Obtaining confirmation of an internship for international students or university graduates

If you, as a company or exchange organization, wish to offer an internship in Germany to foreign students or university graduates, you must obtain prior approval from the Federal Employment Agency under certain conditions.

Students and university graduates from these countries do not require confirmation from the Federal Employment Agency, regardless of the duration of the internship:

• Citizens of an EU member state
• Island
• Norway
• Liechtenstein
• Switzerland

Likewise, no confirmation is required for EU-funded programs such as Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, and the European Neighbourhood Policy program. This also applies to nationals of other countries.

The following regulations apply to students with other nationalities who are not participating in EU-funded programs:

• You need confirmation from the Federal Employment Agency if you offer an internship in your company to foreign students or university graduates.
• If you want to employ several students or university graduates at the same time as part of an internship, you must submit a separate application for each intern.

An internship related to a field of study may last a maximum of 12 months. The internship can also be carried out in multiple parts if this was intended from the outset in order to achieve the further training objective. However, in this case, you must submit a new application for each new internship.

To obtain confirmation from the Federal Employment Agency for a study-related internship at your internship company, you have several options:

You can request confirmation of agreement in writing:

• Download the application form "Internship for Further Training Purposes" and the application form Internship for Further Training Purposes from the Federal Employment Agency website.
• Fill out the documents completely and send them with all necessary documents to the International and Specialized Services of the Federal Employment Agency
• The International Placement Services (ZAV) will review your documents and, if all requirements are met, grant its approval (confirmation of the internship).

For internships through exchange organizations, the International Placement Services (Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung) sends the agreed-upon application documents.

Alternatively, you can apply for confirmation from the International and Specialized Services online. To do this, proceed as follows:

• Access the "eServices" portal on the website of the Federal Employment Agency.
• Select "Study-related internships for international students and graduates".
• Click the "Submit application online" button and log in with your user account.
• Under "Angestrebtes Verfahren", select "Studienfachbezogenes Praktikum". The eService will guide you step by step through the required information.
• Upload the following forms and supporting documents in the final step of the eServices and submit the application:
  • Form "Application form for an internship for further training purposes"
  • Form "Declaration on the Certificate of Enrollment" 
  • Form "Internship Plan" that illustrates which professional knowledge and experience are imparted during the internship
  • Certificate of enrollment
  • Copy of the intern's passport
  • Consent form for the electronic processing of data
  • Printout from the "anabin" information portal certifying the status of the foreign higher education institution
  • Power of attorney if the application is submitted via third parties, such as relocation companies
  • In the case of a mandatory internship, additionally: Proof that the foreign school or study regulations provide for such an internship and that the internship abroad is recognized as a mandatory internship
• The International Placement Services reviews the documents and will contact you with any questions if necessary.
• Provided all requirements are met, she grants her consent (confirmation of the internship).

If you have agreed to online communication in your user account, the decision will be made available to you in the portal. If you have not agreed to online communication, the decision will be sent to you by mail.

Applications can be submitted no earlier than 6 months before the start of the internship.

The decision made by the BA within a procedure for issuing a visa or residence permit is not an independent administrative act. It is an internal act of participation vis-à-vis the diplomatic mission abroad or the immigration authority that decides on the residence permit. You can therefore only file a legal remedy against the decision of the diplomatic mission abroad or the immigration authority. This applies accordingly to the mutual agreement (confirmation of the internship), since the act of participation is merely preparatory.