Before departure
You are in the final stage of your dissertation and your time at TUM is ending? Below you can find an overview of issues and formalities to consider and to take care of before leaving TUM and possibly Munich and Germany altogether. A summary can also be found in the checklist "Before Departure - Checklist for international Doctoral Candidates".
Before leaving TUM
Congratulations! You have successfully concluded your dissertation. We'd like to remind you of a couple of things that need to be taken care of before you leave the university.
Your membership in your Graduate Center (and thus in the TUM-GS) will end automatically on the date of your successful oral examination. Therefore, you do not need to cancel your TUM-GS membership. The termination of your membership will not affect any ongoing reimbursement processes (e.g. for internationalization activities). However, please inform us about any change of your bank account (in case you will close your German bank account). Furthermore, we may need to contact you in the future in case of clarifications concerning your certificate etc. Therefore, please make sure to register/update your private e-mail address in DocGS.
Return keys, cards, transponders, books etc. belonging to your institute and the TUM University Library. Make sure you get the remaining credit of your PersonalCard/ StudentCard/ GuestCard back at the student union office service point. PersonalCards need to be sent back to the HR department ZA 2 via (internal) mail, GuestCards to the IT department and StudentCards to the Center for Study and Teaching.
In case of successful oral examination, you will be automatically exmatriculated at the end of the respective semester. However, if you wish to be exmatriculated immediately, you need to submit a request for exmatriculation that you can find in your TUMonline account under “print documents”. In this case, your exmatriculation occurs on the day your application is filed. Please note that it is not possible to refund a proportional amount of your semester fee. Further information can be found at https://www.tum.de/en/studies/graduation/withdrawal-from-university/.
Set up a forwarding order for your TUM e-mail account and register/update your private e-mail address in DocGS (not applicable for guest doctoral candidates).
After your successful oral examination, you may apply for an embossed doctoral certificate. The embossed doctoral certificate can be obtained in either German and/or English from the TUM-GS Management Office after the payment of roughly 133 EUR.
Join the TUM Alumni-Network and stay connected with the TUM Community, and maybe even become a mentor for students and young scientists. Further information and an overview of our regional alumni groups and their events can be found at https://www.community.tum.de/en/.
If you are interested to continue your scientific career (at a later stage) as postdoctoral research fellow, please contact the TUM Talent Factory for information about funding possibilities etc. Please also have a look at the website of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at https://www.ias.tum.de/fellowship-program/. The IAS offers various fellowship programs for different scientific career stages that are exclusively for international researchers. We would be more than happy to welcome you back at the TUM!
Before leaving Munich/Germany
There are also serveral formalities and issues to consider if you are planning to leave Munich or maybe Germany altogether.
Terminate your rental contract in writing as indicated in your rental agreement (usually three months before your departure). Make a preliminary appointment with your landlord to inspect the apartment and clarify whether or not you will be responsible for painting the walls/ carrying out small repairs (check your rental agreement for relevant information). Be sure to leave your apartment clean and empty when you meet your landlord for the final time to hand over the keys (Schlüsselübergabe). Clarify the refund of your deposit (please note that a part of the sum is usually retained until the final utility bill for the year of your departure has been calculated).
Cancel your radio and television licence fee (https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/buergerinnen_und_buerger/formulare/abmelden/index_ger.html) online; you will need the deregistration confirmation to do so (see below).
Close your bank account, inform all relevant authorities including your (former) landlord of your new bank account and pay remaining bills ahead of time. In case of ongoing reimbursement processes (e.g. for internationalization activities), please contact us at international@gs.tum.de and inform us of your new bank account.
Terminate your other contracts, e.g.: utilities/ internet & phone providers/ public transport subscription/ memberships/ insurance contracts (health, liability etc.). However, please note that you will need a valid health unsurance until the actual day of your departure from Germany.
Make sure to either inform everybody of your new address or to set up a forwarding request (Nachsendeauftrag) at the post office, so that Deutsche Post will forward your mail.
As a scholarship holder, you do not have to file a tax return in Germany since scholarships are tax-exempt. If you signed an employment contract with TUM, find out whether it is beneficial or even mandatory for your particular case to file a tax return. The authorities will be automatically informed about your departure from Germany when you deregister your address.
As a scholarship holder, you did not contribute to the German social security system and therefore will not receive pension in Germany.
As an employee of TUM, you automatically contributed to the German social security system as well as the additional pension scheme of VBL and are therefore eligible to receive pension.
The website of the German Pension Fund (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) provides information on the German pension system in general as well as detailed information on international regulations that might affect your pension entitlements. They also provide personal consultation via phone.
See the brochure „VBLspezial“ to contact the VBL Service Team about your additional pension provision VBL.
You can find detailed information on the pension landscape in Germany and Europe on the “Find your Pension”-website. It targets the needs of researchers and provides a pension tracking tool for researchers who worked in several European countries.
Deregister your child from kindergarten/ school and notify the TUM Family Service if they were involved in the application process. If applicable, inform the responsible authority regarding child allowance and parental allowance about your departure.
If you are leaving Munich for a different place in Germany, you do not need to officially deregister your residence. In this case your registration at your new place of residence in Germany will automatically initial your deregistration in Munich. If you are moving outside of Germany you must deregister your address. You can register your departure up to 1 week prior, but no later than 2 weeks after moving out. That step is very important – especially if you wish to return to Germany in the future.
City of Munich: you can either turn in your deregistration form in person after arranging an appointment (bringing your passport with you) or via ordinary mail (including a photocopy of your passport). You can download the deregistration form from the Residence Registration Office ("Bürgerbüro") at https://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/home_en/Department-of-Public-Order/Registration-Deregistration.html. Please note that in case of deregistration via mail, it will take 3-4 weeks in order to receive the deregistration confirmation via mail to your new address. In case of deregistration in person, you will receive your deregistration confirmation immediately.
Outside of Munich (e.g. Freising or Garching): you can deregister at the Bürgerbüro of your community in person without an appointment. Find the address and opening hours of your Bürgerbüro by typing in your postal code in the field “on location” on the Bayern Portal website at https://www.freistaat.bayern/.