China is where the APS system began, and Chinese students face its most rigorous version: not just a document check, but an interview where you must convincingly discuss your own studies. It is a sensible safeguard and an entirely passable one, but it surprises applicants who expected pure paperwork. Show up unprepared and the gateway to your German degree gets harder than it needed to be.
The China-to-Germany path is one of the most established student corridors in the world, with a clear sequence: APS (with interview) first, then admission, then money, then the visa. Knowing the interview is coming and starting the slow steps early is what keeps your intake on track. Here is the path.
APS China and its interview
China is the original APS country, and the certificate is mandatory before a German student visa. APS China verifies your academic documents, and distinctively, it can include an interview to confirm your studies are genuine and that you can credibly discuss them.
This interview is the feature that sets China apart from some other APS countries. The general APS mechanics, what it verifies, the documents, the reusability, are in our APS certificate guide; for Chinese applicants the extra element is preparing for the interview.
To prepare: be ready to talk about your degree, your courses, and your subject knowledge in a way that shows the studies are really yours. It is not a hostile interrogation, it is a credibility check, and applicants who know their own academic history do fine. Treat it as a step to prepare for, not fear.
The financial proof
Like all student applicants, Chinese students show financial proof of €11,904 for one year (€992 per month as of 2025), usually via a blocked account (Sperrkonto).
The full rules, accepted proof, the timing trap, scholarship substitutes, are in the financial proof guide. For China, confirm the current figure with the German mission before depositing (it rises periodically), fund with lead time so the money looks credible, and keep a clean source-of-funds trail. After arrival the account releases €992 monthly.
Admission via uni-assist
Most German universities process international applications through uni-assist, which verifies documents, converts grades, and forwards eligible applications.
Run uni-assist in parallel with the APS where possible, since both take weeks. Check each target university, some require full uni-assist applications, some only a VPD, some take direct applications. Have transcripts and certified translations ready, an incomplete file is the main delay here, and the same APS-and-admission parallelism that helps Vietnamese applicants helps Chinese ones.
The timeline and working
Timeline: several months overall. APS China including the interview (and its scheduling) → admission via uni-assist → financial proof → visa appointment (which queues). These stack, and the interview adds a scheduling step, so start the APS as early as possible and run admission alongside.
Workable sequence: start APS immediately, prepare for the interview, gather and translate documents, apply via uni-assist while APS processes, secure admission, arrange the blocked account, book the visa appointment early.
Working while studying: once enrolled, the standard allowance applies, 120 full days or 240 half days per calendar year, plus Werkstudent roles (see the student job rules). It supplements funds but does not replace the upfront financial proof.
What to do this week
- Start APS China now, it is mandatory and gates the visa, and the interview adds a scheduling step, so begin early.
- Prepare for the APS interview by being able to discuss your degree, courses, and subject knowledge credibly.
- Confirm the financial-proof amount with the German mission, open a blocked account with lead time, and run your uni-assist application in parallel with the APS.
