Student and school affairs (BV 2)

Attending school, changing school from another country / state

On this page you will find initial information on the subject of changing schools from another country/state.

Detailed description

Parents or guardians can apply for a change of school from another federal state/state to Hamburg. If the child is not moving to Hamburg but is staying in a neighboring federal state, the request will be treated as a guest school case, see the "Guest school cases" service.

If you have any questions, each school and the responsible regional clerk can advise you.

Change of school/school place during a current school year in primary level/secondary level I (during the year):
If an existing or future residence in Hamburg can be proven for the child, the applicants can contact the relevant schools directly. The schools decide independently on admission within the limits of their capacity. If there are no more capacities, the school involves the responsible school supervisory authority.

Change of school/school place at the end/beginning of the school year in primary level/secondary level I:
Change in grades 1-6 and 8-10
If an existing or future place of residence in Hamburg can be proven for the child, the applicants can contact the school of their choice directly. The schools decide independently on admission within the limits of their capacity. If there are no more capacities, the school involves the responsible school supervisory authority.

Change in grade 7
If an existing or future place of residence in Hamburg can be proven for the child, the applicants can contact the school of their choice directly. The school accepts the application and forwards it to the responsible school supervisory authority. For the 7th year, all children are distributed centrally in the authority. At the beginning of the holidays, the legal guardians will be informed of the decisions in a notification.

Change in high school:
The schools involved clarify the change among themselves or the pupils or their legal guardians contact the schools of their choice directly. There is no provision for the authority to be involved.

 

Information

Prerequisites

  • New residence in Hamburg

Documents required

  • Request
  • Last testimonials
  • Proof of residence
  • If necessary, medical or other professional statements

Please note

The following applies from grade 3: If the children do not have sufficient knowledge of the German language, they will first attend an international preparatory class or basic class. The contact for this is the School Information Center (SIZ).

Deadlines


  • Applications for a change to the new school year must be submitted by May 31st of the year.

  • If year 7 is affected, the deadline ends approx. 4 weeks before the start of the summer holidays (06/28/2023).

  • Applications submitted late will be given priority and may not be processed until after the holidays.

  • There are no deadlines for change requests during the year.

Procedure

  • Contacting the school of your choice or processing the regional school inspectorate
  • Submission of all necessary documents
  • Examination by the authority
  • Notification

Processing time

The processing time depends on the individual case.

Fees

No

Legal remedies

You can object to a decision within one month. This has no suspensive effect. However, if the objection procedure is wholly or partially unsuccessful, costs may arise.

Legal basis


  • § 43 Training and examination regulations for the elementary school and grades 5 to 10 of the district school and the grammar school

  • Guideline for the admission of pupils to state general education schools in Hamburg

Address and contact information

Student and school affairs (BV 2)

Mon, Tue 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., Thurs 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. During these times, there is an open consultation hour without an appointment being made. Appointments outside of these times can be made bilaterally if necessary. At the moment the first contact is always by telephone, email or post.

In principle, the colleagues can be reached during the stated telephone consultation hours. Due to appointments, holidays, illness and the current high workload, availability by telephone at these times cannot be guaranteed.

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Keywords: move Change of school from another federal state Retraining from another federal state Moving to school change Influx Re-registration from another country

Last updated: 09.02.2026