APS vs VPD: which documents do you need?

APS and VPD answer different questions

APS is academic-document verification through the responsible Academic Evaluation Centre. The centres are associated with the German missions and DAAD. Centres operate in India, China and Vietnam; applicable procedures and exemptions differ.

A VPD is preliminary review documentation issued by uni-assist for a particular university. It records the submitted educational credentials, their evaluation and the German grade assessment. It is neither an APS certificate nor an admission offer. Some applicants need both; others need one or neither, according to their qualifications and university procedure.

• APS: identify the correct centre and procedure for the relevant educational records.
• VPD: request it only when the university requires it for your applicant category.
• Admission: the university decides whether you obtain the place.
• Visa: the competent mission makes the visa decision; neither document guarantees it.

Does VPD depend on your passport?

There is no India-only or three-country VPD rule. The university decides which qualifications, courses and applicant groups use its VPD procedure. An applicant with qualifications from a country without an APS centre can still need a VPD. Conversely, having an APS certificate does not make VPD mandatory at every university.

Keep four fields separate: citizenship, present legal residence, the education system/institutions that issued your records, and your intended German programme. Record the origin of each qualification when school and university study took place in different systems.

APS India: check document origin and exceptions

APS India’s current FAQ says the issuing educational institution, rather than nationality alone, determines its responsibility. It lists possible exemptions for a relevant non-Indian degree, certain international school qualifications such as IB, PhD/postdoctoral applicants where the institution does not require APS, and qualifying German/EU publicly funded scholarships.

The German Missions in India separately list visa-route exemptions, including intended non-German degrees. An exemption in one process must not be assumed to waive a university’s document requirement. If your case combines Indian and overseas qualifications, retain the official basis and obtain clarification before paying.

• Use the checklist for your completed academic stage.
• Submit the original digitally sealed APS PDF unchanged when required; do not merge it into a different document.
• If later qualifications change your entry category, a new APS evaluation may be necessary.

China and Vietnam: do not copy the India exemption list

APS China has procedures for Chinese educational records and a dedicated route for international graduates with Chinese bachelor’s degrees. Its FAQ distinguishes foreign qualifications and says university requirements can still matter for doctoral or publicly funded scholarship cases. A change of passport or residence is not enough to decide the correct route.

The German Embassy Hanoi describes APS for Vietnamese qualifications, with specific exemptions for doctoral study and qualifying publicly funded scholarship recipients selected under the stated official process. Foreign qualifications follow the relevant education-system evaluation; a university may still request verification of earlier Vietnamese records. Read the country procedure when your education crosses borders.

What to prepare for a VPD

Use the chosen university’s VPD checklist and uni-assist’s country guidance. Bachelor applicants generally need the complete school qualification and subject/grade record, plus entrance-examination or previous university records where relevant. Include the required university transcripts, final award where applicable and official grading-system evidence.

For master’s applications, the prior degree and complete academic record are central. APS may be an additional required document for the relevant qualifications. Language, CV, portfolio or other programme documents may belong in a separate university submission; confirm where each item goes rather than assuming a VPD upload completes everything.

• Use official, complete documents and accepted translations where required.
• For India-issued digital APS, preserve and upload the original sealed PDF unchanged.
• Make a two-column checklist: documents for My assist and documents for the university portal.

Plan APS and VPD in the right order

First establish whether APS applies and which completed academic stage it must verify. Complete the relevant APS process early enough for the university/uni-assist document requirement. Do not assume a pending APS application, payment receipt or courier receipt replaces the certificate.

Where VPD requires APS among its documents, the practical chain is verification, a complete VPD request, then the final university application. Academic results, translations or missing records can delay the chain. APS and uni-assist are different organisations; one processing estimate cannot be used for both.

• Keep each official account and receipt separate.
• Confirm any university-specific exception in writing before relying on a pending document.
• Never treat a new My assist account or an unsubmitted application draft as a completed application.

Finish the application after the VPD arrives

If the university uses VPD, apply in My assist for that university, submit the requested documents and obtain the evaluation. Then upload the VPD with the rest of your application to the university by its deadline. uni-assist does not forward a VPD application as a completed degree application.

In the standard uni-assist procedure, an application meeting the criteria can instead be forwarded to the university for its admission decision. Follow the actual procedure named for your programme; membership in uni-assist does not make every university course use the same route.

• Check the institution, intended degree level, semester and applicant category.
• Save the My assist submission and any separate university-portal receipt.
• Monitor the evaluation message and correct missing documents within the applicable period.

Allow time: four to six weeks is not a guaranteed deadline

uni-assist gives a usual VPD processing estimate of four to six weeks after the online application is submitted and says a VPD is valid for one year from issue. Individual files can take longer. The university deadline still applies, and a VPD for one university is not automatically a VPD for another.

Its general planning guidance recommends applying at least eight weeks before the deadline where possible, with more time for VPD because you must still apply to the university. Its rolling queue estimates change; do not use today’s shorter queue to promise a future result.

• Work backwards through official result release, document preparation, APS where required, VPD and the university application.
• Check any explicit university policy for a VPD that is still processing; never assume late delivery is accepted.
• In the standard procedure, uni-assist may evaluate a timely complete application after the deadline. That arrangement does not remove the separate VPD submission requirement.

TestAS, APS and dMAT: avoid an outdated checklist trap

As checked on 22 September 2026, the APS India FAQ explicitly says TestAS is not currently mandatory for its verification procedure. Older, still-linked Class XII and two-semester checklists list a TestAS result. Use the current clarification and ask APS if your file instructions conflict; separately check whether your university or visa route requires the test.

dMAT is a different assessment for selected previous-degree fields in the APS India master’s process from Summer 2027, subject to its exceptions. It is not a general bachelor-entry requirement and does not replace APS.

Before you mark the application complete

Your checklist is complete only when every required submission is received by the correct organisation within its applicable period. An academic evaluation is not an admission offer. Keep the final submission receipt and check messages until the university has reached a decision.

Checked 22 September 2026. The exact university and responsible mission decide their documentary requirements. This comparison explains the process; it does not confirm an individual exemption, a guaranteed processing date or a future programme deadline.

• Correct university, programme, intake and applicant category.
• Applicable APS requirement or documented exemption checked.
• Complete VPD issued where required, or an explicit permitted exception confirmed.
• Separate university application submitted on time.
• Language and other programme conditions, payment and final uploads completed.

Official sources

Check the current programme call before submitting. The links below were used to prepare this guide; a prior-cycle call does not confirm the deadline for your intended intake.

1. uni-assist — Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) ↗www.uni-assist.de
2. uni-assist — VPD ↗www.uni-assist.de
3. APS India — current process overview ↗aps-india.de
4. uni-assist — evaluation result and admission ↗www.uni-assist.de
5. uni-assist — check university admission ↗www.uni-assist.de
6. uni-assist — country-specific document directory ↗www.uni-assist.de
7. APS India — current FAQs ↗aps-india.de
8. German Missions in India — study visa instructions ↗india.diplo.de
9. APS India — checklists ↗aps-india.de
10. uni-assist — India document requirements ↗www.uni-assist.de
11. APS China — FAQ ↗www.aps.org.cn
12. APS China — international graduates with Chinese bachelor degree, August 2025 ↗www.aps.org.cn
13. German Embassy Hanoi — APS in Vietnam ↗vietnam.diplo.de
14. uni-assist — educational certificates ↗www.uni-assist.de
15. uni-assist — planning FAQ ↗www.uni-assist.de
16. uni-assist — deadlines and processing time ↗www.uni-assist.de
17. APS India — two-semester undergraduate checklist, April 2023 ↗aps-india.de
18. APS India — dMAT ↗aps-india.de

Continue your research

• Bachelor’s in Germany: find your entry route
• Your Germany application, step by step
• APS and dMAT: the India-specific checks