Before You Leave Important Things to Take Care of at the End of Your Stay
In order to make sure that you consider all necessary steps before leaving Heidelberg, here is a list of things to do before you return home.
1. Cancel your room contract.
If you wish to leave before the end of March or before the end of September, you must give written notice to the Studierendenwerk three months in advance in order to make sure that a new tenant can be found and that you do not have to continue to pay the rent for your room. Information on how to get your deposit back is available at the Studierendenwerk.
2. Make an appointment ahead of time with the Hausmeister of your residence for the day of departure.
3. Refund of your deposit.
Please note if you require your deposit to be paid in cash, it is essential that you terminate your German bank account in advance and present paperwork from your German bank to the Studierendenwerk, verifying that you have closed the account which you used to pay your rent. The more convenient alternative is to provide the Studierendenwerk with your bank information and have the deposit transferred to your bank account at home. Please hand in the document to the Studierendenwerk.
4. In order to receive an English transcript of records for your home university please contact the International Relations Office and forward the following three items.
- A list of all the courses you took during your exchange. Please include the following information on your list: The full title of the course, the instructor’s name, the institute/faculty, and the type of course (Vorlesung, Seminar, etc), the hours per week (2 or 4 hrs/wk), as well as the mode of assessment (term paper, exam, presentation etc.) Please send the list via email to your coordinator.
- All of your original “Scheine” (certificates) for the classes you attended in Heidelberg. Please remember that it is your responsibility to get the “Scheine” and that you must request them from your professors or your institute. You can turn in your “Scheine” to your coordinator or to our colleagues responsible for incoming exchange students.
- Please give us the name and the address of your coordinator at your home university. Once you have turned in everything we need, we will issue a transcript and send it to your home university.
5. Deregister with the University (Exmatrikulation).
Fill out the form; let the University Library confirm on the form that you have returned all the books and turn in the completed form at the Service Portal for Students on Seminarstrasse 2, room # 35, to receive the certificate of exmatriculation (Exmatrikulationsbescheinigung) immediately. Opening hours: Mon. – Thurs. 10am – 4pm and Fri. 10am – 2pm
The application may also be made in writing (Student Administration, Heidelberg University, Seminarstr. 2, 69117 Heidelberg). In this case students must provide all required documents, as well as an addressed and franked standard envelope. The Student Administration will post the certificate of exmatriculation in this envelope.
6. Deregister with the city.
Within the last 10 days of your stay, please deregister via a form at the Bürgeramt Mitte or the Bürgeramt closest to your residence.
7. Cancel your health insurance and any other outstanding accounts.
You only have to cancel your health insurance if you have a health insurance coverage from a German health insurance provider for your stay. Any other outstanding accounts to be closed may include cell phone contracts, newspaper subscriptions, credit cards, Bahncards etc.
8. Terminate your bank account.
9. Keep your Campus-Card of Heidelberg University as a souvenir.
It will become invalid at the end of the semester.