türkiye, apply for KPSS or legally practise your profession, you must obtain a diploma equivalence certificate from YÖK after graduation. The equivalence application is individual; your transcript, ECTS load and course contents are examined. You can review which majors are advantageous/risky for equivalence on our Germany Equivalence Guide page.

Yes, University of Donja Gorica (UDG) is a higher education institution recognised by YÖK, and you can verify this instantly via e-Devlet. The institution recognition query is free of charge. HIAKOS Academy is UDG's official representative in Türkiye, and you can download the YÖK recognition document as a PDF from our Montenegro Equivalence page.

These two are often confused but are completely different procedures. Institutional Recognition is at the institutional level: it is the approval of the university as an official higher education institution in the YÖK system; it is free and can be queried via e-Devlet. It grants you the right to transfer and pursue postgraduate education in Türkiye. Diploma Equivalence is at the individual level: it is granted after graduation by examining your transcript, ECTS load and course contents; it is required for using your title in Türkiye, KPSS and legally practising your profession. Important: the fact that the institution is recognised does not mean that every graduate automatically receives equivalence without exams.

At UDG, tuition for standard bachelor's programmes is €2,200 per year, while the international Vatel hospitality programme is €2,800 per year (2026/27 intake). The cost of living averages around €350 per month. These figures mean a European education well below the fees of many foundation universities in Türkiye.

UDG offers programmes taught entirely in English. In particular, the international Vatel hospitality programme is taught fully in English; students in this programme also take intensive professional English and French courses. You can see which faculties and departments teach in which language on our Faculties & Programmes page.

After your official acceptance letter arrives from the university and your tuition payment is made, the residence permit (Boravak) application is submitted. A criminal record certificate and other official documents are prepared for the application. We personally manage this process together with our local office in Podgorica — you are never alone in document tracking, appointments and submissions.

YÖK applies stricter criteria in the equivalence process for regulated professions. In fields directly related to public safety and human health, such as medicine, law and teaching, additional exams or course completion may be required. In contrast, fields such as IT, business, economics and engineering proceed much more smoothly in terms of equivalence. You can see the major-by-major risk/advantage analysis in the "Programme Guide & Risks" tab on our Montenegro Equivalence page.

The institution recognition query is completely free and is done instantly via e-Devlet. The diploma equivalence application, however, is subject to a fee: as of 2026, an application fee of 1,250 TL is charged. The application is made via e-Devlet, followed by physical file submission to YÖK's Recognition and Equivalence Services Department.

We have offices in three countries: Türkiye (Istanbul – Kadıköy), Germany (Berlin) and Montenegro (Podgorica). This way, your process is followed up on site not only in Türkiye but also in your destination country. For a face-to-face appointment, reach us via our Contact page.

The Germany process proceeds step by step from document preparation to the visa appointment: preparing application documents takes about 2 weeks, obtaining conditional admission via Uni-Assist 1 month, and the blocked account/guarantor and language course registration about 2 weeks each. In parallel, you need to complete your A2 German level. You can see the step-by-step chronological roadmap in the process section of our Germany page. To act before quotas fill up, we recommend starting at least 4-6 months before your target intake.