Deferral of Payment of Tuition Fees Pursuant to § 6c of the Hamburg Higher Education Act (HmbHG)
Students entitled to defer payment of fees are German nationals, citizens of another European Union member state or of another state that is a signatory of the Treaty on the European Economic Area (and in certain circumstances their family members), and foreign nationals and stateless persons who obtained their university admission entitlement in Germany.
If you are an international student and do not fall into any of the above categories, you may be able to defer payment of fees pursuant to a statute that the Hamburg University of Technology is in the process of drawing up (see also the information for international students on tuition fees and the possibility to defer payment).
In both cases, deferral can only be granted if the student has not yet reached age 46.
The entitlement to defer payment is for the duration of a first degree course at the Hamburg University of Technology for a maximum of the standard course duration plus two semesters. Any extension granted during a Bachelor’s program will be taken into account when ascertaining the length of entitlement on a Master’s program. Periods of study at a German state university or an institution of equal rank will also be taken into account.
If a student opts to defer payment of fees, the liability to pay the tuition fee is postponed for the period of deferral entitlement. If during the period the student is not liable to pay fees for individual semesters (e. g. because he or she has been granted leave of absence), the said period will be extended accordingly. After this period students must pay the tuition fees themselves each time they re-enroll. However, students may be able to claim exemption or postpone payment of fees for individual semesters if there are legal grounds for exemption and you have been notified accordingly.
If you claim deferral as indicated in your notification of fees by submitting a deferral declaration, payment of your tuition fees will be deferred pursuant to § 6 c HmbHG and no interest will be payable. You will not receive separate notification of this. Deferral of the tuition fee incurs no interest.
Each semester, the Hamburg University of Technology transfers any outstanding fees receivable to the Hamburgische Wohnungsbaukreditanstalt (WK), a Hamburg state bank that promotes housing development. The Hamburgische Wohnungsbaukreditanstalt keeps an account for each student. You will receive regular statements of the amount repayable. Thus you will have a continuous overview of the amount to be repaid at a later date.
Once the period of entitlement to deferral has expired the deferred tuition fees are repayable in full. However, a student is only liable to pay if his or her income exceeds €30,000 per year. Students who have yet to reach the legally stipulated level of income can apply to the WK and the payment of the outstanding fees will be further deferred without incurring interest.