Good to know!

A research stay at the Institute can be completed by external scholars through one of the following three means:

• Self-financed research stay
• Institute scholarship
• Third-party scholarship or funding

Further information can be found here under Research Stays.

Citizens of EU Member States do not need a visa to stay in Germany. Citizens of other countries usually require a visa. A basic distinction is made between a short-stay “Schengen visa” (for stays of up to 90 days) and a national visa (for longer stays). Under no circumstances should you enter Germany on a Schengen visa if you are planning on a longer stay. In that case, be sure to apply for a national visa. A current list of visa requirements for your home country as well as information on the different types of visas and the application procedure can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

Note for guests from third countries (non-EU) who are allowed to enter Germany without a visa for a stay of up to 90 days (s. pages of the Federal Foreign Office): If you plan to stay longer than 90 days in Germany, please apply for a visa already in your home country. Due to the high workload of the foreigners authorities, there are currently considerable waiting times when applying for residence permits in Hamburg.

For the visa procedure, please contact the diplomatic mission of the Federal Republic of Germany in the country of your habitual residence. A list of the websites of German diplomatic missions abroad can be found here.

For foreigners who are already in Germany and who have a residence permit, as well as for foreigners who are allowed to enter without a visa, the immigration authority of the Hamburg district office corresponding to your place of residence is responsible. You can determine the district office responsible for your place of residence here (in German).

Health insurance is mandatory for a stay in Germany. The insurance must cover the entire period of your stay. Please read the information under Travel preparations.

Other insurances are not required by law for your stay. Depending on the length of your stay and your personal needs, it may be advisable to take out private liability or accident insurance.

If you receive a scholarship from the Max Planck Institute, special requirements of the Max Planck Society may apply to your health insurance. Please refer to the information you received with your scholarship confirmation or letter. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Schröder (welcome@mpipriv.de).

With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by one of the 26 other EU Member States as well as by Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, you can, during a temporary stay in Germany, receive treatment in a doctor's office or, if necessary, go to a hospital. Upon receiving treatment you will also need to present your passport or identity card and choose a German health insurance company that will initially cover the costs.

Please be sure to arrange accommodation well in advance of your arrival. The housing market in Hamburg is very tight and also relatively expensive, and it can be difficult to find a furnished room for only a few months.

The Institute does not offer accommodation. Please find advice on finding accommodation in Hamburg here:

A guest house of the University of Hamburg offers accommodation for international guest researchers. As units in the guest house are very popular, we recommend that you contact the Guest House of the University of Hamburg directly and as early as possible. We also recommend that you consult the University of Hamburg’s International Housing webpage. We would also like to refer you to EURAXESS, the portal for mobile researchers.

Please find further links also in the following PDF document: Accomodation in Hamburg

Searching for an apartment in another country can be tricky. The city of Hamburg offers helpful information on the German housing market here.

You can view our library holdings from home using our OPAC page. For many publications we have attached an electronic table of contents, thus allowing you to prepare a list of literature in advance.

Before using the library for the first time, you must register with Reader Services. Your contact person is Ms. Halsen-Raffel. After registering, you will receive an access card from the Institute reception desk allowing you to enter the library.

Institute scholarship recipients must additionally register in the Welcome Center. Your contact person is Ms. Barbara Schröder (welcome@mpipriv.de). Please bring your passport or ID card and proof of your health insurance.

After your initial registration for library access, you do not need to register your daily arrival or departure.

There are no fixed attendance times for library users.

In principle, daily registration of Institute arrival and departure is not required. However, if you will not be using your workstation for a few day, e.g. because of travel plans, we would appreciate your informing the reading room staff.

Institute scholarship recipients are asked to give advance notice to the scholarship administration staff (Ms. Schröder, welcome@mpipriv.de) regarding absences of more than 5 days.

If you have to leave earlier than planned for some important reason, please inform Reader Services so that your workstation can be assigned to another guest if the space is needed. Scholarship recipients should additionally inform the scholarship administration staff (Ms. Schröder, welcome@mpipriv.de).

Please speak directly with Ms. Halsen-Raffel in Reader Services.

You are cordially invited to take part in academic events and discussion roundtables held at the Institute! You can get an overview of current events either on the info screens in the reception hall and in Café Max or under Events on our website.

You can find an overview of regularly occurring academic events here. Additionally, on the more casual side, the Coffee and Law break, which takes place every two months. Further information can be found here.

The Institute's newsletter, the Private Law Gazette, reports on stories and events associated with Institute research as well as on academic life at the Institute. Via our social media channels, Facebook and Twitter (@mpipriv), you can receive the latest news about the Institute and its staff in your personal news feed.

Interacting with our guest scholars is very important to us! Towards this end, you are warmly invited to attend academic events, as personal contact and academic exchange are a central aspect of these events. Further, you are welcome to contact any of our academic staff by email and introduce both yourself as well as your topic of research. Contact information can be found in our staff directory.

You can get a good overview of all guests currently at the Institute via our guest list. Are you already at the Institute? Then you will find the research topics and seat numbers of other guests on the list hanging next to the mailboxes in the multimedia room. A good opportunity to get in touch with other guests is offered by our informal events: the Coffee and Law break and our soccer group.

It is not necessary for you to officially introduce yourself to the Institute's management. If you would like to talk to a member of our directorate about your research topic, it is best to first contact the respective secretariat by e-mail.

Most of the Institute's employees dress casually on normal working days, so there is no obligation to wear a suit or business attire.

If you plan to live in Hamburg for longer than three months, you must register your new address within two weeks of moving into your new home. You can find information on this on the homepage of the Welcome Portal of the City of Hamburg.
It may also make sense to register if you are staying for a shorter period of time, for example to open a local bank account.

The determination of public holidays varies within the individual German states. Most shops, medical offices and governmental agencies offices are closed in Germany on Sundays and on public holidays. The Institute, including the library, is also closed on public holidays as well as between Christmas and New Year. An overview of public holidays in the current and coming year can be found here.

In order to get a first impression of Hamburg, you can visit the Hamburg Tourism site, where you will find a variety of interesting information and helpful tips.

Hamburg has a very good network of bus and train lines, so you can also easily reach the institute from other parts of the city. You can obtain information about your transport connections and tickets at the service points of the Hamburg Transport Association (HVV), e.g. at Dammtor station and the main station, as well as online on the HVV website and in the hvv app. There you will also find information on buying tickets with the hvv Prepaid Card. Ticket machines can be found in the entrance areas of the individual stations - the machines can also be converted into other languages. Please note: Since January 2024, tickets can no longer be purchased with cash from bus drivers.

In Germany, doctoral candidates are not deemed students. Consequently, they do not qualify for discounted transportation or admission tickets and must pay the full fare.

Many Institute staff members and guests eat at the various canteens and cafes associated with the University of Hamburg. You can find an overview of all the canteens and cafes as well as their planned menus here. Further, there are a number of international restaurants around the Institute and the University of Hamburg that feature a lunch menu. Finally, the Dammtor train station is quite close to the Institute and is home to various bakeries and fast-food outlets.