Ludwigshafen is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on the Rhine river opposite Mannheim; With Mannheim, Heidelberg and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area - the center of the metropolitan Rhine-Neckar region, an economic powerhouse with over 134,000 companies, excellent infrastructure, and around 770,000 workers. Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a young city. It was first established in 1853 when the founding fathers laid the foundation of the Rheinchanze bridgehead and the winter harbor. Its growth and wealth were linked to its expansion into becoming the home for one of the world's most important chemical companies - BASF, along with several other rapidly growing chemical companies.

The city center of Ludwigshafen is comparatively small and dominated by post-war buildings. Its northern and southern boundaries are the Hochstraßen (highways on stilts), the Rhine is in the East and the main station is located in the West of downtown Ludwigshafen, at a walking distance of about 15 minutes from the central pedestrian precinct.

The economic success of the region is closely linked to Ludwigshafen's superior scientific and research environment. With the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society and the Universities of Mannheim and Heidelberg and numerous external research institutions and educational establishments, the metropolitan Rhine-Neckar region is well known for its distinctive culture of innovation. National and international rankings continually confirm the quality of the local higher educational environment. Regionally rooted and internationally connected, the metropolitan Rhine-Neckar is a popular destination for students from Germany-and the entire world.

Congratulations! You have been selected by your home university to study abroad at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society.

Please find all information for your online application HERE.

How can you get accommodation during your semester abroad in Ludwigshafen?

Our institution offers accommodation for exchange students coming from our partner institutions. You can find the description under following link:

• accommodation description flatsharing

If you would like to apply for accommodation in a flat-sharing community with other exchange students please mark this on the accommodation request and send it to the International Office with the rest of your application forms.

Please note that for winter semester 2026/27 the accommodation in the flatshare will be available from the 14th of September 2026 on.

The accommodation in summer semester 2027 will be available from the 22nd of February 2027 on.

apartment handover form / apartment handover form

All students in Germany are required to have health insurance. You will not be enrolled at the university unless you provide proof of valid health insurance coverage that is valid for the entire semester. Please check before your departure for Germany to see which services are included in your health insurance, or consider purchasing additional insurance. Travel insurance is not acceptable for university enrollment!

YOU ARE AN EU CITIZEN
If you are an EU citizen, you likely have the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card). By presenting this card, you will be exempt from the requirement to have German health insurance.

YOU ARE A NON-EU CITIZEN
You now have two options:

• You can take out a public German health insurance policy, for example through TK, AOK, Barmer, or DAK.
  It costs around 140 EUR per month.
  A list of all statutory health insurance providers in Germany can be found here (in German only): https://www.gkv-spitzenverband.de/service/krankenkassenliste/krankenkassen.jsp

or

• Take out private health insurance in your home country (not travel insurance!). Please note that your insurance must provide you with unlimited health coverage for your entire stay in Germany.
  If your private health insurance company does not meet these criteria, you MUST take out a German policy.

To verify whether your private health insurance is acceptable for university enrollment, you must send a copy of your health insurance policy to a German statutory health insurance provider (e.g., TK, AOK, Barmer, or DAK). They will then determine whether you are eligible for an exemption from statutory insurance.

If the German statutory health insurance provider accepts your private insurance and you are eligible for an exemption from statutory insurance, the provider will need to send an electronic confirmation (known as “Meldung 10”) to our university. Without this “M10” confirmation, you CANNOT be enrolled!

In general, please note that if you have private health insurance, you must always pay medical bills in advance and then wait for reimbursement from your insurance company. Please be aware that hospitalization can be particularly expensive!

If you are from Turkey, you can also bring an A/T-11 form (TÜRK-ALMAN SOSYAL GÜVENLIK SÖZLESMESI) for health insurance.

If you are from Tunisia, you can also bring an A/TN-11 form for health insurance.

If you are from Bosnia and Herzegovina, you can bring a BH 6 form for health insurance.

The entry requirements for the Federal Republic of Germany vary depending on your country of origin. Please find out as soon as possible whether you need a visa.

Please note: When it comes to visa matters, it is your nationality—not your university—that determines the appropriate procedure. Example: If you are studying in a European country and have a residence permit for that country but are not a citizen of a European country, you must apply for a student visa in Germany. If this is the case, please contact the German Embassy in your country of origin or the German Embassy in the country where you are studying.

Visa Procedure for Exchange Students from Non-European Countries

REST Directive 2016/801

If you are a non-EU citizen and are studying at a partner university in an EU country that has ratified the REST Directive 2016/801, you can follow the procedure below to obtain authorization for your mobility (up to 360 days):

As soon as you receive your letter of acceptance, you must provide us with the following PDF documents in a SINGLE email:

• residence permit from the first EU Member State (country of your home university) for the purpose of study—the residence permit must be valid for your entire stay at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society. Both sides of the card must be scanned into a single PDF file.
• proof of participation in the ERASMUS+ program – please ask your home university for this confirmation. However, it must be in GERMAN.
• A recognized, valid passport.
• Proof of subsistence/financial resources— currently at least 992 EUR per month—e.g., by opening a blocked account or by providing a confirmation from your home university stating that you will receive an ERASMUS+ scholarship, including the amount to be received. If you receive an ERASMUS scholarship of less than 992 EUR per month, you would only need to cover the difference between that amount and the full monthly amount.
• Valid health insurance, which covers your stay at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society.

The university in Germany must submit these documents to the National Contact Point (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF) for digital registration for the study period in Germany and its subsequent approval by the responsible immigration authority.

More information can be found here.