After Graduation
What to do after graduation? Most foreign students want to return home after graduation to start a career there in order to use the specialist knowledge they have acquired at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. Others, on the other hand, play with the idea of setting up their own company at home.
There are a number of governmental and non-governmental institutions in Germany that can support both paths. Graduates, as well as dropouts of any nationality, have access to counseling services and organizational assistance. Graduates from developing and emerging countries also have the chance to receive financial funds.
Further information and practical advice, such as on the authentication of Frankfurt UAS-Certificates for the home country, can be obtained during our office hours.
Information on residence permits after graduation can be found on the website of the Foreigners' Registration Office in Frankfurt am Main.
Those who already want to look for a job in their home country or another destination country from Germany should first contact the state employment service of the country.
You can find out the contact addresses for these countries at:
In any case, you can also contact the Federal Employment Agency, Germany's state employment agency. As one of its sub-organizations, the Central Foreign and Specialist Placement Office [Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung, (ZAV)] arranges jobs for international specialists and managers. The organization does this in close cooperation with authorities and other institutions in the respective target countries. The ZAV International Placement Service maintains a hotline that can be used to get initial contact for a job search: Tel. 0228 / 71313. Also, since the ZAV is located here in Frankfurt, you can easily make a personal appointment there:
Federal Employment Agency
ZAV International Placement Office (ZAV-Auslandsvermittlung)
Emil von Behring Str. 10
60439 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: 069/59768328
ZAV-Frankfurt-Auslandsvermittlung(at)arbeitsagentur.de
Graduates from developing and emerging countries are specially supported in their job search by CIM, theCenter for International Migration and Development (das Centrum für internationale Migration und Entwicklung). CIM, an association of ZAV and GIZ[International Cooperation Society (Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit)], is based in Frankfurt.
Center for International Migration and Development (CIM)
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5
65760 Eschborn
Tel.: 06196/793366
Current job offers for many of these countries (e.g. Morocco, Cameroon, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Palestine), can be found on the CIM’s website: www.cimonline.de/en/html/returning-experts.html.
Beyond these, CIM offers a special service for many of these countries: the returning specialists, who work on behalf of CIM in the respective countries of origin. These supervisors are people who formerly studied in Germany and are supposed to help their compatriots with their professional integration before or after their return. Contact details for these advisers can be obtained from CIM.
CIM's regular reintegration seminars provide you with very basic information to start a career upon your return to your home country. These seminars are ideal for a first overview of reintegration. Here you can get an overview of the labor market situation in the country and all important contact points. When and for which countries such seminars will be organized in the near future can also be found on the CIM website. The seminars are free of charge, including travel and accommodation, but you will be selected after registration.
Specific to Morocco, The German-Moroccan Society for Culture and Education also offers help with vocational integration. The association can provide helpful guidance before the first contact with the Moroccan labor market:
Incorporated Association of German-Moroccan Society for Culture and Education
P.O. Box 730252
60504 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: 01578-1683543
Financial Guides
German institutions can also provide financial support for professional reintegration. However, this option is only available for graduates from certain developing or emerging countries. The "Returning Specialists Program” (Programm Rückkehrende Fachkräfte), funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is offering three proposals:
- The first consists in the granting of subsidies for the return journey.
For the travel and transport costs, round €800 (travel within Europe or to Mediterranean countries) or €1000 (travel to other countries) per person can be gathered. Additional funds can also be provided for spouses and children.
This support can be provided without any further condition but it is only possible for nationals of the poorest developing countries. More information about the listed countries can be found in the first two categories of the DAC list (Development Assistance Committee) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD (der Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung). The DAC list is available at http://www.oecd.org.
For nationals from developing and newly industrializing countries in the third and fourth categories of this list, return travel grants are only available on one additional condition: they must have found a job in their home country that is developmentally relevant, e.g. with the help of the CIM.
- The second offer is the awarding of salary subsidies: If you have already found a job as you return, but its salary is too low to cover the cost of living, a subsidy of €300-€600 can be paid over a period of up to 24 months for the familiarization period. However, a prior condition for this is that the job in question must be an activity in an area relevant to development policy: Either it is a funding priority of a development policy priority country or it is of particular importance for the progress of any developing or emerging country (e.g. in energy supply, economic or social infrastructure, health care, etc.). For more details on the offers and conditions, see the link below:
https://www.cimonline.de/de/html/ruckkehrende-fachkrafte.html.
Support from both offers should be applied for at least three months before the planned trip home. Applications can be made for one program, or for both, to CIM, the Center for International Migration and Development:
Center for International Migration and Development (CIM)
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5
65760 Eschborn
Tel.: 06196/793366
- As part of the Returning Experts Program, WUS (World University Service) operates a workplace equipment program(APA program) in cooperation with CIM. If you find an employer in your home country who has a suitable job for you but no suitable workplace, the German state can cover the costs of equipping the workplace (with desks, computers, machines, specialized literatures etc.) if the employer commits employing you for at least 2 years. The conditions for funding (which can be up to €10,000) is that the job in question is significant for the development of the country. Applications for the APA program can be submitted to the WUS:
World University Service (WUS)
Goebenstr. 35
65195 Wiesbaden
Tel.: 0611/446648
As a rule, the jobs for which a salary supplements or workplace equipment is desired should be professionally and qualitatively equivalent to your degree. In principle, however, jobs in the "non-education" sectors can also apply for financial integration
assistance. However, an academic degree is also required for this condition.
If you have a residence and a work permit for a country, even if it is a developing country, you can also apply for financial funds as if that country is your home country. There is no legal entitlement to funding under any of the three programs.
Many foreign students want to professionalize the knowledge they acquired during their studies in their own companies. In most cases, they want to start their own business in their home country. Before starting a business abroad, however, many questions need to be answered: Am I even suitable as an entrepreneur? What is my business idea? How realistic is this idea locally? How do I acquire industry knowledge in my home country? How do I find out which institutions can support me financially and organizationally at home when setting up a business? What is a business plan and why do I need it? These and other questions are answered in seminars offered by CIM together with Kompass, the Center for Business Start-ups. These free start-up seminars can only be recommended to all students and graduates who are considering self-employment at home. If you need more information about this, please contact directly:
Center for International Migration and Development (CIM)
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5
65760 Eschborn
Tel.: (06196) 793559
oualid.arbib(at)zav-cimonline.de
Contacting CIM seems quite sensible, as we suggest to first get to know the industry at home as an employee before setting up your own business. In this way, you can already gain practical experience - secured by a salary - while you prepare the establishment of your own company at ease. CIM can help you find the right job for this. However, the CIM/Kompass seminars are only aimed at people from developing and emerging countries who are interested in setting up a business.
Furthermore, anyone interested in setting up a company abroad can seek advice from the Institut für Entrepreneurship [Institute for Entrepreneurship (IFE)]. This is an institution at Faculty 3 of Frankfurt UAS. However, the consultation there is subject to a fee and can also be advised based on the CIM/Kompass seminars. For a two-hour consultation, IFE has to charge 60 € + vAT, payable to Frankfurt UAS. This fee includes an advance check of the business plan by post in preparation for the session. Further consultations cost 50 €/hour.
Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
Institute for Entrepreneurship
Nibelungenplatz 1
Building 4, Room 505