6 Reasons Indian Students Choose Germany over France

Indian students are influencing the worldwide educational scene for the good of both their host nations and themselves. They contribute a vast amount to the international student community. Indian students prefer to go to English-speaking countries such as the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, etc., for further studies due to recent changes in these countries’ policies and regulations. The momentum is shifting to other countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, etc.

Of course, Canada was booming, and Indian students are the major chunk in Canada, but recent policy changes, such as the capping of international students, increases in living costs, scrapping the student direct stream visa category, post-study graduate work restrictions on diploma programs, etc., cause Indian students to look for the other destinations as well. As far as other developed and English-speaking countries are concerned, they have their own cons; for example, in the USA, every step is challenging, from getting an offer letter to booking the visa appointment to clearing an F1 visa interview; everything is uncertain, even Trump winning made it worse. The UK has already indicated that they are looking for fewer immigrants by scrapping spousal visas with student visas, increasing living costs, and increasing the Immigration health surcharge. Australia is pretty reluctant to take international students with low GPAs and financial documents, plus it loves to reject the visas of Indian students and puts a cap on international student enrolment. Ireland is also a hard nut to crack since the tuition fee is high. Living costs are high and the economy size is smaller, plus the job market is limited to IT and finance only, so now Indian students are mulling over pursuing their further education in Europe, especially in the two best economies of the world, Germany and France. Both countries are also popular amongst international students and offer amazing

Germany and France are neighbours and part of the Schengen area, known for their amazing landscapes, welcoming people, robust economy, and strong job market. For Indian students, it is quite challenging to decide where to pursue their further education, but there are certain reasons that Indian students should choose Germany over France for further studies. We are going to understand it one by one: how Germany is winning the race in 2025 and being able to attract Indian students, and why you should also choose Germany over France. 

There are 6 top reasons for Indian students to choose Germany over France, such as:

1) Free Education

In 2014, Germany gathered so much attention in the global forum by announcing free education to domestic as well as International students. Most of the public universities in Germany do not ask for tuition fees; they only require a nominal administrative fee. The mantra is clear: Germans believe in the philosophy of considering education as a fundamental right and view education as a public good. At the same time, French public universities do ask for tuition fees.

2) The Largest Economy of Europe

Germany is a developed country with the third-largest economy in the world and the largest in the whole of Europe. Germany boasts a robust infrastructure and healthcare, a stable regulatory environment, and an advanced finance sector. Deutschland is also a popular location for both incoming and outbound foreign direct investment. As far as the job market is concerned, Germany is facing a shortage of skilled workers in many sectors, such as engineering, healthcare, and Information Technology, and offers high pay in almost every sector when compared to France. The unemployment rate is also lower in Germany compared to France.

3) Post-Study Work Permit

Germany provides Indian students an opportunity to apply for a job seeker visa or post-study work visa of 18 months to find a job after completion of the program, whereas for France, the stay-back duration is only 12 months, which makes Germany more appealing in comparison to France. When French President Emmanuel Macron visited India, He announced major initiatives to boost student mobility, such as increasing the number of Indian students in French institutions by 2030 and allowing a 5-year Schengen visa, whereas the media took it differently and misinterpreted that France is allowing a 5-year post-study work permit to Indian students, which is a false statement. For Indian students, the maximum limit of a post-study work permit is only 12 months, and the rest of the time, the student can travel and stay up to 90 days maximum each time in the Schengen zone. It does not offer any kind of residence or work permit.

4) Engineering Hub

Germany is widely known for STEM-or technical-related programs such as Engineering, Computer science, Information technology, data science, etc. The local government spends over 3% of its GDP on research and development. It is home to brands such as BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche, making it a global leader in the automobile sector. Germany is a leader in industrial automation with companies like Kuka and Festo. Apart from these, Germany also boasts of leading the global green energy revolution with an emphasis on hydrogen technology and sustainable engineering. Metropolitan cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich are emerging as hot destinations for thousands of engineering start-ups. 

5) Aggressively attracting indian students

The German government is aggressively promoting the country not only for international students but also for Indian students. As per the snapshot survey by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Germany will have more than 400,000 international students in 2024/25. The survey captured 200 German universities’ data. As far as the indian students are concerned, another recent report, European Student Landscape: Beyond Beds and Butter by University Living, reveals that there would be more than 114,000 Indian students studying in 2030 in different German institutions. In another data shared by DAAD, Indian students show a sharp increase in enrolment and have touched a record high. The data revealed that the number of Indian students has doubled in the last five years. In 2018, the number was 20,810, whereas in 2022, it touched almost 43,000 enrolments.

6) Permanent Residency Relexation

Although both countries offer permanent residency after five years, Germany has made some amazing relaxations to lure international students. With an EU blue card and B1-level German proficiency, an individual can attain permanent residency in 21 months, which is less than two years. whereas international students with an EU blue card and A1-level German proficiency make them eligible for permanent residency in 27 months.