u/Acceptable_Ad_9926

Hey everyone,

I’m a 6th semester Electronics & Communication Engineering student from India and after months of cold emailing professors, interviews, applications, and rejections, I finally secured a research internship at Ruhr University Bochum (Germany) in the field of Medical Engineering / Ultrasound Imaging.
I applied for a German training/internship visa on 4th May 2026.
Unfortunately, my visa got rejected because I did not have an official university admission/admission-related letter (“Zulassungsbescheid”) at the time of application.
The embassy rejection letter stated that either:
1. Federal Employment Agency (FEA / Bundesagentur für Arbeit) approval was required for the internship
OR
2. An admission letter from the university could alternatively satisfy the requirement if the stay is classified under studies/university admission.
At the time of my first application, I only had:
• Internship Offer Letter from Ruhr University Bochum
• Research invitation from professor
But after rejection, I coordinated with the university international office and now I finally have:
• Official Admission Letter from Ruhr University Bochum
• Offer Letter
• Home university bonafide + curriculum-linked internship letter
• Sponsorship documents
• Bank statements
• Insurance
• Accommodation + flight booking
• Academic transcript + CV
• Cover letter
• Passport, etc.
Now my questions are:
1. Will the admission letter alone likely be enough for reapplication?
2. Or do I STILL need Federal Employment Agency approval despite having university admission now?
3. Has anyone here successfully gotten a German research/training visa as a bachelor student WITHOUT FEA approval?
4. Should I mention in my new cover letter that my previous visa was rejected due to the missing admission letter and that the issue has now been resolved?
5. Does reapplying after rejection negatively affect approval chances?
The biggest issue is timing:
• Internship minimum duration: 8 weeks
• Allowed internship window: May–July 2026
• Earliest next visa appointment: 3rd June
So I’m extremely stressed about whether I’m even legally eligible now before spending more money and time on a second application.
Any advice from people familiar with German internship/student visas would genuinely help a lot.

Thank you.

Hey
So I am a 6th semester Electronics and Communication Engineering Student from a tier 3 college in India. And I have been working my a** off since past 6 months to acquire a research internship at a German institute that gives me enough growth and opportunities and matches with my interest of growth. From applying to multiple programs, cold emailing professors and industry mentors, giving multiple interviews, endless conversations with student support organizations (more than half of them ignoring me (even a lot of reputed ones) saying we only provide opportunities for masters and PhD students and have nothing for bachelors students).

Finally I get my offer letter on 17th April 2026 after what seems like an endless road of applications and emails and calls. A MOMENT OF JOY WHILE IT LASTED. After that started the documentation formalities, visa applications, scholarship application and what not. Again same loop of calling people emailing them and getting hung up on (just this time for scholarships and accommodation arrangements in Germany) however a little piece of difference here was, I was little more motivated coz I was one step closer to my dream and I had the offer letter to my dream job in my hand.

Again after everything I appeared against the embassy with my documentations on 4th May 2026 for my visa application. However it got rejected because a single piece of document was missing which was not even in my hands. The document had to be issued from the German institute (where I am supposed to be working as of now) but when I called the international office of the institute they gave me no clear indication on the importance or even a requirement of the document so I simply proceeded with everything I had.

However after facing the rejection I had the written proof from the embassy stating the requirement of the letter hence I got the international office of that institute by the throat and acquired that one missing document as soon as possible.

Now the problem?

I am supposed to undertake a minimum of 8 weeks of internship between 1st May to 31st June, which if we do the math gives me a last joining window of 1st June 2026. But the next visa application date available online is 3rd June, making it impossible for me to join by the defined window.

Tried the institute. NO! They cannot extend the period for me. And now everything I have worked for and dreamed for is crashing right in front of my eyes. So if anyone can help me in a way possible, maybe submit that one document on a special date the consulate provides and reopen my application or somehow prepone my appointment it would be of great help and would owe my entire career to the person.

P.S yes I called on every helpline number of embassy and consulate available online and emailed everyone and everywhere possible.

German Internship Visa Rejected Due to Missing Admission Letter — Reapplying Now, Will Admission Letter Be Enough or Do I Still Need FEA Approval?

Indian Bachelors student and Internship at Germany