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EXPLAINED: Bavaria’s plans to introduce tuition fees for non-EU students

The German state of Bavaria could soon join Baden-Württemberg and Saxony in introducing tuition fees for third country nationals - but there is already pushback from student groups. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 27 June 2022 16:12 CEST
Updated: 28 June 2022 09:16 CEST

The fountain outside of Munich's prestigious Ludwig Maximilian University. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Andreas Gebert

What’s happening?

The southern German state of Bavaria is facing a fierce backlash after it set out plans to introduce tuition fees for students from non-EU countries.

Bavaria’s governing Christian Social Union (CSU) party originally drafted the proposals for higher education reform in the Higher Education Innovation Act (Hochschulinnovationsgesetz) back in 2021, but the plans were then shelved for several months.

In June this year, a second draft of the law, including the plans for tuition fees, was put to the state parliament. It is now expected to be finalised by the start of the summer recess in August.

In a short paragraph on the option to charge fees, the draft law makes clear that, “for activities financed by the state (in particular, the education of German and EU students and their equivalents), the higher education institutions may not exercise this right”.

“However, this opens up the possibility of charging fees for non-EU foreigners, among others,” it adds.

There are currently no firm details on how much universities would be allowed to charge. In Baden-Württemberg, where a similar policy was introduced in 2017, students from third countries have to pay €1,500 per semester – equating to €3,000 per year.

Currently, students in Bavaria don’t pay set tuition fees to study at universities or higher education colleges. However, people who study part-time alongside their jobs in a so-called “Berufsbegleitendes Studium” are expected to cough up €2,000 per semester.

How does the fees system normally work in Germany?

In Germany, each of the 16 federal states is free to set its own tuition fees – but these have to be “socially manageable”, meaning state governments can’t set them so high that some people are unable to afford them.

In reality, all of the states offer free tuition for German and EU students doing a Bachelors or Masters degree, with the vast majority also offering education free-of-charge to non-EU nationals as well.

A handful of states opt to start charging students who draw their degree out over several years, and some also charge students to do a second degree or study part-time.

Others simply leave it up to the universities to set their own fees for things like second degrees or part-time study. To get an idea of which states charge students for various types of studies, this chart offers a good rundown.

What are people saying?

Unsurprisingly, students are furious at Bavaria’s plans to introduce tuition fees, arguing that the move would widen inequality.

“Tuition fees are a social hurdle to university access; they are poison for equal opportunities,” said Matthias Anbuhl, the secretary general of the German Student Support Association. “There is a broad consensus on this in society and politics.”

In 2013, the state parliament voted to abolish general tuition fees after Bavarians voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move in a referendum, Anbuhl pointed out.

“It is therefore all the more incomprehensible that the Bavarian state government now wants to resort to this instrument for the group of international students from non-EU countries,” he added.

Speaking to Migazin, an online migration news portal, Vanessa Gombisch of the Federal Association of Foreign Students also hit back at the proposals.

“With this step, Bavaria is doing a disservice to educational justice,” Gombisch said. “In addition to the already high cost of living in Bavaria, tuition fees at the discretion of the universities will add another financial hurdle that will push social selection even further”.

Meanwhile, Daryoush Danaii from the Free Association of Student Unions said the fees for non-EU students would create a “two-class system in the lecture hall”.

‘We need you in Bavaria’

In light of the the severe skills shortages in the country’s labour market, many federal states look to international students as an important resource for the future.

Germany is the fourth most popular country for foreigners to study in – and the top non-English speaking destination – after the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

According to a study by the German Council of Economic Experts, 70 percent of international students also want to stay in Germany after successfully graduating from university. Around 350,000 foreigners come to study in Germany each year.

This means that hundreds of thousands of skilled workers who have passed through the German education system go on to use these skills in the German economy.

In a 2011 brochure aimed at attracting foreign talent into the state, the Bavarian Employment Agency targeted international students directly, using the slogan: “We need you in Bavaria.”

However, research from Baden-Württemberg, where fees were introduced five years ago, suggests that the blanket introduction of fees can deter international students from applying to university in the state.

Students listen to a lecture at Hannover University. International students are believed to play an important role in bridging skills gaps in the economy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Julian Stratenschulte.

A study by the Action Alliance against Tuition Fees (ABS) revealed that applications from foreign students plummeted by 36 percent in Baden-Württemberg between 2016 and 2021 – at the same as figures were rising in other German states.

The results of the study led to a U-turn by North-Rhine Westphalia, who had previously been mulling a similar move.

However, the model being considered in Bavaria is more similar to the one adopted in Saxony, where universities and colleges are free to choose whether they adopt fees for non-EU students or not.

According to reports in Migazin, just two music schools in the eastern state have chosen to introduce the fees.

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10 essential tips for avoiding rental scams in Germany

When it comes to settling in Germany, one of the most stressful and difficult tasks you’re likely to face is finding a place to live.

With the country in the grip of an ever-worsening housing shortage, there aren’t enough rental properties to meet the high demand – especially in big cities like Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt – and the flats that are available can often stretch even the most healthy of budgets.

With renters desperate to find affordable homes, crafty scammers have seized the chance to place fake ads on the market, often in dream locations with lower-than-average rents.

While some of these scams may be easy to spot, others can be highly sophisticated, with fraudsters setting up professional-looking websites and even allowing hopeful tenants to view their properties in person.

Recently The Local reported on a Polish couple who lost around €7,000 through a rental scam in Berlin. The scammers had sublet a beautiful Altbau apartment in the popular district of Neukölln and created an advert for it via a fake letting agent website, then arranged for people to use a key box to view the property while the real tenants were away.

Despite checking the contract over with legal experts from their local tenants’ association, nobody saw anything out of the ordinary – that is, until they tried to access the apartment and found a family already living there.

So, how do you protect your hard-earned savings and steer clear of scammers while looking for a new home?

Here are 10 important ways to protect yourself from rental scams.

1. Be alert to suspicious signs

The key to avoiding scammers in Germany is to be fully clued up on the warning signs. Was the listing for the property uploaded in the middle of the night, is the advert thin on details or written in bad German or English, and does the offer feel too good to be true?

Though it would be nice to believe there are still cheap flats to be found, finding an attractive property at an overly reasonable price is usually a red flag.

Hamburg

Modern apartments in Hamburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Bockwoldt

If someone claiming to be a landlord contacts you out of the blue, that’s also your cue to run a mile. With so many people looking for housing, most letting agents and landlords will have more than people looking to rent their properties without needing to get in touch with people themselves. Anyone who does is more than likely to be a scammer.

2. Rule out landlords who say they live abroad

One of the major warning signs to look out for is a landlord who claims to be renting the property from abroad, or who says they are out of the country for other reasons, like a last-minute business trip.

That’s usually a scammer’s way of excusing the fact that they won’t be able to meet you personally or even show you the property before you rent it.

“When the country the landlord lives in appears then I would say there’s a really big chance this is a scam,” said Kuba Rudzinski, one of the victims of the Berlin-Neukölln rental fraud.

Even if the excuse seems plausible, your best bet is to ignore anyone who tries to sell you a story about living abroad and simply move on with your house hunt.

3. Do your research online

Before committing to anything, take time to do some thorough research to scope out the property, landlord and letting agent.

Running the pictures and text used in apartment listings through a search engine like Google will help you quickly identify stock photos and text stolen from other listings. For pictures, this is known as a reverse image search.

A laptop

Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash

It’s also worth checking that any websites you’re sent to are fully functional and not copies of other letting agent sites, and that any email addresses match the website domain.

4. Visit the property and ask around

Never agree to rent a property without seeing it in person first. Arrange a viewing and take the opportunity to ask questions about the property and the neighbourhood.

Kuba also recommends speaking with the neighbours in the building to check if the property is genuinely being rented.

“Go to the place before and ask the neighbours, is this flat really for rent? Because these people generally know,” he said. “You’ll need to convince yourself to do it of course, but just ask in the building, ask on the floor where the flat is.”

5. Don’t transfer the full deposit in advance

Advance payments for anything, whether it’s furniture, a deposit or getting a chance to view the property, should be considered a major red flag.

Under German law, you are usually only expected to pay the deposit by the start of the agreed rental contract – and certainly not several months in advance.

Euro notes lie next to some house keys on a table.

Euro notes lie next to some house keys on a table. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Andrea Warnecke

You are also legally entitled to pay your three months’ deposit in three instalments on top of your first three months’ rent after moving in, so definitely be cautious of landlords that place pressure on you to transfer a large lump sum.

If you’re really concerned, look into alternatives for paying your deposit, such as Kautionversicherung (deposit insurance) or a Mietkautionssparbuch, where you open a bank account and pledge the amount to the landlord, rather than transferring the money directly.

6. Insist on meeting the landlord or letting agent in person

If a landlord or letting agent refuses to meet you in person or insists on conducting all communication online, they’re probably not who they say they are.

Insist on meeting face-to-face to verify their identity and ensure they have a legitimate connection to the property.

7. Avoid sending documents straight away

Not all rental scams are about getting money from you directly: many scammers are simply after your personal details for the purposes of identity theft.

Be wary of providing personal documents or sensitive information before you’ve verified the legitimacy of the rental agreement, especially when it comes to things like passport scans or other forms of ID.

8. Seek legal advice from experts

If you’re unsure about any aspect of the rental agreement or if something seems suspicious, seek advice from legal experts or tenants’ associations.

However, be aware that this isn’t always a cast-iron guarantee that a tenancy is legitmate. Over the past few years, fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated, even down to producing water-tight rental contracts for would-be tenants.

An estate agent hands over keys to an apartment. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose

According to civil lawyer Emilia Tintelnot, becoming a member of a tenants’ association can be a good way to get affordable legal advice, and it can also be helpful to set up legal insurance to ensure you can access help when you need it without having to pay lawyers’ fees up front.

9. Be wary of stereotypes

Avoid making assumptions based on stereotypes or preconceived notions about someone’s gender or nationality, as this may cause you to overlook things you might otherwise see as warning signs.

In Kuba’s case, the fact that the fraudsters were German made them appear more legitimate in his eyes, as Polish people tend to see Germans as law-abiding and trustworthy.

Be aware that scammers can come from any cultural background and may use a variety of tactics to deceive unsuspecting renters.

10. Keep an extensive paper trail

Document all communication, agreements, and transactions related to the rental process, including phone numbers and any bank details provided.

According to the Berlin police, this type of evidence can be crucial for an investigation if you do suspect a scammer.

While evidence can differ across cases, “pictures, contact details used by the perpetrators, original documents, bank details with payment receipts” are particularly helpful for investigators, and could help the police stop the scammers for good.

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