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Checked information about studying and moving, with sources.

53 articles

4 min readCultureSunday: the day everything is closedShops are shut on Sunday not because owners prefer it but because the law says so. Who sets the rule, what stays open anyway, and why your first days abroad cannot be planned the way you plan them at home.Verified10/22/2026krakow.pip.gov.plOfficial source
4 min readCultureNoise has no permitted hours"It's fine before ten" is the most expensive belief a newcomer brings along. What actually makes noise an offence, who sets the hours, and why you answer for your guests, your dog and your washing machine.Verified10/22/2026service-public.gouv.frOfficial source
5 min readCulturePlagiarism is not a similarity percentageA similarity threshold looks like permission: stay below it and you are fine. Three universities' rules show that the threshold is set by the faculty, and that the offence is the missing citation, not the number.Verified10/22/2026tu.berlinOfficial source
4 min readCultureWaste is sorted by your city, not your countrySeparating waste looks like one shared European habit, yet it is arranged differently in every city. Who sets the system, who sets the bins and the calendar, and why the rule from the next city does not apply to you.Verified10/22/2026gov.plOfficial source
14 min readWorkStaying after graduation: five countries, five doorsA diploma does not extend your stay — it closes the basis on which you are in the country. What comes next is a different door in every country: its own term, its own conditions, its own one-time rule. All five, and what most often stops people at them.Verified10/21/2026bamf.deOfficial sourcePremium
16 min readMoldovaDocumentsFrom Moldova: why your path differs from the advice you readMost guides online were not written for you. A Moldovan school certificate goes through a different procedure in each of the five countries, a Moldovan passport has its own entry rules, and a Moldovan conscript has a list of things to settle before leaving. The whole path, including where the general advice is simply wrong.Verified10/21/2026mec.gov.mdOfficial sourcePremium
15 min readMoney and scholarshipsWhat the first year costs, and when you are asked for itThe first year is not one figure per year but five waves of payments arriving in a particular order, in different months. The largest is needed before all the others. The order in which money is asked for, what gets refunded, and where it most often runs short.Verified10/21/2026auswaertiges-amt.deOfficial sourcePremium
5 min readWorkWhat makes a student job legalLegality is made of four things, and the contract is only one of them. Here is what to check before your first working day, and why undeclared work hits not your wallet but your right to stay.Verified10/20/2026europa.euOfficial source
5 min readWorkAfter graduation: what changes about your right to workA diploma does not extend student status. The right to stay and look for work is a separate permit with its own term, its own once-only rule and its own conditions. Here is what changes on graduation day and what to prepare for in advance.Verified10/20/2026bamf.deOfficial source
4 min readItalyUniversitiesItaly: how to check the university and the programmeIn Italy the register and the admission portal are the same place, and pre-enrolment runs through it too. Here is what to look at there, and why the check comes before choosing a programme.Verified10/20/2026universitaly.itOfficial source
4 min readRomaniaWorkRomania: working while you studyThe Romanian regime is unusual: a student needs no work authorisation, but does need a contract of a particular kind. Here is what that means in practice and where the boundary runs.Verified10/20/2026igi.mai.gov.roOfficial source
4 min readUniversitiesHow to be sure a university is real: each country's registerEvery country keeps one state list of recognised universities. Here is where it sits in our five countries, and why a ranking, a review or a handsome website answers a different question.Verified10/20/2026hochschulkompass.deOfficial source
4 min readHousingHall of residence or private rental: what actually decides itThe choice is settled not by price but by three properties: when to apply, whether the address can be confirmed, and what happens if plans change. Here is each of them.Verified10/20/2026europa.euOfficial source
4 min readFranceHousingFrance: how student housing worksState student residences are allocated in waves, and getting into the first one is a matter of date, not luck. Here is how the queue works and what to do if you miss a wave.Verified10/20/2026trouverunlogement.lescrous.frOfficial source
4 min readMoldovaSettling inA Moldovan consulate abroad: what gets done through itSome Moldovan paperwork is handled not at home but at the consulate of the country you live in. Here is what it can do, what it cannot, and why it is worth knowing in advance.Verified10/20/2026frankfurt.mfa.gov.mdOfficial source
4 min readPolandUniversitiesPoland: how to check the university, and what else to look at thereThe state portal answers three questions at once: does the university exist, what is required of a foreigner, and what support programmes exist. Here is what to look at and in what order.Verified10/20/2026study.gov.plOfficial source
4 min readSettling inHealth insurance is a condition, not a formalityWithout insurance some countries will not issue a residence permit and others will not complete your enrolment. Here is where it sits in the chain and why it cannot be left to the end.Verified10/20/2026nfz.gov.plOfficial source
4 min readHousingWhat to check in a rental before you signFive questions asked before the signature, not after. Each costs more later than it looks, and none can be settled retroactively.Verified10/20/2026europa.euOfficial source
4 min readGermanyMoney and scholarshipsGermany: where to look for a scholarship and where to applyGermany has two different addresses: the DAAD scholarship database and the Deutschlandstipendium, which you apply for at the university. Here is how they differ and why neither replaces visa money.Verified10/19/2026daad.deOfficial source
5 min readMoney and scholarshipsScholarships: who actually paysMoney for studying in Europe comes from four different pockets, and each has its own rules, deadline and place to apply. Here is who is who — so that you stop looking for “a scholarship” in general.Verified10/19/2026erasmus-plus.ec.europa.euOfficial source
4 min readItalyMoney and scholarshipsItaly: the foreign ministry call and the regional right to supportItaly has two unconnected lines: an annual call by the ministry of foreign affairs and regional support based on family income. They are submitted to different places on different calendars.Verified10/19/2026studyinitaly.esteri.itOfficial source
3 min readPolandMoney and scholarshipsPoland: NAWA calls and their calendarPublic scholarships for foreigners in Poland are announced by NAWA, the academic exchange agency, as separate calls for an academic year. Here is how that calendar works.Verified10/19/2026nawa.gov.plOfficial source
4 min readFranceMoney and scholarshipsFrance: Campus France, the Eiffel programme and the student accountFrance has three different addresses, and confusing them is expensive: the Campus France agency, the foreign ministry's call, and the personal account through which housing and social support run.Verified10/19/2026campusfrance.orgOfficial source
5 min readRomaniaMoney and scholarshipsRomania: what scholarships exist and how they differThe Romanian state pays foreign students along several different lines, and these are different calls run by different ministries. Here is what exists and what they have in common.Verified10/19/2026studyinromania.gov.roOfficial source
4 min readRomaniaDocumentsRomania: recognition of education documents — who decides and in what orderIn Romania foreign degrees are recognised by a separate state centre, and its decision is needed before the application to a university. Here is the order and the official sources.Verified10/08/2026cnred.edu.roOfficial source
4 min readGermanyHousingGermany: where to look for student housing officiallyIn Germany dormitories are run not by the university but by the student services organisation of the city or state, and applications go in before arrival. Here are the official routes and how they differ from classified ads.Verified10/08/2026internationale-studierende.deOfficial source
4 min readItalyDocumentsItaly: education documents — translation, legalisation, confirmationAn Italian university looks not only at grades but at the confirmation that your certificate gives the right to study. Here is who issues it, in what order translation and legalisation come, and where the requirements are published.Verified10/08/2026esteri.itOfficial source
4 min readPolandDocumentsPoland: recognition of certificates and degrees — who decides and what to preparePoland recognises some foreign education documents without a separate procedure and others only through one. Here is who is responsible for recognition, how it differs from nostrification, and where it is published.Verified10/08/2026nawa.gov.plOfficial source
4 min readItalyVisasItaly: a student visa, where it is applied for and what to checkStudying in Italy needs a long-stay visa, and before that a pre-enrolment application through the state portal. Without that pre-enrolment a visa application is not considered. Here is the order and the official source for each step.Verified10/08/2026vistoperitalia.esteri.itOfficial source
4 min readPolandVisasPoland: a student visa, where it is applied for and what to checkStudying in Poland needs a national visa, and extending your stay afterwards happens inside the country and at a different authority. Here is who is responsible for which step and where the requirements are published.Verified10/08/2026gov.plOfficial source
4 min readRomaniaVisasRomania: a student visa, where it is applied for and what to checkSome applicants from Moldova need no visa at all; the rest need a long-stay study visa, applied for through the state portal. Here are both cases and the official sources.Verified10/08/2026evisa.mae.roOfficial source
4 min readFranceVisasFrance: a student visa, where it is applied for and what to checkIn France a student's visa path starts not at the consulate but with a procedure at the official operator, and ends with validating the visa after arrival. Here is the order and the official sources.Verified10/08/2026campusfrance.orgOfficial source
4 min readEuropean UnionVisasSchengen and a national visa: the difference, and who sets itThese are two different visas with different rules, and study needs the second one. Here is what each gives, who is responsible for which, and why general rules never replace one country's requirements.Verified10/08/2026home-affairs.ec.europa.euOfficial source
4 min readGermanyDocumentsGermany: which documents need certifying, and in what orderRefusals often come not from grades but from the form of the documents: the wrong translation, the wrong certification, the wrong copy attached. Here is the certification chain and where the requirements are published.Verified10/08/2026uni-assist.deOfficial source
4 min readGermanyVisasGermany: a student visa, where it is applied for and what to checkStudying for longer than three months needs a national visa, not a Schengen one, and it is applied for at the German mission responsible for where you live. Here is the order and the official source for each step.Verified10/08/2026auswaertiges-amt.deOfficial source
4 min readGermanyUniversitiesGermany: how to check that the university and the programme are realA degree counts only if a recognised institution issued it on an accredited programme. In Germany both can be checked in open registers — here is which ones, and in what order.Verified10/08/2026hochschulkompass.deOfficial source
4 min readGermanyStudyingGermany: where an application actually startsAn application to a German university starts with your school certificate, not with the choice of programme: the answer decides whether you apply to a university directly or to a preparatory course first. Here is the order of steps and which source answers what.Verified10/08/2026study-in-germany.deOfficial source
4 min readFranceDocumentsFrance: education documents — comparability and a sworn translationFrance does not «confirm» a foreign degree; an authorised centre issues a statement of comparability, and it is not always asked for. Here is who issues it, when it is needed and in what order documents are prepared.Verified10/08/2026france-education-international.frOfficial source
3 min readItalyStudyingItaly: where the official answers liveApplying to an Italian university goes through one state portal, and school-leaving qualifications are recognised under an international convention. Here is which source answers what, and how to check a requirement without relying on summaries.Verified10/04/2026universitaly.itOfficial source
3 min readSettling inA basic bank account is a right, not a serviceAcross the union a bank cannot refuse you a basic payment account merely because you do not live in that country. Here is where the rule is written and what to do when a branch says no.Verified10/04/2026europa.euOfficial source
3 min readRomaniaStudyingRomania: where the official answers liveIn Romania the ministry answers for studies, while a separate national centre answers for the recognition of foreign documents. For a candidate from Moldova those are two different addresses and two different sets of papers.Verified10/04/2026edu.roOfficial source
3 min readFranceStudyingFrance: where the official answers liveFrance has an official operator for the admission of international students and a state portal covering every administrative procedure. The first answers for admission, the second for everything that begins after arrival.Verified10/04/2026campusfrance.orgOfficial source
8 min readWorkWorking while studying: where the rules actually liveA student's right to work is set by residence status, not by the university or the employer. Here is what the limit is measured in, how it changes after graduation, and six places where people breach it without meaning to.Verified10/04/2026study-in-germany.deOfficial source
8 min readSettling inThe first week: address registration and why it comes firstRegistering your address looks like a formality, yet your residence permit, bank account and insurance depend on it. Here is the order of the first week, where the deadlines are counted from, and six places where the chain breaks.Verified10/04/2026europa.euOfficial source
9 min readDocumentsRecognition of your diploma: where to check before you applyWhat your school or university qualification is worth is decided not by the university but by a separate recognition authority. Every country has its own, they cost different amounts and work to their own deadlines. Here is the order of checks and the seven places it falls apart.Verified10/04/2026anabin.kmk.orgOfficial source
3 min readPolandStudyingPoland: where the official answers livePoland has a state portal for international candidates and a state agency responsible for scholarships and recognition of qualifications. Here is what each publishes, and why the application still goes to the university itself.Verified10/04/2026study.gov.plOfficial source
8 min readVisasVisa and residence permit: the order of the stepsThe visa step is almost never the first one. Admission and proven grounds come first, then the consulate, then a residence permit once you are there. Here is the order, the timelines by country, and the six places where it breaks.Verified10/04/2026europa.euOfficial source
8 min readMoldovaDocumentsMoldova: the documents you arrange before you leaveSome papers for admission are issued only in Moldova, and ordering them from abroad is hard or impossible. Here is which authority does what, in what order to go, and six places where documents have to be redone.Verified10/04/2026asp.gov.mdOfficial source
9 min readUniversitiesDocuments to Study in Europe from Moldova: What You Need at Each Stage of the MoveA full breakdown of documents across three stages — admission, student visa, residence permit after arrival — separately for Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Romania.Verified08/15/2027daad.deOfficial sourcePremium
9 min readUniversitiesHow to Get Into University Abroad from Moldova: A 5-Country GuideStep by step: whether your Moldovan school certificate is accepted, where to apply, what language level and deadlines apply — separately for Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Romania.Verified08/15/2026daad.deOfficial sourcePremium
4 min readGermanyVisasBlocked Account (Sperrkonto) in Germany in 2026: How Much You Need and the AlternativesWhat a blocked account (Sperrkonto) is, how much you must deposit for a student visa in 2026, and which legal alternatives can replace it.Verified08/15/2026ukraine.diplo.deChecked by our editors
3 min readDocumentsHow to check any requirement in five minutesA method that works for every country: who is allowed to answer your question, and how to reach them.Verified07/31/2026study-in-germany.deOfficial source
4 min readGermanyStudyingGermany: where the official information livesWhich German institutions publish what, and which portal to trust for each question.Verified07/31/2026study-in-germany.deOfficial source

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