Step-by-Step Relocation Guide

uni-assist: what it is, and which of its two procedures you need

A shared document-checking service used by a large share of German universities. It does not admit you — it checks that your Pakistani degree is what you say it is, converts your grade, and passes the result on.

uni-assist e.V. is the Arbeits- und Servicestelle für internationale Studienbewerbungen — a non-profit that member universities use to handle the paperwork of international applications. It reviews your certificates, checks they meet the formal entry requirements, and converts your CGPA into the German grading system. The admission decision is always the university's, never uni-assist's. A positive review is not an offer.

The two procedures — and how they differ

This is the single thing most people get wrong. uni-assist runs two different procedures, and which one applies is decided by the university, not by you.

How to find out which one applies to you: check the university's entry in the uni-assist list of member universities, and the programme's own admission page. The University documents and deadlines lookup records this per university and subject as the data is added.

What it costs

• €75 for your first chosen course of study.
• €30 for each additional course.
• The same for both procedures, standard and VPD.
• Charged again per semester: reapplying for a new intake means €75 for the first course again, not a renewal.
• Payable regardless of the result — the fee buys the evaluation, not an outcome, and is not refunded if the answer is no.
• A few universities pay their applicants' fees, in which case the application is free. Check before assuming either way.

Timing — the rule that catches people out

What Pakistani applicants specifically have to send

uni-assist publishes requirements per country. For Pakistan it asks for:

1. Your school leaving certificate with the overview of subjects and grades — that is Matric and Intermediate (class X and X+II).
2. Your degree certificate, with the subject and grade overview where available, carrying Higher Education Commission (HEC) attestation stamps. This is why the HEC step earlier in the guide is not optional paperwork — uni-assist names it explicitly.
3. Documentation of the minimum CGPA or percentage needed to be awarded a Bachelor's degree at your university. Note what this is and is not: it is the minimum for the whole degree, not a pass mark for an individual course or semester. Applicants routinely send the wrong figure here, and it stalls the file.

How to name and label your documents

This is not what most people expect. uni-assist does not ask for a filename convention — it asks you to label the inside of the document.

• Scan to PDF. PDF is the only format the upload accepts. Keep each file comfortably under the size limit shown in the upload area — the FAQ gives 10 MB — and scan to greyscale rather than high-resolution colour if a file is too large.
• Scans must be complete and clearly legible. Every page, including backs of pages that carry stamps. A cropped corner or an unreadable seal comes straight back as a missing document.
• Upload official certificates only — ones bearing a signature and stamp from the issuing institution, or a reference to automatic issuance, or a verification code. A photocopy with none of those is not an official certificate.
• Upload each document once. The upload section in My assist is shared across all your applications: uni-assist needs each document once only, even if you are applying to several universities or several courses. Do not re-upload the same transcript per application.
• When a document belongs to one specific application — a university's own form, a course-specific questionnaire — write the university name and course of study at the very top of the document, visibly and in bold, so it can be assigned to the right application. That label goes in the document, not just in the filename.

Upload or post? It depends on the university

Both routes exist at once, and the split is not up to you:

• Upload everything that does not need official certification, through your My assist account.
• Post any officially certified copies. A scan or upload of a certified copy is not sufficient — where certification is required, the paper has to travel. Check each university's entry in the uni-assist list to see whether it demands certified copies of your education and language certificates.
• Never send originals. Send officially certified copies only. Documents sent to uni-assist are not returned, and losing an original degree certificate in the post is not a recoverable mistake.

The six steps, in order

1. Get information — confirm the universities and courses you want are uni-assist members, and which procedure each uses.
2. Plan your application — work back at least 8 weeks from the earliest deadline.
3. Assemble your documents — HEC-attested degree certificate, school certificates, transcripts, the minimum-CGPA proof, translations if needed.
4. Apply online — create your My assist account and fill in the online application form for each course.
5. Pay the fees — €75 plus €30 per additional course. The clock starts when the form is received, but an unpaid application is not processed.
6. Send and track — upload your PDFs, post anything that must be certified, then watch the status in My assist and answer any request for missing documents promptly.