Internship CV for Germany: how a student from Türkiye writes a Praktikum Lebenslauf

First step: get your faculty to confirm the internship is compulsory

Ask your department's internship committee (staj komisyonu) for a letter in English or German stating that your study regulations require the internship and for how many working days. It decides whether the German minimum wage applies, which visa checklist you follow and what your CV opens with.

The German missions in Türkiye ask for exactly this proof. Their checklist for study-related internships says a confirmation from the Turkish university that the internship is compulsory is needed for the minimum-wage exemption, and that a clear entry in Table B of an Erasmus Learning Agreement also counts.

1. Get the compulsory-internship confirmation (staj zorunluluk belgesi) in English or German.
2. Count your completed Fachsemester at the planned start date. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) wants at least four.
3. Check your university on anabin: the BA expects the status H+ or H+/- for the institution.
4. Decide the exact window you can work, in dates, before you contact companies.

Pflichtpraktikum or freiwilliges Praktikum: what changes

German law treats interns as employees for minimum-wage purposes unless an exception applies. Section 22 of the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG) exempts a compulsory internship required by school or university rules, an orientation internship of up to three months before training or study, and a voluntary internship of up to three months alongside study if you have not interned with that employer before. The general minimum wage is €13.90 an hour since 1 January 2026, according to the Federal Ministry of Labour (BMAS), read on 12 October 2026.

Why the word Pflichtpraktikum belongs on the CV

Pay and the visa file both follow from it. Writing the requirement and the days your faculty demands into the education entry shows the company which rule applies.

Residence and work rules for interns from Türkiye

A student enrolled at a Turkish university usually comes under § 15 No. 6 of the Employment Ordinance (BeschV): an internship of up to one year, related to the field of study, after the fourth semester, with the agreement (Einvernehmen) of the BA. The BA's leaflet of September 2025 adds the detail: the internship must be directly connected to the degree, a detailed internship plan must show the training effect, qualified staff must supervise it, and the ratio of interns to employees should not exceed 1:3.

Who asks the BA, and when

The employer applies, or a third party it authorises. The BA says to apply early but not more than six months before the start. The Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (ZAV) in Bonn decides and sends the agreement to the employer.

• BA application form and BA internship plan form (Praktikumsplan).
• BA enrolment declaration and a copy of your enrolment certificate.
• An anabin printout showing your university as H+ or H+/-.
• Passport data page.
• For a compulsory internship: your university's proof that the rules require it.
• Where needed, proof of funds.

The internship checklists of the German missions in Türkiye

The visa pages of the German Embassy and Consulates General in Türkiye list four internship checklists: 30F (Hospitation), 46F (Erasmus internship), 47F (internship with a scholarship) and 48F (international exchange programme and study-related internship with BA agreement). Checklist 48F asks for the application form, a fee of usually €75, the BA agreement, the study-related internship contract, proof of qualifications including a current transcript, a certificate stating how long you have studied, proof of funds and health insurance. Turkish documents need German translations by sworn translators.

Erasmus+ traineeships

Internships in EU-funded programmes such as Erasmus need no BA agreement (§ 15 No. 3 BeschV, confirmed in the BA leaflet). Checklist 46F asks instead for a confirmation from your home university in German or English, the complete Learning Agreement for Traineeships with a clearly filled Table B, and the contract or invitation from the German host.

Recent graduates: § 16e AufenthG

The EU internship permit covers people enrolled in a degree or who graduated within the last two years. The internship must match the degree in subject and level, the agreement must set out goals, hours and supervision, the host must promise in writing to cover public costs for up to six months after the agreement ends, and the permit lasts at most six months.

Visa checklists change. Open the linked page of the German missions in Türkiye before you book an appointment.

Contract, Praktikumszeugnis and your staj report

Under § 2(1a) of the Evidence Act (NachwG), an employer taking on an intern must sign and hand over the essential terms in writing right after the contract is agreed and before work starts. The record cannot be given electronically. Check that yours lists:

• the names and addresses of both parties
• the learning and training goals of the internship
• start date and duration
• regular daily hours
• whether you are paid, and how much
• days of leave
• a general reference to any collective agreements that apply

The certificate at the end

Through § 26 of the Vocational Training Act (BBiG), interns who are not in a regular job get the certificate rule of § 16: a written document stating the type, duration and goal of the training and the skills acquired. On request it must also assess your conduct and performance, so ask for that version. The BA's application advice says internship certificates are worth attaching mainly for career starters, which is exactly where you will be next.

What your Turkish faculty needs back

Faculties set their own rules, so read yours. As one published example, the electrical engineering department of Eskişehir Technical University (guide dated 13 April 2026) requires 40 working days of compulsory internship split 20+20 between two organisations, no earlier than after the fourth semester. For an internship abroad it wants an approved document from the host at least 30 days before the start, pays no social insurance premium, and grades you on the host's evaluation form and your report. Take an English or German version of that form with you.

What an intern Lebenslauf for Germany leads with

The BA tells applicants to build the Lebenslauf as a table, at most two A4 pages, newest entries first, and to include internships under the career history. For a student, that puts study at the top. The tabular format itself is covered on the German CV format page; the general content of a student internship CV is on the internship resume page.

1. Persönliche Daten: name, city and country, phone with country code, email.
2. One line naming the internship you want: type, field, exact dates and working days.
3. Studium: degree, university, completed Fachsemester at the start date, grade average, and the compulsory internship requirement.
4. Relevant courses, three to five, named the way the course catalogue names them.
5. Projekte: course or personal projects with a measurable result.
6. Praktische Erfahrung: earlier internships and part-time work, newest first.
7. Kenntnisse: software, tools and lab methods with a level.
8. Sprachen: each language with a CEFR level and the certificate if you have one.

Write Fachsemester, not year of study

The BA counts semesters in your subject and wants four completed before the start. '3. sınıf' tells a German reader little; '6 Fachsemester abgeschlossen zum Praktikumsbeginn' answers the question directly.

Make the CV match the internship plan

The BA judges from the employer's plan whether the skills you will gain fit your subject. If the plan says you will test power electronics, the CV should show the course and project that prepared you for it.

Give the window as dates

Approval is for a stated period. The BA allows the entry date to move only if you stay enrolled for the whole approved period, so write the window you can really keep.

Sample CV: Turkish electrical engineering student, Pflichtpraktikum

Elif is fictional. She studies electrical and electronics engineering in Ankara, has done 20 of her 40 compulsory days at home and wants the other 20 in Germany in July 2027. Her CV is in German because the ad is.

The numbers show the form, not facts to copy. The grade stays on its own scale; conversion is on the Turkish grades page.

Timeline for a July 2027 Pflichtpraktikum

Proof: the sources and the date we read them

Every rule on this page comes from one of these pages, all read on 12 October 2026. Links are under Sources.

Who this page is not for

• Students already enrolled at a German university. A compulsory internship there does not count against the 140-day work allowance, but a voluntary one needs approval from the foreigners office; part-time student jobs are on the Werkstudent page.
• Students with fewer than four completed semesters in their subject. The BA route does not apply yet.
• School pupils. § 15 BeschV has separate six-week rules for pupils, with sufficient German required for pupils of non-German schools abroad.
• Graduates who finished more than two years ago. The § 16e internship permit does not cover you.

Next steps and other routes

• Search: the BA's job search has an internship filter, which the BA's page for foreign students links as 'Praktikum finden'.
• Ask your international office about Erasmus+ traineeship funding; it removes the BA step.
• Write the cover letter after the CV; the German letter layout is on the Anschreiben page.

CitedCV can write the Lebenslauf in German with German conventions, in a tabular layout and with MM/YYYY dates, from the facts you confirm: your courses, project numbers and the internship requirement. It writes only from those facts, so the grade, the semester count and the dates are yours to check.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. German missions in Türkiye, Praktikum (internship visa checklists)tuerkei.diplo.de/tr-de/service/05-visaeinreise/2720730-2720730
2. German missions in Türkiye, Merkblatt 48F: study-related internship with BA agreementtuerkei.diplo.de/tr-de/service/05-visaeinreise/2760302-2760302
3. German missions in Türkiye, Merkblatt 46F: Erasmus internshiptuerkei.diplo.de/tr-de/service/05-visaeinreise/2725180-2725180
4. Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Studienfachbezogene Praktika für ausländische Studierende (September 2025)www.arbeitsagentur.de/datei/dok_ba036105.pdf
5. Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Praktika und Ferienjobs für ausländische Studierendewww.arbeitsagentur.de/arbeiten-in-deutschland/praktika-und-ferienjobs-fuer-auslaendische-studierende
6. Mindestlohngesetz, § 22www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milog/__22.html
7. BMAS, Mindestlohnwww.bmas.de/DE/Arbeit/Arbeitsrecht/Mindestlohn/mindestlohn.html
8. Beschäftigungsverordnung, § 15www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beschv_2013/__15.html
9. Aufenthaltsgesetz, § 16ewww.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufenthg_2004/__16e.html
10. Nachweisgesetz, § 2www.gesetze-im-internet.de/nachwg/__2.html
11. Berufsbildungsgesetz, § 26www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bbig_2005/__26.html
12. Berufsbildungsgesetz, § 16www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bbig_2005/__16.html
13. Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Bewerbung schreibenwww.arbeitsagentur.de/arbeitslos-arbeit-finden/bewerbungstraining/bewerbung-schreiben
14. Eskişehir Teknik Üniversitesi, Elektrik-Elektronik Mühendisliği Staj Kılavuzu (13.04.2026)eem.eskisehir.edu.tr/Uploads/eem/files/EEM%20B%C3%B6l%C3%BCm%20Staj%20K%C4%B1lavuzu%202026.pdf