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Study Financing
Semesterticket refund

Semesterticket refund
Is that possible?

At many universities in Hamburg, you automatically receive a semesterticket as part of your semester fee. With this semester ticket, you can travel throughout Hamburg for one semester at a low all-inclusive price.
If you are unable to use the ticket - e.g. because you are studying abroad or doing an internship abroad - you have the option of applying for a refund of the semester ticket fee.

The digital semester ticket has been available since 01.04.24. Students who do not have a smartphone can order the HVV Deutschlandticket in chip card format from an HVV service centre. The fee for issuing this card is €15.00 per semester. It is possible to have this fee reimbursed by the Studierendenwerk Hamburg.
The following application must be completed for this.

The Studierendenwerk Hamburg is responsible for the refund applications of the following universities:
University of Hamburg, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg University of Technology, HafenCity University, Hamburg University of Fine Arts, Hamburg University of Music and Theatre and the Protestant University of Applied Sciences for Social Work and Diakonie. If you have any questions, please contact us here.

 

 

Refund criteria
Health, local, spatial or social reasons

Reimbursement is only possible if you cannot reasonably be expected to use the HVV for health, local, spatial or social reasons.

Health reasons

You are unable to use public transportation due to an illness lasting more than three months during the semester for which you are applying.
Note: UHH students with a severe disability can apply for a semester ticket exemption directly via STiNE using a token. 
For more information, see:  Befreiung vom Semesterticket/Rückerstattung : Campus-Center : Universität Hamburg (uni-hamburg.de)
HAW students with a severe disability who have a token should submit their application by email to: sts@haw-hamburg.de
For more information, please visit https://www.haw-hamburg.de/ticket/ 
All other students from the listed universities should apply to us for a refund.

 

Local reasons

You are not eligible to use the HVV because you will be spending more than three months outside the HVV area during the semester of application for study-related reasons (e.g., internship, writing a bachelor's thesis, or studying abroad).

Note: UHH students can apply for exemption from the semester ticket directly via STiNE if they are studying or doing an internship abroad.

For more information, see: Befreiung vom Semesterticket/Rückerstattung : Campus-Center : Universität Hamburg (uni-hamburg.de).

HAW students should submit their application for exemption due to studying or interning abroad by email to: sts@haw-hamburg.de.

For more information, see https://www.haw-hamburg.de/ticket/.

All other students from the listed universities should apply for a refund from us.

 

Spatial reasons

In case of spatial reasons, you live outside the HVV area and travel to your place of study by Deutsche Bahn or comparable public transport and do not use the HVV additionally for a fee. However, it is also possible that you live so close to your place of study (up to 2 km from your home) that you travel on foot or by bicycle and do not use the HVV. Or you live within the HVV fringe area and would demonstrably need more than two hours to get from your home to your place of study.

Social reasons

A refund on social grounds is to be recognized above all if you can credibly show that you have laid out your entire financial planning without travel costs because the journey to the place of study is made by bicycle or on foot, although the distance is more than 2 km each way. A claim for refund is to be recognized in these cases if you receive benefits according to the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG), current assistance for living expenses according to the 12th Book of the Social Code (SGB XII) or benefits to secure living expenses according to SGB II (unemployment benefit II) or if the financial means available to you (income, assets, alimony payments, etc.) after deduction of housing costs (warm rent plus energy costs), child allowances according to §23(1) sentence 1 no. 3 BAföG and health and nursing care insurance are below the standard social welfare rate for single persons and heads of household in Hamburg. In particularly justified cases of hardship, exceptions may be permitted after consultation with the ASten.

 

Information on reimbursement and application
When must the application be submitted and how can I submit it?

The application must be submitted per semester. The application for reimbursement must be received by us no later than

for the winter semester by
by September 30 of the year if you are studying at Universität Hamburg (UHH), the University of Applied Sciences (HAW), Hamburg University of Technology (TU), HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU), the University of Fine Arts (HfbK), the University of Music and Theater (HfMT) or the Protestant University of Applied Sciences.

for the summer semester by
by March 31 of the year if you are studying at the University of Hamburg, the University of Applied Sciences (HAW), the Hamburg University of Technology (TU), the HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU), the University of Fine Arts (HfbK), the University of Music and Theater (HfMT) or the Protestant University of Applied Sciences for Social Work and Social Welfare.

Please note that you must have submitted the application by the deadlines specified, regardless of your re-registration.

In order to meet the deadline, you can submit the application to us even if you do not yet have all the documents.

You can apply for a refund online right here in the "Onlineportal zur Semesterticket-Rückerstattung".

If you would like to send it to us in paper form, you can find the PDF for printing here. Please send us the completed form in good time (the date of receipt applies) to:

Studierendenwerk Hamburg
Semesterticketrückerstattung
Postfach 13 01 13
20101 Hamburg

If you still require a refund due to de-registration from the current semester, please send your refund request and a scan of your de-registration form and your bank details by email to the following address: sbhh.kundensupport@deutschebahn.com.