1

1. BEFORE LEAVING YOUR COUNTRY

There are a several things that you should take are of:
-Make sure that you know how the institute is going to pay you here. In ase
you should have some work ontra t it is ne essary to have a work permission
from the German Consulate. Che k the rules for your ountry.
-Here you will be asked in some ases for a ertied German translated
opy of your graduation diploma or some latest degree that you have and
also for the original do ument.
-Your birth- erti ate may also prove ne essary.
-In order to optimize things you an bring 2-3 photos on the same size
like the one in the passport.
-And not least be sure that you know where to sleep for the rst weeks.

2. WELCOME TO MAINZ

2.1 First Days in Mainz

Unfortunately your wel ome party will not last too long and you will have
to deal with administration problems. The rst things on erning the institute,
like getting an o e, a key, an user a ount for lo al network, usually are quite
fast and you will be properly guided by the se retary. Then it will ome the
part when you should start managing:
-It is important to have a bank a ount. You will be paid and also
you have to pay several fees. You an ask around in order to nd the most
onvenient one. As a student you an have several advantages when you are
opening an a ount. Going there make sure that you have beside your passport
also a do ument that erties that you are a epted as a student. (Your
a eptan e letter as a PhD. should be enough; you will have your registration
as a student later on.)
-In order to prote t yourself and also to be allowed to stay and work in
Germany, you need a health insuran e re ognized by the German State. It
is better to hoose a German one. Some of the health insuran e ompanies
(TK, AOK, Barmer) have a bran h in ampus, next to the institute. As a PhD.
you have the right to be a student and to have a spe ial form of insuran e.
Mention this and ask the employee of the ompany to give you a letter for the
ins ription in university. If you have a work ontra t too, ask also for a letter
to ertify that you have insuran e. (Usually Versi herungna hweis na h Ÿ 175
 2

SGB V is needed.)
-You will have to register yourself to the authorities and also to re eive
the nal allowan e to stay and work here. In order to a hieve this you have to
establish by phone an appointment to
Bürgeramt
Kaiserstr. 3-5
55116 Mainz (near the main railway station, one oor up).
You an nd the phone number for your ountry in Annex 3.1. You will
have a meeting with the employee in the next three weeks. The ne essary
papers may vary from one ountry to another, but you will have to ll in some
form that you an take from our se retary (if you are at ThEP).
You an nd other general information about administration and the ity
of Mainz at http://www.mainz.de.

2.2 Registering at the University of Mainz

Being a PhD. gives you the right to be registered as a student of the uni-
versity, whi h will give you some advantages (free travelling in Mainz and a
big part of Hessen, low health insuran e, et .).
-The rst step is to ll in a form that you will nd on http://www.
daad.de/deuts hland/de/2.3.2.html, in English or German. You have to
download Antrag auf Zulassung zum Studium für ausländis he Bewerber.
http://www.verwaltung.uni-mainz.de/aaa/
For further information go to
htm4gra1/english/ab_main.htm.You an do it either when you are still in
your home ountry or when you are already here. There will be some time
until you will get some answer (usually 2 weeks) and also there will be some
ne essary other do uments that you will get just being here, so it is re om-
mendable to do it after you have arrived in Mainz. Send or better go yourself
with the papers (the form, a opy of your a eptan e letter and maybe some
prove of how you are paid) to
Akademis hes Auslandsamt
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
D-55099 Mainz
International Admissions O e
Telephone: ++49-6131-39-22281
Forum 1, Room 00-121
Forum 1, Room 00-117 (only when s hool is in session)
Mo, Tu, Th, Fr 10-12 h (limited o e hours during semester breaks)
fsaverwaltung.uni-mainz.de
-The a eptan e letter will ome together with your obligation to take a
German-language test. If you are doing your PhD. in English you will have to
 3

ask your professor to send a letter to the Dekanat and ask them to o ially
inform the Fremdspra hzentrum (you will have the address and the onta t
o e in your letter from the Auslandsamt). Then you an go there and take
a letter of onrmation that you don't need the test.
-There will be some other do uments needed (the original and the trans-
lated opy of your diploma, the letter from the health insuran e ompany, a fee
that you should pay at the bank, a photo), but you will have them all written
in the letter from the Auslandsamt.
-When you have got all of them, go to the Students' Se retary, the
address and the opening hours will be written in the letter.
If there is no other do ument needed, you will immediately re eive all the
do uments proving that you are a student, you will be able to travel for free
and so on. You an also stop to the main library and register yourself in order
to re eive a library ard.

2.3 Work Contra t

If you have a work ontra t there will be again some paper work. This
time you will also have good guiding from the people in university. You will
re eive a list with the do uments that you have to ll and always a letter from
the personal o e with whatever you still have to send. Never the less it is
good to he k by phone if your letters are rea hing the right pla e. An overall
advi e, whenever you deal with o ial papers that you are giving or re eiving,
make sure that you are making opies.
One important do ument that you will need is the tax ard (Lohns-
teuerkarte). You will have to pi k it from the same building (Burgeramt)
where you have been for your visa, but only after you have re eived your al-
lowan e to work in Germany. This time you have to go to the ground oor,
take a number from the automati ma hine and wait for your turn to one of
the o es. Opening hours:
Monday 7.30 - 17.30
Tuesday 7.30 - 12.00
Wednesday 7.30 - 17.30
Thursday 7.30 - 12.00
Friday 7.30 - 14.30

2.4 Looking for an Apartment

This is not really an easy task. You will have to spend some time in your
sear hing. There are several pla es where you an look for announ ements:
 4

-on the Internet:

http://lopillo.de/lopillo.php4?Region=1&show=wohnungsmarkt
http://www.gimmo.de/index02.htm
http://www.studenten-wg.de/angebote_lesen.html?su he=Mainz
http://baseportal.de/baseportal?htx=%2Fjaa%2FImmobilien&Bundesland~=
Rheinl.-Pfalz
http://www.main-rheiner.de/anzeigen/main-rheiner.de/immo/
http://rz-anzeigen.de/
-all over the ampus (at the Mensa, at Philosophi um, .....) there are posts
with people that are renting or that are sear hing an apartment. There you
an nd oers and you an even put your announ ement.
-you an also apply for a pla e in the students' hostel. You an do it in the
ampus, next to the institute at
Studentenwerk Mainz
Studentenhaus
Entran e C - Room C 141
Staudingerweg 21
http://www.studentenwerk_mainz.de.
Usually they tell you that you should wait for 6 months. Maybe you an
send an appli ation form long before you are oming to Mainz and you will
get a positive answer.
-in the same pla e (Studentenwerk), at the ground oor, you an ask if
they have some oers for renting.
The pri es are varying, depending on what you are looking for, but you
will get an idea in the rst days of sear hing.
It will take a while until most of the problems will be solved, but meanwhile
enjoy your stay in Mainz and at the institute.

3. ANNEX

3.1 Phone Numbers for the Foreign O e

Bürgeramt: Abteilung Ausländerangelegenheiten
Aufenthaltsgenehmigung Studenten
Vorspra hen nur na h vorheriger telefonis her Terminvereinbarung!
Besu heradresse: Stadthaus Lauteren-Flügel Eingang Kaiserstraÿe 3-5 55116
Mainz
Postans hrift: Stadt Mainz 33-Bürgeramt Postfa h 36 20 55026 Mainz
Telefon: siehe Anspre hpartner
 5

Telefax: 06131/ 12 30 84
e-mail:buergeramtstadt.mainz.de
Telefonis he Terminvergabe zu folgenden Zeiten:
Mo, Di, Mi, Do 09 bis 12.00 Uhr und 14 bis 15.30 Uhr
Fr 9-12 Uhr
Anspre hpartner + Anfangsbu hstaben der Familiennamen die bearbeitet
werden

A und X
Frau Drolshagen
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 34 75
Zimmer: 181

B, N, Q
Frau Res h
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 33 76
Zimmer: 180

C und G
Frau Herth
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 33 75
Zimmer: 178

D, E, F
Herr Füllenba h
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 20 12
Zimmer: 167

H und M
Frau Venter
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 34 76
Zimmer: 179

I, J, O, R
Frau Reinheimer
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 32 75
Zimmer: 111

K und U
Frau Veith
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 40 92
Zimmer: 113
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L, V, W, Y
Frau M Ginnes
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 34 79
Zimmer: 175

P, T, Z
Frau Reinheimer
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 35 34
Zimmer: 165

S
Herr Krämer
Telefon: 0 61 31/12 34 78
Zimmer: 173

3.2 Useful maps

Map of the Campus: http://www.uni-mainz.de/UniInfo/Uni/Lageplan/
ampus.html
Map of the German ities: http://www.stadtplandienst.de/home.asp

Roxana “ hiopu
s hioputhep.physik.uni-mainz.de

information available on: http://wwwthep.physik.uni-mainz.de/~s hiopu/