Last updated 12. September 2025 | Sprecherinnen
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You can find that on this page:
Hardship cases
For students who cannot afford or use their SemesterTicket, it is possible to claim a refund out of the student budget.
Applications may only be submitted for the following reasons:
- Severe disability
- Severe disability with mark
- Care for relatives
- Care for severely disabled children
- Financial reasons: If your average monthly income does not exceed the BAföG maximum rates
- For summer semester 2025: Max. €992 if you have your own residence
- For summer semester 2025: Max. €664 if you live with your parents
- Health reasons
- Maternity protection
- Absence for more than 120 consecutive days (stay outside Germany)
- Double enrolment (within Germany)
- Visa reasons
You can find the application and the hardship regulations here.
Please note: Your digital semester ticket will be deactivated for the following reasons: severe disability with a disability mark, absence for more than 120 consecutive days, double enrolment and visa reasons. Chip cards must be sent in with the application.
Your contribution for the semester ticket can only be refunded if at least one hardship reason from the hardship regulations applies. Exceptions are unfortunately not possible. Please make sure that you submit your applications on time and in full and, if necessary, meet the 14-day deadline for submitting additional documents. Otherwise your applications can’t be considered! Please submit the hardship application via email.
Refund deadlines
The reimbursement deadlines differ depending on the reason for hardship. Here is an overview of the different deadlines:
Antragstellung im Sommersemester bis 31. Mai oder Wintersemester bis 30. November möglich:
- Severe disability with mark
- Absence for more than 120 consecutive days (stay outside Germany)
- Doppelimmatrikulation (innerhalb Deutschlands)
Application possible in the summer semester until September 30 or winter semester until March 31:
- Severe disability
- Care for relatives
- Care for severely disabled children
- Financial reasons (the average monthly income limit corresponds to the current BAföG maximum rate for the respective semester: in the 2025 summer semester, this is €992 for students with their own residence and €664 for students living with their parents)
- Health reasons
- Maternity protection
Applications can be submitted up to two months after the end of the semester (by 30 November for the summer semester or by 31 May for the winter semester):
- Visa reasons
If you have any questions about the hardship application, please contact our semester ticket refund service by email.
Further downloads on the subject of semester ticket refunds:
- Application for refund of the semester ticket fee (GER)
- Application for the refund of the semester ticket
- Affidavit of material benefits from parents
- Affidavit for spouses
- Affidavit of material benefits_spouse
- Affidavit of material benefits_parents
9 € ticket refund
All students who have paid their semester fee in the summer semester 2022 can have the overpaid money refunded until 31.12.2025 (except for Students of the Professional School and students who have received a refund by other means).
More information here.