Deferral of tuition fees upon making a justified application
Thanks to the new Tuition Fees Law now in force, the majority of students can defer the tuition fees for the duration of their studies (for a maximum of the standard period of study plus two semesters) interest-free and thus make use of the so-called WK deferral. Students who are entitled to a deferral must thus, in effect, only pay their tuition fees after their course is completed. For this reason, we refer in this connection to "deferred tuition fees". This right to deferral is derived from the Hamburg Higher Education Law. Where the deferral is made use of, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg transfers the amount due to the Wohnungsbaukreditanstalt (WK).
- All German citizens as defined by the German Basic Law who have not yet reached their 46th birthday,
- Citizens of another European Union Member State or of states which have signed the European Economic Area Treaty,
- Family members of a European Union citizen or of a citizen of states which have signed the European Economic Area Treaty who have the right of residence or permanent residence in accordance with Chapter III or IV of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and Council dated 29.04.2004,
- Stateless foreigners in terms of the Law on the Legal Status of Stateless Citizens in the Federal Territory dated 25.04.1951 (Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) III 243-1), last amended on 30.07.2004 (Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) I page 1950, 2000),
- Foreigners and stateless persons who have acquired their higher education entrance qualification certificate in Germany,
and who have not - reached their 46th birthday
- and/or have not exceeded the standard period of study by more than two semesters.
Information on the Standard Period of Study
You can obtain a payment deferral for the tuition fees for the standard period of study of your respective course plus two additional semesters. This regulation is based, as per article 6c section 3 clause 3 on the number of semesters for which you have attended university. The study periods at a different state university or equivalent state institution in Germany are also taken into account, even if, in this connection, they involved a different degree course.
Example: You have been studying architecture since the 2007 summer semester at the HCU with the aim of obtaining a Bachelor in Architecture. The standard period of study for this bachelor programme is 6 semesters. You can thus make use of the deferral up to and including the 8th semester. If you have previously already studied economics for 5 semesters at a different university, you would, however, already be in your 10th university semester. You would thus no longer be entitled to a payment deferral.
In general, a student may apply once for a payment deferral for the standard period of study of their respective degree course plus a one-off extension of two semesters. If you have already made use of this extension in the bachelor programme, then you can not reapply for it in the master programme.
Your previous number of university semesters is also used here as the basis for calculating your right to a payment deferral in the master's degree! If you took longer than the prescribed standard period of study to complete your bachelor’s degree, then your payment deferral for the master's degree is accordingly shortened. If you plan to complete both a bachelor’s degree and master's degree, you have a maximum payment deferral entitlement for the tuition fees of 12 university semesters (6 for the bachelor’s degree + 4 for the master's degree + 2 extension semesters).
Example A: You successfully complete your Bachelor in Architecture in 6 semesters and subsequently wish to continue to study for your Master in Architecture. For this purpose, you can make use of the standard period of study (4 semesters) plus the 2 possible extension semesters for deferring your payment of the tuition fees. You can thus apply to defer paying your tuition fees for 6 semesters of your master's degree course.
Example B: You successfully complete your Bachelor in Architecture in 7 semesters and subsequently wish to continue to study for your Master in Architecture. You have thus already used one of the possible extension semesters in addition to the standard period of study for your course. For your Master in Architecture, you thus have the right to apply to defer paying your tuition fees for the standard period of study (4 semesters) plus one extension semester. You can thus apply to defer paying your tuition fees for 5 master semesters.
Example C: You successfully complete your Bachelor in Architecture in 8 semesters and subsequently wish to continue to study for your Master in Architecture. For this purpose, you can apply to defer paying your tuition fees for the duration of the standard period of study (4 semesters). You can not extend this period as you already made use of the two additional semesters while studying for your bachelor’s degree!
Example D: You successfully complete your Bachelor in Architecture in 10 semesters and subsequently wish to continue to study for your Master in Architecture. Because the calculation relates to the completed university semesters, you are only entitled to a payment deferral of 2 semesters.
Example E: You successfully complete your Bachelor in Architecture in 12 semesters and subsequently wish to continue to study for your Master in Architecture. You have no right to apply for a payment deferral as you have used up all the available semesters already to complete your bachelor’s degree.
Entitled to a deferral – now what?
As per the new legislation, all students are entitled to apply for a payment deferral for their tuition fees. Whether you are actually entitled to a payment deferral will be communicated to you with the notification of fees. You do not have to pay the tuition fees right now yourself, you only have to pay these after the expiry of the payment deferral period relevant for your studies ("deferred"). For this purpose, you must return the "Payment Deferral Declaration" enclosed with the notification of fees within the indicated time period. You only need to submit the payment deferral declaration once at the start of the process – it then applies for the duration of your degree course. Even if you should decide, in between, to pay the tuition fees yourself, this can be done without problem during the re-registration period. If we have received no tuition fees from you during the re-registration period, we shall forward your particulars to the WK. The WK subsequently pays the tuition fees for you for the corresponding semester. It is thus definitely advantageous for you to return the payment deferral declaration to us.
The repayment period starts once your payment deferral period expires or - should this have already occurred - upon your completion of the degree course. This covers a period of 10 years as per article 6d section 3 clause 3 of the Hamburg Higher Education Law. The Wohnungsbaukreditanstalt (WK) will provide you, in writing, with the relevant information. If the repayment is due, you have the option to defer repayment interest-free. Where required, please apply in writing to the WK. For this purpose, your income in the calendar year preceding your application must not exceed €30,000. The WK will provide you with more detailed information in this connection at the relevant time.
