Step Two: Moving to Cologne

The second component in the moving to Cologne on exchange was that of insurance papers. I was required to take the insurance policy offered by the international office at my home university, so I applied for those papers in March of 2012. Because I was planning to be abroad for 15 months in total, my coordinator somehow ran across some speed bumps in the paperwork process. Despite my requests, continuous reminders and pleas for coverage, my insurance policy arrived not only more than 3 months after I requested it but after I had been abroad for one month already. Going abroad without insurance coverage is extremely risky and I would not advise it. Paranoia can grip you, trust me. Though it’s always important to be careful when traveling, the risk of being uncovered is not worth it and I advise you to take matters into your own, capable hands when it comes to this. Every coordinator has a supervisor. Don’t let one person’s apathy or refusals discourage you from pursuing your new adventure and dreams (in more cases than just this one).

Being in Cologne on business
yields interesting discoveries

Once you receive your policy from your home institution or if you have coverage from a parent’s policy that reaches the borders of your new home, you will need to file with the city of Cologne (or wherever you’re going in Germany) to receive an exemption form. This form is required to enroll in your host university. I tried to organize the last four components to be on one day trip to Cologne, in order of their required papers. I made my way to the office with the first train from Siegen at 5 am and arrived as soon as their doors opened 8 am. Be sure to check the address, opening hours, required documents and directions to the office you seek. Having all of this information with you will make your journey so much easier.

I emailed the office ahead of time to make sure that there would be someone who spoke English, to verify the hours and address, and to make sure that they could fulfill my needs accordingly. Check. The process itself was not so complicated. The secretary was very helpful and sought someone who understood my language better than he; the new girl input all of my information from my lease agreement as proof of address, my passport as proof of identity, and my policy papers as proof of insurance. They then printed two documents for me: one for my host university in order to enroll and the other for the city of Cologne in order to apply for my residence permit. Graciously, they offered me a free planner to help with my studies and reviewed all the information that I would need to know.

A stroll through Cologne from office to office

You can use a few different offices around the city to complete this task, but the one I used was the AOK Rheinland on Zulpicher Strasse 58. They are open from 8 am to 4 pm and you can visit their website at www.aok.de/rh

Next stop, running to my new university to enroll! I was wearing a nice, business casual outfit with a backpack full of papers, snacks and a train ticket. Don’t mess with this girl, she’s got an agenda.