Is studying in Germany still worth it in 2026/2027 or has it become too competitive for international students?

Just sharing this in case anyone is weighing Germany as an option for 2026 or 2027 intake.

On the visa side:

• The 18 month post study job search visa for German university graduates is still active for 2026 grads, separate from the newer points based Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) for those without a German degree
• EU Blue Card conversion needs €50,700/year for most roles or roughly €45,934/year for shortage list roles like IT, engineering and healthcare
• Visa approval for Indian applicants is still running at 90-95% for complete applications and processing has gotten noticeably faster this year
• Germany's tightened asylum and citizenship rules lately but skilled worker and student pathways have moved the other way with the Opportunity Card quota roughly doubling in 2026

On ROI, roughly:

• MS in CS, Data or core engineering at a TU9 school (TUM, RWTH Aachen, KIT and similar) still makes a solid case with starting salaries for engineering/tech roles running around €50,000/year
• Germany is not really an MBA market the way the UK or US is the real ROI conversation here is MS/MSc not MBA
• Programs typically run 2 years vs the UK's 1 so total living costs stretch longer even though tuition itself stays cheap
• Indian student numbers have more than doubled in five years and India's now the largest international student group in Germany so yes it's gotten more competitive, and a recent survey found only 39% of students feel confident about landing a job quickly after graduating

A couple of things worth noting:

• Unlike the UK Germany still lets students bring a spouse during their studies though the income and housing bar makes it genuinely tough on a typical master's budget
• Language is the one factor that affects everything else most job listings still expect at least some German and Indian students specifically report longer job searches than other nationalities
• Baden Württemberg (and now TUM in Bavaria) charge non-EU students tuition so tuition free is not universal anymore
• Munich has the strongest job market but is also the priciest city to live in and Berlin and other university towns run noticeably cheaper

If you are comparing specific universities or programs, happy to share what we are seeing on actual outcomes too. Drop your details in the comments.