Guest doctoral candidates

The first step on your way to a research stay in Jena is the acceptance and confirmation of a professor or research group leader to host you and supervise your research stay. If you have not yet found a supervisor for your research stay, you will get information here on how to find one.

In order to provide the best advice and individual support, please let us know about the details of your stay as early as possible, using our registration portalExternal link. Via the portal, you will also receive the guest researcher contract, which your supervisor must sign.

Information on entry requirements can be found on the websites of the German missions abroad in your home countryExternal link. If you need a letter of invitation for your research stay, please contact the institute with which you have arranged the stay.

For the duration of your stay in Germany, an adequate health insurance is required. Please note that you must have insurance coverage from your first day in Germany. If your stay will not exceed a period of 90 days, a travel insurance might be sufficient. If you are planning to stay longer than 90 days, we recommend choosing an insurance with broader coverage. Please find more information about the German health care system hereExternal link. Furthermore, the German diplomatic missions abroadExternal link can inform you about which health insurance must be provided to enter Germany.

If you have health insurance in another EU or EEA country, you can use it upon arrival in Germany.

Due to limited capacities, please make sure to find a room for your stay as early as possible. International guest doctoral candidates have the possibility of applying for a place in one of the three university guesthouses. Information about the guest houses can be found here.

If your research stay is longer than three months, you can also enrol as a guest doctoral candidate. Enrolled guest doctoral candidates can also apply for a room in student housingExternal link.

You can find more information about "Accomodations in Jena" here.

Once you have arrived in Jena, please contact us. Thus, we can help you to deal with all the formalities that are connected with your arrival. You can visit us at the Welcome and Service Desk for Doctoral Candidates and Postdocs in Johannisstraße 13.

For stays in Germany that are longer than three months, you are required to register your address with the city administrationExternal link within 14 days upon arrival. You will need an identity document and a confirmation from your landlord ("Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung"), which you will receive from your landlord once you sign the renting contract. For registering your address, you will need to make an appointmentExternal link.

If you have an employment contract with social insurance (monthly salary > 450,- EUR), you can choose which statutory health insurance you want to be insured with (e.g. TKExternal link, AOKExternal link or BarmerExternal link).

If you do not have an employment contract with social insurance, we recommend that you take out a statutory health insurance as a voluntary member. Alternatively, you can choose a private health insurance instead of a statutory one. If you prefer to have private health insurance, please note that there are significant differences in the services covered. For more information, please see the information on this websiteExternal link.

If you have health insurance in another EU or EEA country, your health insurance is also valid in Germany. Please contact the health insurance company in your home country for information on necessary formalities and how services can be reimbursed.

If you stay in Jena for a couple of months or more, it might be useful to open a German bank account. There are many different banks in Jena where you can open an account, each with different offers, services and account management fees. To open an account, you need an identity document and the registration certificate of the city (see „Registering your address in Jena“). Non-EU citizens also need a residence permit or visa.

International doctoral candidates who do not come from the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland and whose entry visa does not cover the complete period of stay must apply for a residence permit at the Foreigners' Registration Office („Ausländerbehörde“). If possible, you should submit the application 12 weeks before your visa expires. The application can be submitted by email or by post. Information on the application process and contact details can be found on the homepage of the Foreigners' Registration OfficeExternal link.

There are several childcare options for guest doctoral candidates with children: daycare centres, child minders, the flexible childcare centre on campusExternal link, or babysitters. If you need more information about child care in Jena, do not hesitate to contact the University's Family Office.

Guest doctoral candidates can have an account with the university computer centre. This account contains:

• a university e-mail address (name@uni-jena.de)
• Wifi access at Jena university and at many university locations worldwide via EduroamExternal link
• External access de to subject-specific databases of the university network
• Access to softwareExternal link via the University Computer Centre
• Access to computer poolsExternal link

You will receive this account after your registration.

The Thuringian university identity card, or thoska, is a multifunction campus card, which allows you to identify yourself as a guest doctoral candidate of Jena University, use the library, photocopy or scan documents, and pay by card in the canteens and cafeterias. You will receive the thoska after your registration.

If you have the status of a student or doctoral candidate at your home university, you can enrol as a guest doctoral candidate at Jena University.

The enrollment is not compulsory, but it offers some advantages, e.g. free use of public transportation in Jena and Thuringia and reduced prices in canteens and cafeterias. On the other hand, you’ll have to pay the semester fee for enrolment.

You will receive further information on enrollment after your registration as a guest doctoral candidate.

As a guest doctoral candidate, you will have the opportunity to take part in various qualification workshops and classes on various topics like writing and publishing, project management, or good scientific practise. You may find all offered workshops of Graduate Academy and other university institutions hereExternal link.

• questions about entry and stay (visa issues, citizens' service, immigration office)
• orientation in the city and at the university (search for the right contact person)
• procedures at Jena University (admission as a doctoral candidate, enrolment, multimedia centre, computer centre, library)
• doctorate and family (finding childcare, kindergarten, school)
• issues and problems of everyday life (finding accomodation, bank accounts, insurances)

Please write an e-mail with your issue to ga-tutor@uni-jena.de. Your contact person is Dr. Alexander Schwarzkopf.