What happened in Berlin (IU and hybrid cases)
From early 2025, Berlin's immigration office (Landesamt für Einwanderung, LEA) started refusing or not renewing student residence permits for students on some hybrid and online-first programmes, most visibly at IU International University. The office's view was that these models did not meet the requirement of full-time study in Germany. Hundreds of students were affected, a large share of them from India, many after paying fees and moving.
Courts have since decided individual urgent cases. In March 2026 the Berlin Administrative Court suspended a deportation order in preliminary proceedings. That helps the person concerned but is not a general clearance. Each case still depends on how the specific programme is actually taught.
What German law actually requires
- A study permit is for full-time study. The student residence permit (§16b Residence Act) covers full-time study at a state or state-recognised higher-education institution, including preparatory courses.
- The study has to happen in Germany. Distance learning that you could do from anywhere does not justify a residence permit, even if the university is recognised.
- Recognition is not enough on its own. A state-recognised private university can still offer formats that the immigration office treats as distance learning.
- Offices decide case by case. Berlin has been the strictest so far, but other offices can ask the same questions at renewal.
How to check a programme before you enrol or pay
- Look the university up on Hochschulkompass and in the anabin database.
- Ask the admissions office in writing: how many hours per week are taught in person on campus, is attendance recorded, and are exams on site?
- Ask whether the specific study model you are offered has been used successfully for student visas and renewals in your city.
- Be careful with agents who say "online now, campus later" or "attendance is flexible". Those are the patterns behind the Berlin refusals.
- Compare the total cost with a public university using the True Cost of Studying planner.
Safer alternatives: public universities
Public universities charge no or low tuition (apart from Baden-Württemberg's fees for non-EU students) and their programmes are taught on campus by default, which removes this risk. See public vs private universities, the Master's application roadmap and 96 university guides.
What to do if you are already enrolled and worried
- Collect evidence now: timetable, attendance records, a letter from the university confirming on-campus hours, exam locations.
- Never ignore a letter from the immigration office. An Anhörung (hearing letter) has a deadline. Reply in time, ideally with a lawyer.
- Talk to the university about switching to an on-campus study model if one exists.
- Apply for renewal early (8 to 10 weeks before expiry). If your appointment comes after expiry, apply in writing before the expiry date so you get a Fiktionsbescheinigung.
- Get legal advice before your permit expires, not after. See how to find legal advice in Germany and extending a student permit.
Sources: Service Berlin: residence permit for full-time studies · Residence Act §16b (English) · Hochschulkompass · press and court reports on the Berlin IU cases (2025–2026).