APS Certificate for Indian Students: Process, Fees and Timeline

Since 2022, Indian students need an APS certificate before a German student visa can be issued. APS (Akademische Prüfstelle) is the academic evaluation centre at the German Embassy in New Delhi, and its job is to verify that your degrees and marksheets are genuine and that your qualification is sufficient for the German programme you want.

Who needs it

Every Indian national applying for university study in Germany, and also applicants who completed their qualifying degree in India regardless of nationality. Exchange students on certain partnership programmes and some scholarship holders are exempt — check the current exemption list before paying.

What APS actually checks

  • Authenticity of your certificates and marksheets
  • Recognition status of your Indian institution
  • Whether your qualification meets the entry level for German higher education

It is not an admission decision and not a grade conversion. You can be APS-certified and still be rejected by a university.

Documents you need

  1. Passport copy (data page)
  2. Recent passport photo
  3. Class 10 and 12 certificates
  4. All semester marksheets of your bachelor's degree
  5. Degree/provisional certificate (or bona fide letter if still studying)
  6. Medium of instruction certificate or language test score
  7. CV
  8. Fee payment proof

Everything is uploaded through the APS India online portal. Scans must be clear, complete and in the required format — blurry marksheets are the single biggest cause of resubmission.

Fees and timeline

The standard verification fee is around ₹18,000 (confirm the current amount on the APS India portal, since it is revised periodically). Processing usually takes 4 to 8 weeks, and longer during the pre-winter-intake rush from March to June. Start the moment you decide on Germany — before you have offers, before you take IELTS. It runs in parallel with everything else.

How to avoid the usual delays

  • Apply early, ideally 8–10 months before your intake.
  • Upload consolidated marksheets for every semester, not just the final one.
  • Make sure the name spelling matches your passport exactly across all documents.
  • If your university issues digital documents, download the official verifiable copies rather than photographing them.
  • Respond fast to any clarification email; the file pauses until you reply.

Validity

The certificate does not expire and can be used for multiple applications, so one verification covers all the universities you apply to. You receive the digital certificate and a set of physical copies to submit with applications and at the visa appointment.

Where it fits in the overall process

APS → university applications → admission letter → blocked account → visa appointment. Because APS is the slowest step you control entirely on your own, it sets the pace of everything after it. See the full study-in-Germany roadmap for how the rest of the timeline lines up.

If you are unsure whether your degree qualifies, get your documents checked before you pay the APS fee — a five-minute review saves weeks.