But In general, follow these guidelines

1. Identify ur research area

2. Identify the related professor
3. First mail is usually concise informing them that you are interested in their work
4. U have abc educational background
5. Make a reference to their published work and how u see it and ur current or previous research scope is related to that or
their other work.
6. And u r interested in applying to their lab and or research group
7. Attach ur research Cv and previous degree transcript

Study in Austria-General Information for Pakistani Students.

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Austria
Study, Work and Immigration
General Information For Pakistani
Students

Revision 2.0

Muhammad Adnan
July, 2012

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ..........................................................................................................................
Preface ............................................................................................................................................
1. How to search for your field of study .................................................................................... 7
2. Admission to Austrian University.......................................................................................... 7
3. Eligibility Criteria for Admission in Masters and Bachelors.............................................. 7
4. Document Attestation from Austrian Embassy .................................................................... 8
5. Admission Dates ...................................................................................................................... 8
6. Language Requirements ......................................................................................................... 9
7. Visa Process.............................................................................................................................. 9
8. Money matters and Bank statement .................................................................................... 10
9. Fees and Expenses in Austria ............................................................................................... 11
10. Accommodation Issues .......................................................................................................... 11
11. Health insurance in Austria ................................................................................................. 11
12. Part time Jobs ........................................................................................................................ 12
13. Difference between University and University of Applied Sciences ................................. 12
14. Step-by-step procedure for study in Europe....................................................................... 14
15. Some Useful Links ................................................................................................................. 15
Frequently Asked Questions ...................................................................................................... 16
16. Appendix A ............................................................................................................................ 17

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nexsusint@hotmail.com
Please use the above contact only, if something is not clear in this document. To avoid posting
questions, which are already answered in this document, please read this document carefully.

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1. How to search for your field of study

To find the program of your interest is a primary task when you decide to go abroad for studies.
Here are links from where you can have a look at the study programs offered by Austrian
Universities.
http://www.studyguide.at/ Particularly for Austria
http://www.mastersportal.eu/ Whole Europe. Here you can search for your field of study. The
search tool here is very nice and sophisticated. You can sort your search results by country as
well.
The first link actually is in German language but you can open it in Google Chrome which
automatically translates pages in foreign language into English. This will make your life easy.
For details on Universities and University of Applied Sciences please see the
section Difference b/w University and University of Applied Sciences First site is not
very much detailed and you may not know the details for the program you are interested in, but
at least you will know that which university is offering this program. After this step, you can
Google the name of that university to access university website to get more information and
details about study program, admission procedure fees and everything else.
The second link also gives some description of the program and in some cases its curriculum
with the link to course home page. Which makes this site more attractive for program search and
off course this site is in English.
More details on this process can be found in Appendix A.

2. Admission to Austrian University

Unlike Sweden, Finland or Germany, there is no central authority for receiving and verifying
documents in Austria. Each university conducts its admissions separately and they have their
procedure different from each other. Please look at the website of your university to know details
about admission procedure.

3. Eligibility Criteria for Admission in Masters and

Bachelors
To apply for a Master degree program in Europe, one has to have a Bachelor degree of 4 years
from Pakistan. This accounts of 16 years of education (Intermediate + Bachelor = 12 + 4 = 16
years of education). If, however, your Bachelors degree is of 2 years, then you will have 14 years
of education and you are not eligible to apply for Master degree courses. So, in this case, you
have to do Masters from Pakistan and complete your 16 years of education and then apply for
Master Degree here in Europe.
To apply for Bachelor degree, you must have your 12 years of education completed. It means
that Intermediate (FSc) degree holder can apply for Bachelor program provided that he/she
fulfils language requirements. Almost all Bachelor degree program in European countries are
taught in their local languages e.g German, Italian and Finnish etc. However, you may find some
Bachelor programs in English in some countries like Finland, Germany and Austria. Please look
at university database of respective country to find info about that.

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Admission to Bachelor degree program is usually accompanied by an entry test, just like
Pakistan. Some universities conduct entry tests in foreign countries if they have sufficient
Bechelor degree applicants from that particular country. If you apply in such a program and
your university does not conduct entry test in Pakistan, then you may have to visit India or
Nepal for that test, if university conducts that entry test there. I have a friend who applied
for such a program in Finland in 2010. His university conducted entry test in Nepal and he
has to go to Nepal for that test. He went there, appeared in entry test, passed it and now he is
in Finland studying his Bachelors degree.

4. Document Attestation from Austrian Embassy

Some universities in Austria ask applicants to send documents attested by Austrian Embassy. If
your university says so, then you have to send them attested documents by Austrian Embassy. If
university website does not say so, then for admission, there is no need to attest your documents
from Austrian Embassy. But for visa, you will have to attest them, as according to Embassy, this
is a standard procedure which you have to follow. So, in either case you have to get your
documents attested by Austrian Embassy. Here is a list of documents which Austrian Embassy
Attests.
1- Academic Certificate (Metric, FSc, BSc and any other degree issued by a Pakistani
University or Institute)
2- Birth Certificate (Embassy verifies your birth by sending and advocate to your local areaunion council)
3- Police Clearance Certificate or Police Certificate.
First step of this attestation procedure is the verification. Embassy verifies each of your
document by a third party organization linked to the embassy. Embassy pays them for this
purpose. So, you have to pay Embassy to get your documents verified. This fee at my time
(2010) was around 23,000 (Twenty Three Thousand Rupees Only). Keep in mind that this is
Verification fee. When documents are verified, embassy will call you to get your original
documents Attested. Embassy will put a stamp at the back of your Original Documents with the
signature of Counselor/Ambassador. They will charge 40-Euros (Fourty Euros Only) per
document of yours, for attestation. You have to pay equivalent amount in Pakistani Rupees.
For verification/attestation, it is better to make an appointment with the embassy, but (Now,
there are no more appointmentsupdate 2011) You can go there on Monday for documents
submission without appointment. You have to be there early in morning to have your name
written at the gate. After embassy is done with people with appointment, it will call you inside.
But your turn may not come if there are too many people there. So its good to make an
appointment.
Embassy only attests your original documents and not photocopies. You will send photocopies
of these attested documents to your university. Sometimes university may ask you to send the
original documents which you got attested. In this case, they will send your documents back, in
case that you are not qualified for admission.

5. Admission Dates
Admission dates are not specific in any country of Europe. Dates vary from university to
university. Most universities intake is annual and it is usually in fall semester. For fall semesters,
admission starts usually in February, March. If university intake is also available in summer
semester, then for summer semester, admission dates are usually in October, November. You

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have to consult website of your selected university to know final dates and information about
intake.

6. Language Requirements
Usually, Bachelors degree programs all over the Europe are taught in local language of that
particular country. There are very few universities which offer Bachelor degree courses in
English. But for Masters, case is different. From last decade, majority of universities which
offered Masters courses have started Master degree courses in English. They say these courses as
International Master Degree Program. It is called International because it is in English.
If your selected program is in local Language then university will require you to have a
certificate in their Local language e.g German, Italian etc. If program is in English, then they will
require you provide English Language Proficiency Certificate (IELTS, TOEFL or in some cases,
they may accept a Proficiency Certificate from your university).
To know about the score requirements in TOEFL or Band requirements in IELTS, you have to
check your university website. Each university has its own requirement. Many universities
accept IELTS band 6.0 or even 5.5, TOEFL iBT score 80. Some may require a higher score of 90
(TOEFL) or 6.5(IELTS). So, it would be nice if you strive for the maximum score in your
Language Certificate to increase number of universities you can apply.
Note: Although your selected university may accept a Proficiency Certificate issued by your own previous
university, this certificate will always be below the scores of IELTs and TOEFL. Since competition for admission
is more and more every year, you may lose your position if your competents are providing IELTS/TOEFL
as compared to you. So, it would always be better to provide an internationally recognized English Language
Proficiency Certificate.

7. Visa Process
In general, visa process is same for all countries accept Austria. As, if your documents are not
Verified and Attested by Austrian Embassy, they will do so first(this process takes 4-8 weeks)
even if your university does not require you to get them attested by Embassy.
When you have submitted your documents for verification, take an appointment from embassy
after two/three weeks of this submission for your residence permit. This is to save your time
when documents are attested.
Once you get your admission letter from university and your documents are attested by
embassy, you start your visa process. In Austrian case, application for visa is called
Application for Residence Permit. You apply for Residence Permit and once your
application is approved (It usually takes 4-6 weeks), embassy will call you to submit Schengen
visa form. After you fill in that form and submit visa fee and submit your passport, you get your
visa in 10 days.
The form for Residence Permit Application is a little complicated and is in German. It has
around 10-12 pages. At first sight you may not be able to recognize even a word out of it. But
with a little effort you can find the soft copy of this form on Google. I found it on the Austrian
foreign ministry website. Once you get the soft form, you can give this .pdf or .doc to Google
translator to get a Translation and then fill in the form. Otherwise, If someone of yours knows
German language can fill this form. But at least dont pay anyone to fill out this form. You can
contact me if you dont find any way out.

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The fee for Residence Permit Application is around 80-Euros (Eighty Euros only), which you
have to submit while submitting your application. Almost same amount you will pay when you
apply for Schengen Visa at last step.
Residence permit application is necessary for people (students) who want to stay in Austria for
more than six months. Usually, Master degree program is of two years. Students who want to
come to Austria for one semester or less than six months, they dont need to apply for Residence
Permit. I dont have any further information about the visa process for this kind of students.
Application Form for Residence Permit and its explanation is also available on this site.
http://www.bmeia.gv.at/vertretung/taipeh/ratgeber/formulare-zum-download.html
This page is in German. You can translate it from Google Chrome or Google toolbar in IE or
Mozilla.

8. Money matters and Bank statement

If you are not holder of a scholarship then you have to prove that you have sufficient funds to
cover the expense of one or two years. As, I know, Sweden requires the proof of two years. The
rest of countries, including Austria, require you to show sufficient money for one year. Money
for One year for Austria is around 9500 Euros (Nine Thousand Five Hundred Euros onlyfor
age above 24 years). It changes a little bit every year. (Usually, increases). This amount of
money is more than any other country in Europe. This is because Austria is a little bit more
expansive then other countries. If your age is below 24 years, then you have to show 5258(Five
thousand, two hundred and fifty eight Euros Only).
Please look at
http://www.oead.at/welcome_to_austria/legal_practical_issues/entry_to_austria/nationals_of_thi
rd_countries/stays_for_more_than_6_months/students_at_austrian_universities/EN/
For updated amount of this money. (Please type above link in your browser if it does not work
by clicking on. Otherwise, you can browse OEAD website for this information.)
For Austria, your local bank account statement which is in Rupees will not be accepted.
Actually, they require you to either open a bank account in some Austrian bank or provide them
with equal amount of Traveler Cheques. Both things are not possible because you cannot open a
bank account in Austrian bank unless you are in Austria and also Traveler cheques are not
available in Pakistan. You cannot buy them either. The solution is to open a Euro account in an
internationally renowned bank like Standard Chartered or HSBC etc. Submit this amount of
Euros (9500-euros or whatever is required) into that account, get your bank statement, and attach
it to your Residence Permit Application form. For Austria, money doesnt need to be there for
last six or 12 months. But it would be nice, if it is there for last 3 or 4 months to avoid any risk.
Even if it was not there for last 3, 4 months, it will not be a problem. You may have opened your
euro account just a week ago.
If your university requires you to show proof of funds while applying for admission, they will
give you a form to fill. This form will have some fields asking you to enter annual income of
your family. Usually, university doesnt need any proof at this time. So, you can just fill this
form in to show that your family income is sufficient to support you. You dont need to have
money in your bank at this time.

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9. Fees and Expenses in Austria

Usually, there is a tuition fee of around 363 Euros (Three hundred, sixty three Euros only) per
semester in Austrian universities. This fee is not too much and one who has studied in any
private or semi-government university of Pakistan, can afford it very easily.
Austria is a little expensive country in compared to other countries of Europe. For single person
living alone in single room, the cost will be from 300 to 350 Euros per month (this includes rent,
internet, electricity cost and food). Room rent is usually from 200 to 250 Euros/month. But if
you share your accommodation, you can reduce your monthly cost to around 250 Euros.
Furthermore it also depends on the city where you live. Capital and large cities are expansive as
compared to small and remote areas. But even if you live in Capital, the monthly cost should not
be more than 400 Euros.
Food cost per month, as I estimated here is around 50 to 80 Euros, if you know how to save
money. But even if you dont know, it will not be over 80 Euros.

10. Accommodation Issues

When you are applying for Residence Permit Student, you have to show a document proving that
you have accommodation for your stay in Austria. For this you must have booked room in a
hostel or a student dormitory. For this purpose you have to contact with your university they will
provide you student dormitory or if they dont have student hostel/dormitory so in this case you
have to book hostel/dormitory at your own. There are several student dormitories/Hostels in
Austria named
1. Home 4 Students
website: http://www.home4students.at/
2. Mozartheim
website:
http://www.mozart.uniklu.ac.at/
3. Studentheim
website:
http://www.studentenheim.at/
Book your room there and they will provide you with an agreement that you will submit to the
embassy as a proof of accommodation. For booking the room, you will have to give a deposit, so
you have to transfer the required money in their account to get a n agreement. In case that you
are unable to come later, they will return your money, while you will bear the transaction
charges.

11. Health insurance in Austria

Health insurance is must is Austria. You have to get it once you arrive here. It costs you 50
Euros per month which is low as compared to Germany, where you have to pay 68 Euros per
month.
You have to get some travel health insurance when you apply for Residence permit from
Pakistan. You have to get Insurance of at least 3 or 4 months from your expected travel/arrival to
start of your study period. You will submit this insurance certificate with your Residence Permit
Application. Once you are here, you will apply for student health insurance at a local insurance
company. This health insurance is in fact local to whole Europe.

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12. Part time Jobs

Due to small number of students, part time jobs are available in Austria. For example you can do
a newspaper delivery job and earn 500 Euros a month. This job is easy to get in winter because
people avoid doing it due to cold. In big cities like Vienna, student work in restaurants and earn
reasonable amount to support themselves for their study period.
If you are technical person, you can work in some company as and internee and they may pay
you from 400 to 800 Euros (it is just a rough estimate). But, its always hard to find such
internships related to your field of study. Still, there are more opportunities here in the technical
field as compared to Norway, Finland and Sweden.
If you want to work here, then for that you have to get work permit. Work permit is hard to get
everywhere in Europe because of policy of European Union. Companies are asked to hire local
Europeans unless absolutely necessary. If you are too good in your field, then you will have no
problem in getting a work permit.
After your Master degree, there is no work-search visa here in Austria you can apply for a 6
month work search visa to find a job. If you get a job innda company, you can then get a RedWhite-Red card. More details on this can be found in 2 part of this document. In Germany,
they usually give you a work-search visa once you complete your Master or Bachelors degree.
Here in Austria, students, if they get an internship/trainee-ship in some company, they usually
get admission into another Master to prolong their stay and earn money from that
internship/trainee-ship. Then with time, company may hire them if they are good enough and in
that case they get a work permit. You can also get a visa on basis of your internship/trainee-ship,
but it is usually of 6 months only. So, it is better to get admission into another Masters to get a
visa/residence permit for a year.

13. Difference between University and University of Applied

Sciences
Before 10, 12 years ago, there were only Universities and there was nothing named like
University of Applied Sciences (Fochhochschule in German abbreviated as FH). Then the
government in German speaking countries (Germany, Austria) established this new type of
university and named it Fochhochschule (FH)University of Applied Sciences. The purpose
was to enhance industrial and practical courses in Bachelor and Masters.
Study at FH is more practical oriented in collaboration with industry, while at University study
is more Research Oriented. So, if someone wants to work in Industry after his Bachelors or
Masters, he should enroll in an FH and if someone wants to have more research in his study,
then he should prefer University.
According to the definition or law, degrees from both FH and University are equvalent when
compared by credit scores earned. Also, one who has done his Bachelor from an FH is eligible to
enroll in Masters in a University. Similarly, a Master degree holder from an FH is eligible to
enroll into PhD anywhere. But, unfortunately, this may not be exactly the case.
Generally, a degree from University is considered superior to a degree from FH, when you want
to enroll for further studies. I know one of my friends who did is Bachelors from an FH in
Germany, but he was denied admission in Masters in a University saying that you hold a degree
from FH and you need to take more study courses to be eligible to enroll in Masters. So, that guy
has no other way except to enroll in a Master course at some FH. This is one example which
may not be implied as a general rule, but I wanted it to share this with you.

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In, the case that you go for a practical work in an industry, then FH degree would be preferred
over University degree.
Generally, outside German speaking countries, people and universities dont know the
difference b/w FH and University. They consider both as university and degree of both as
equivalent. This means that if an FH master degree holder goes to some non-German speaking
country to enroll in PhD, they may not consider this little difference and he will not have any
problem in getting admission.

14. Step-by-step procedure for study in Europe

1. Get your passport if you havent made it yet. Passport is needed not only for IELTS/TOEFL
but also it is required by every university where you want to apply for admission.
2. If you want to apply for Austria, Get your documents attested from Austrian Embassy
whenever you have time. As, this may not be required for admission but it will eventually be
required for visa.
3. Get your IELTS or TOEFL done on priority bases. This will make you eligible to apply for
admission anywhere.
4. Get your documents attested from BISE, HEC and Foreign Office whenever you have time.
Get sufficient copies attested from BISE and HEC so that you can apply to at least 3, 4
universities. Get your original documents attested from Foreign Office.
5. Make some Recommendation letters (2 or 3) from university professors you know. Make
them general and not particular to any university so that you can use them while applying
anywhere.
6. Meanwhile, think about arrangement of money which you have to show, once you get
admitted. Look around for people who may help you out. Also, pray for yourself so that
some resources may appear out of nowhere.
7. Find your field of study in some university which is free or which has some nominal fee
which you can afford. Its better to make a list of universities where you think yourself
eligible to apply and prioritize them. Look at university website in detail to know about
admission procedure and fee matters. Some universities may want you apply online and then
send your documents along with a printed copy of the online form. In some cases they may
defer your documents until you have been preselected. If you are preselected, then they will
ask you to send paper copies of your documents. The process depends on your university. In
some cases they may conduct an interview.
8. Note down admission procedure and mark deadlines on your Calendar so that you may have
no problem in future in meeting deadlines.
9. Apply for admission in time. It is better to apply as soon as possible when admission starts.
10. If you are admitted, you will be notified by email as well as you will receive an admission
letter. After you receive your admission letter, you can start your visa process.
11. For Austrian visa, you have to show proof of accommodation arrangement. Your university
will usually arrange you a proof of accommodation if you are admitted. You have to ask
them for that. Proof of accommodation is necessary for Residence permit application.
12. Contact the embassy to make an appointment to apply for visa.
12.1.
In case of Austria, you apply for Residence Permit.
13. Apply for visa (Residence Permit) as soon as possible. Usually visa process takes 4-6 weeks.
But it may prolong if there is some problem. In case of Austria, if your Residence Permit
Application is accepted, embassy will ask you to submit Schengen visa form. They will call
you in that case. Submit that Schengen visa form and you will get your visa in 10 days.
14. When you get your visa, and have your passport stamped by the embassy, book a flight and
get yourself on a study abroad tour.

Study in Austria-General Information for Pakistani Students.

15. Some Useful Links

www.studyinfinland.fi Admission for Finland.
www.daad.de German universities and scholarships data base
www.studyguide.at Austrian Universities guide.
http://www.mastersportal.eu/ Master portal for all Europe.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1- Can I go to Germany or any other European country, once I am in Austria after my
admission to an Austrian University?
Yes. You can go to Germany or any other European country after you get Residence Permit Card
from here. Since you are living in a Schengen country, you can go to other Schengen countries
(27 countries) and live there for maximum of 3 months in a 6 months period.
If you plan to apply for any other European country, you can do that from Austria as well. For
example, if someone plans to apply for some German university then he can apply there. If he
gets admitted then he has to apply for German residence/student visa, because with this Austrian
residence, he can live in Germany for maximum of 3 months in a 6 month period. And again,
you will have to fulfill all the requirements laid by Germany for a student e.g. deposit of one year
expanse money in German bank etc.
2- How university conduct Interview of an applicant?
If your university conducts interview for admission to Master degrees then this interview will be
on Skype.
3- Is there any interview at embassy while applying for residence permit or visa?
If you are a student and you are applying for residence permit after your admission, then
there will be a short interview at embassy. Usually interview questions include enquiry about
your profession, your job, your source of income and about your financial support etc.

It is difficult to understate the importance of Accounting in companies and the business world as a whole. It is because of my
recognition of the importance of accounting that I have decided to seek further education and a career in this field. After
careful consideration, it has become clear to me that developing a successful career in accounting in the modern business
environment requires advanced training in accounting and related subjects. I am motivated to study in your masters
program in Accounting and Management by an awareness of the ever-changing reality of the business environment and the
need to upgrade my own expertise and professional abilities. I am a native of [country], an Asian island with a trade-oriented
economy that is increasingly focused exporting to markets in Europe and North America. Many outstanding scholars from
my country have studied abroad to hone their skills with foreign teachers and classmates, and this has been instrumental to
the progress of my countrys economy. I hope to follow suit, broadening my international perspective, improving my
language skills, and refining my knowledge of accounting.

I majored in the Department of Mathematics at National Good University, one of the top ten universities in all of [country]. I
chose this major due to my belief that math is the foundation of academic and professional development. My department
offered us comprehensive training in diverse fields such as computer science, mathematics and social sciences. With my
extensive foundation in mathematics, I am convinced that I can cope well with the demands of your masters program. I also
took elective management classes, including Management and Economics, while in the university. My academic
experiences impressed upon me the importance of accounting in the modern business world, as well as the crucial role
played by management in the ultimate direction and success of a company. With my growing interest in the business world,
my performance in the university steadily improved over my four years of study. As my interest in these areas developed, it
became clear that the pursuit of postgraduate education in these areas, ideally in the USA, is the logical next step in my
overall development.

In addition to my work in the classroom, I was an active member of campus. I have joined several organizations since senior
high school, in which I acquired a unique blend of experiences. Perhaps the most memorable and valuable of all was my
participation in the Department of Mathematics Student Association. I was in the activity section, which organized many
activities for the whole Department. I organized the Departments large-scale end-of-year party, planning details of the event
with my partners and ensuring steady progress toward our goals. During the process of conducting these tasks, conflicts
inevitably arose. I worked hard, however, to coordinate with other members of the group and developed contingency plans

to address problems as they arose. This experience proved to be as rewarding as it was challenging, and I expect that the
leadership experience I acquired will be very useful when pursuing further studies.

Given the importance of globalization in the management and development of companies, an education that does not fully
address the international and multicultural realities of the modern business world is incomplete. I have therefore decided to
pursue my degree overseas, as the expertise and facilities offered in my countrys educational institutions are limited and
thus unable to match the diversity and multiculturalism available in the US. I look forward to meeting and interacting with
people from diverse backgrounds. The ability to listen and learn from others is crucial for professionals in all industries. Your
university, with its mix of people from different backgrounds, is a true microcosm of the international business world and
thus the ideal place in which to pursue a business-based education.

As the above shows, I am highly motivated and ambitious in pursuing my masters degree in the US. By studying in your
masters program, I hope to extend my vision and improve my English proficiency. After completion of your masters
program, I plan to return to [my country] and work for one of the leading multinational accounting/finance firms as an
accounting professional capable of dealing with a broad range of people, companies, and financial situations. Your program
in Accounting and Management will enable me to achieve the goals I have set for myself. I expect to have a long career in
this field and benefit a wide range of companies. In this way, I hope to add to the general development of my countrys
economy and become a leading professional in my field.

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