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The advisory teams of the City of Aalen’s Foreigners’ Registration Office and Aalen University of Applied Sciences. Photo: © City of Aalen

With the start of the winter semester 2025/2026, international students at Aalen University of Applied Sciences will be able to handle their residence-related matters directly on campus, thanks to a cooperation between the City of Aalen’s Foreigners’ Registration Office and the university’s International Center. This initiative saves time, streamlines administrative processes, and facilitates the integration of students from around the world who have chosen Aalen as their place of study.

Anyone who has lived, worked, or studied abroad can attest that dealing with local authorities regarding residence and bureaucratic matters often comes with its own set of challenges. In addition to language barriers, navigating unfamiliar administrative procedures and ensuring that the correct documents are submitted to the appropriate offices can be a source of uncertainty. To simplify these processes as much as possible for the many international newcomers at Aalen University—and to ensure a smooth start to their studies—the IMPAACT project was launched at the beginning of the current winter semester.

IMPAACT stands for International Mobile Point Aalen for Assistance, Care & Titels and refers to a mobile, personalized advisory service provided by the City of Aalen’s Foreigners’ Registration Office. The cooperation was initiated in response to the steadily increasing number of international students choosing Aalen each year.

“We were already in close contact with the authority and then jointly decided that it would be worthwhile to offer consultation hours for international students directly on campus,” said Dr. Lola Bulut from the Embrace Service Center for International Researchers. Sharath Babu Lokesh, who coordinates the project on behalf of the International Center, added: “This also has the advantage that our team can support students on site with any additional questions they may have.”

With immediate effect, appointments with the Foreigners’ Registration Office can now be scheduled at any time, in addition to fixed consultation dates at the beginning of each semester. These appointments now take place in the premises of the International Center in the WIN building at Aalen University of Applied Sciences, rather than at City Hall as before.

Sanchita Goswami from India, who has been conducting research at the Institute for Materials Research at Aalen University of Applied Sciences (IMFAA) since the beginning of the year, took advantage of one of these appointments and expressed her enthusiasm: “Thanks to this cooperation, the extension of my visa became a straightforward administrative process rather than the complex challenge I had anticipated.”

Laura Spichala, Deputy Head of the Foreigners’ Registration Office of the City of Aalen, is also convinced of the benefits of IMPAACT: “With this new on-campus service for residence-related matters, we not only increase the efficiency of our office by bundling appointments, but also accelerate application procedures and thereby contribute to the integration of international students within the university city of Aalen.”

Spichala and the staff of the authority are also fully equipped when working outside City Hall, thanks to their so-called citizens’ case. This portable kit contains all the equipment required to collect biometric data such as fingerprints, signatures, and passport photographs—elements that are essential for the issuance or extension of a residence permit.

In addition to submitting applications and documents, the on-campus appointments also include advisory services, for example for graduates who have completed their studies in Aalen and are now seeking information about employment opportunities and long-term prospects for remaining in the region. “Together with Aalen University of Applied Sciences, we provide graduates with the best possible guidance and thereby make a contribution to securing skilled professionals in the region,” Laura Spichala explained, referring to the broad range of advisory services offered by her office.