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Germany guide resources and the Indian community

Two things make the first year in Germany much easier: knowing which official and non profit services help you for free, and finding other Indians nearby. This page collects both. Everything here is checked as of August 2026, and none of these links are paid or sponsored.

Universities and study bodies

Use these before you apply. They cost nothing and they decide most of what happens later.

  • DAAD India

    Course search, scholarships and free advice sessions for Indian students, run from Delhi and Chennai.

  • uni-assist

    Central service that checks Indian certificates before your application reaches the university.

  • Hochschulkompass

    Official list of every accredited German university and degree programme, with English taught filters.

  • Studierendenwerk (student services)

    Student halls, cheap canteens and counselling in each university city. Apply for a room the day you get admission.

  • International Offices

    Every German university has one. They answer admission, buddy programme and enrolment questions by email.

Going to study? Read our Study in Germany guide or get the Study Starter Pack on our resources page.

City welcome portals

Welcome centres are city run offices for newcomers. They explain registration, permits and family matters in English, free of charge.

Arriving soon? The Arrival Pack walks through Anmeldung step by step.

NGOs and free advice services

These organisations are independent of your employer and your landlord. That matters when something goes wrong.

  • Handbook Germany

    Independent, plain language guide to German life, funded publicly and available in several languages.

  • Caritas migration advice

    Free, confidential advice for adult migrants, in person across Germany and online in English.

  • Diakonie migration advice (MBE)

    The other big church welfare network offering the state funded MBE advice service, free of charge.

  • Faire Integration

    Free advice on wages, contracts, working hours and unfair dismissal for migrant workers.

  • IQ Netzwerk

    Advice centres that walk you through getting an Indian degree or trade qualification recognised.

  • Deutscher Mieterbund (tenant associations)

    Local tenant associations check your rental contract and deposit for a small yearly membership fee.

Official federal portals

The rules themselves come from these four. When a blog and one of these disagree, believe these.

  • Make it in Germany

    The federal portal for skilled workers: visa checks, job board and a free hotline in English.

  • BAMF

    Residence permits, integration and German courses, plus the official NAvI course finder.

  • Bundesagentur für Arbeit

    Germany's official job database and career advice, free for anyone living in Germany.

  • Recognition in Germany

    Official first stop to find out which office decides on your Indian qualification.

Planning a job move? See our Jobs in Germany guide and the Chancenkarte guide.

Where Indians live in Germany

Around 250,000 people of Indian origin live in Germany, and Indians are now one of the largest groups of international students and skilled workers. They are not spread evenly, so the city you pick changes how quickly you find a community.

Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main area

Banking, IT services and the airport. One of the oldest and largest Indian communities in Germany, with temples, grocery shops and a big Diwali scene.

Munich and Bavaria

Engineering, automotive and tech employers, plus TUM and LMU. Expensive housing, but strong professional networks.

Berlin

Startups, research and a young international crowd. The easiest city to get by in English and to find people your age.

Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg

Car makers and their suppliers, with many Indian engineers on project assignments and their families.

Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne

Trade, logistics, media and consulting. Smaller but well organised Indian associations and temple communities.

Dresden, Leipzig, Aachen and Darmstadt

Student cities. Cheaper rents and large Indian student groups at the technical universities.

How to connect once you are there

Six routes that work in almost every German city, from formal associations to the notice board in an Indian grocery shop.

Indian associations and cultural societies

Nearly every large city has a registered Indian association (often called Indian Association <city> e.V.) and a Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft chapter. They run language classes, Independence Day and Diwali programmes, and are the safest first contact. The Indian Embassy in Berlin keeps a list of registered associations.

Temples, gurudwaras, mosques and churches

Places of worship double as community centres: Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm, Shri Ganesha Hindu Temple in Berlin, Sikh gurudwaras in Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich, and Indian Christian congregations in most big cities. Sunday programmes usually end with food and an easy way to talk to people.

Student groups at your university

Most technical universities have an Indian student association and a buddy or tandem programme through the International Office. Write to them before you fly: they often help with the first nights, SIM cards and second hand furniture.

Online groups

Search Facebook for "Indians in Berlin", "Indians in Munich" and so on, and Reddit for r/germany, r/Indian_Academia and city subreddits. WhatsApp and Telegram groups are usually shared inside those. We do not link individual invite links here because they expire and change owners quickly.

Festivals and city events

Diwali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Durga Puja and Independence Day are celebrated publicly in every big German city, and several cities run an India Week or Bollywood festival. These are the easiest places to meet dozens of people in one evening.

Everyday practical contacts

Indian grocery shops and restaurants are informal notice boards: rooms, tutoring, jobs and events are pinned on the door. Cricket clubs, Bollywood dance classes and Hindi or Tamil weekend schools for children exist in most cities. Many areas also have Indian origin doctors and lawyers, which helps in a first difficult conversation.

Official community contacts

Embassy, consulates and the long established German-Indian networks. Start here rather than with a random group.

Writing your first message

Keep it short and concrete: who you are, which city and when you arrive, what you study or do, and one clear question. "Hi, I am moving to Stuttgart on 1 October for a mechanical engineering job. Has anyone here found a WG in Bad Cannstatt recently?" gets answers. "Hi guys, any tips?" does not.

These groups are excellent for flat leads, used furniture, job referrals, a SIM card on day one and someone to sit with in the first weeks. They are not a substitute for visa, tax or legal advice, where a wrong answer costs you months.

Stay safe in community groups

  • Never pay a deposit for a flat you have not seen, and never to someone who says they are abroad and will post the keys. This is the most common scam against new arrivals.
  • Paid job agents who promise a German work visa for a fee are usually selling nothing. Employers and the Bundesagentur für Arbeit do not charge candidates.
  • Do not send passport scans, visa documents or bank details to a group or a person you met there.
  • If something feels wrong at work or with a landlord, go to Faire Integration or a tenant association. Their advice is free and independent.

Take the checklists with you

Our free Germany Move Checklist covers the paperwork before you fly, and the paid packs go step by step through jobs, study, arrival and housing, with editable Word templates.

See all guides and PDFsAsk us a question