General Terms and Conditions (GTC)
of Freiburg International Academy gGmbH, translated from the version valid as of 07/01/2024
Section 1 Scope of Application
(1) Only the following Terms of Participation apply to the contractual relationship between the Freiburg International Academy gGmbH (hereinafter referred to as FIA) and the Participant (hereinafter referred to as PA), in the version valid at the time the contract was concluded.
(2) The FIA shall not recognize any deviating conditions of the PA, unless the FIA has expressly agreed to their validity in writing.
Section 2 Conditions for participation
(1) The PA shall ensure that he fulfills all relevant conditions for participation by the start of the respective course, at the latest. In general, the PA must verify to the FIA that he has completed a program of study in medicine, dentistry or pharmacy before beginning the first course, and that he has a valid visa by submitting appropriate documents.
(2) If the PA's first course is a language course above the A2 level, the PA must submit a recognized certificate (not a confirmation of participation) to the FIA from the previous language level by 3 calendar weeks before the start of the course at the latest. If the PA is arriving in Germany on short notice for visa-related reasons, he can also submit these documents to the FIA within 7 calendar days of his arrival in Germany. In general, the PA must forward the certificate to the FIA within 7 calendar days after receiving it. Documents from FIA, Telc, Goethe and ÖSD that are not more than 6 months old will be recognized.
(3) If the PA cannot submit such a document, he must pass a final examination for the previous level before beginning a course at the FIA. The FIA will assign seats for this final exam based on availability. The PA shall pay 180 EUR in advance to take this test.
(4) If the PA verifies that he possesses language skills at the level of the booked course, he can cancel the individual booked language course. For this, the participant must pay a cancellation fee of 150 EUR per canceled language course (levels A1 – B2). A cancellation fee of 300 EUR is charged for each canceled FSP course, and a cancellation fee of 500 EUR is charged for each canceled KP course. These costs shall be paid before participating in the following course. If the canceled course is part of a package booking, the PA will be charged the price for the remaining course(s) as if booked individually.
(5) FIA language courses (A1 – B2) end with a final exam on the respective language level. The PA must pass the FIA final exam or submit an appropriate certificate (not a confirmation of participation) for the previous level before taking part in the following language course. Documents from FIA, Telc, Goethe and ÖSD are recognized. If the PA does not pass an FIA final exam, he can take the course once again at a 50% discount from the share of course costs indicated above. In such cases, the FIA shall offer the following course to the PA at the soonest possible date.
(6) If the PA does not fulfill personal conditions for participation, for instance by failing language tests, the PA shall not be released from his contractually agreed payment obligations.
Section 3 Registration
(1) The PA shall register with his data in the FIA online area (www.fia-academy.de). The PA must submit his personal data, information on his level of knowledge, a CV, a copy of his passport, his diploma and a copy of his visa (if available) for further processing and service from the FIA. In addition, the PA shall provide the FIA with a signed application.
Applications from abroad (PA does not have a visa for a long stay in Germany according to Sec. 16f or Sec. 16d)
(2) If the PA is abroad at the time of application and does not have a visa in accordance with Sec. 16f or Sec. 16d of the Residence Act, he shall bear additional costs of 500 EUR for advising and processing international applications. This amount shall be owed to FIA independent of whether the Pas visa application is successful. It is not refundable. In addition, when submitting an application from abroad the PA must pay at least the “cost share” of the first booked course (see page 2 of the application) in advance. After his application is received, the PA shall receive a PayPal link from the FIA to pay these two amounts by e-mail. The PA may also pay the full cost of the entire qualification via PayPal. The PA shall receive an automatic confirmation of the paid amount from PayPal. If the PA's visa application is rejected, he shall be reimbursed for costs paid for the qualification or courses from the FIA. In contrast, the costs for consultation and processing from abroad are not covered. A prerequisite for the refund is the submission of a written visa refusal letter to the FIA.
(3) After receiving the PayPal payment, the PA shall receive a confirmation of participation from the FIA for the qualification requested by the PA via e-mail. With this confirmation, the contract for the qualification comes into force.
(4) If the PA requires verification that all costs for the qualification have been paid in order to apply for a German visa, the FIA shall issue this verification upon request and after such funds are received by the FIA.
(5) Once the PA has received a German visa, he is obligated to mail the visa to the FIA promptly. The FIA shall then contact the PA and agree to a final date and time for him to participate in the booked courses. The PA shall not book any travel or lodgings in Germany up to this time. If the PA sends the visa to the FIA later than 6 weeks before his first booked course date, he shall not be entitled to a course place in the course at his desired date or location. In such cases, the FIA is entitled to assign the PA to a course space at a later course date and/or another course location. The PA shall not incur any costs for this rebooking. All other contractual obligations shall remain unaffected.
Domestic applications from abroad (PA does have a visa for a long stay in Germany)
(6) If the PA is in Germany on a valid visa at the time of application, the PA must email this visa along with the registration documents to the FIA as per paragraph 1. After the PA applies with the FIA, the FIA shall mail the PA a registration confirmation for their desired qualification with the requested courses at the requested locations and dates, if they are available.
(7) Irrespective of the participant's further residence status, the participant may no longer withdraw from his/her course contract.
(8) If the PA requires proof of payment of the entire cost of the qualification, FIA will issue this proof upon request and after the corresponding money has been received by FIA.
Section 4 Scope and content of the qualification courses as a service of the FIA
(1) The individual qualification courses shall be carried out based on the teaching units set forth in the syllabus. Teaching materials, such as FIA scripts or reference books defined by the FIA, shall be provided. Additional materials, such as PC equipment, doctor's coats, other reference books or medical equipment shall not be provided by the FIA.
(2) The number of teaching units (TU, see pages 1 and 2 of the application) in all FIA courses is based on the assumption that between 16 and 30 PA shall take part in the course. Since the teaching will be more intensive in smaller groups, the FIA is entitled to hold a reduced number of teaching units if the group size is smaller. The FIA is entitled, in courses
- with a maximum of 12 PA, to hold only 75% of the teaching units listed
- with a maximum of 8 PA, to hold only 50% of the teaching units listed
- with a maximum of 4 PA, to hold only 25% of the teaching units listed.
If group sizes and teaching units are reduced, the courses can take place on individual week days, in the evening up until 9:00 PM or on the weekends. The contractual obligations of the PA with respect to payment shall remain the same.
Section 5 Location, duration and dates of qualification courses
The location, start and end of each qualification course shall be published on the FIA website. The PA shall be informed individually of the specific details of his booked courses. Courses shall not be held on statutory holidays, and will not be made up.
Section 6 Costs and payment options
(1) The contractually agreed costs and conditions apply to the respective qualifications.
(2) The respective costs shall be due and payable before the start of the qualification and/or before the start of the individual courses (receipt of payment by FIA). After confirmation of registration, the participant shall receive corresponding invoices from FIA stating the due dates for the costs. If the due course fee has not been received by the FIA at the beginning of the course, the participant cannot attend the qualification and will be transferred at a cost to the next course at the desired course location.
(2.1) The courses shall be initially invoiced on the basis of the price per individual booking. Should the participant not receive a subsidy, he/she will receive a corresponding credit note to offset against his/her outstanding course costs amounting to the difference to the package price for self-payers.
(2.2) Package prices exclusively apply to self-paying participants.
(3) If the PA does not fulfill his payment obligations and his installment agreement, the FIA can exclude him from taking part in the course on specific days or fully exclude him, after giving a warning. This shall not release him from his contractual payment obligations.
(4) If the PA does not fulfill his payment obligations and his installment agreement, the FIA can exclude him from taking part in the course on specific days or fully exclude him, after giving a warning. This shall not release him from his contractual payment obligations.
Section 7 Withdrawal and participant rebooking
(1) After concluding the qualification contract, the PA can no longer withdraw from the individual courses or the entire qualification, including on specific days or partially.
(2.1.) Participants who are abroad at the time of registration and have not yet received their visa for Germany can change their booking to a later course free of charge. Following receipt of the visa for Germany, 100 EUR will be charged for each rebooking of an individual course. Payment for the individual course is due, according to the first course registration. The FIA grants the possibility for the participant to take the rebooked courses within 2 years after the first rebooking with the FIA. Subsequently, the entitlement to participation expires. The participant's payment obligation for the course remains. Since course places are allocated in the order of registration, FIA reserves the right to first check availability in the case of rebooking requests. Rebookings must be made in writing.
(2.2.) For participants who are in Germany at the time of registration, a fee of 100 EUR will be charged for each rebooking of an individual course. These costs are due upon rescheduling of the course. The participant must attend the rescheduled courses within 2 years after the first rescheduling at FIA. Afterwards, the entitlement to participate expires. The participant's payment obligation for the entire course remains in force. Payment for the individual course is due, according to the first course registration. The FIA grants the possibility for the participant to take the rebooked courses within 2 years after the first rebooking with the FIA. Since course places are allocated in the order of registration, FIA reserves the right to first check availability in the case of rebooking requests. Rebookings must be made in writing.
(3) Prior to each course, participants will be reminded of the start date of their course and asked to confirm their participation in the course. If this feedback is not received, the course date will be postponed by one cycle. Invoicing remains unaffected by this. This is done in each case in good time before the start of each course, so that the participant can pay the course fee in good time before the start of the course.
(4) The PA shall have no further rights of withdrawal or revocation on any legal basis.
Section 8 Cancellation and program changes for qualification courses
(1) FIA shall be entitled to cancel courses for good cause, e.g. if the number of participants is too low, if teachers are unavailable or in case of force majeure. In case of insufficient number of participants, the cancellation shall take place no later than 1 week before the start of the course. FIA reserves the right to make changes to the content of a course, provided that the overall character of the course is not significantly altered as a result. A change of the intended teachers, presence in an online course, insignificant changes affecting the course schedule (such as a slight postponement of the start of the course) or a change to the scheduling of individual teaching units or a reasonable relocation of the venue shall not entitle the participant to a reduction in payment or to withdraw from the contract.
(2) If the FIA is forced to cancel a course, the PA shall be able to rebook the canceled course and subsequent booked courses free of charge to a later date, at a 20% discount. If the PA does not want to use the offer for a discounted rebooking, the FIA shall cancel his registrations for the canceled course and subsequent courses. The PA shall be reimbursed for any costs paid for such courses, or associated invoices shall be canceled.
(3) Further claims are excluded, unless the legal representatives, employees, or other agents of the FIA engaged in intentional or grossly negligent behavior. Sec. 14 also applies.
Section 9 Copyright
Work documents provided to the PA by the FIA are protected by copyright, and may not be copied, used commercially, or transmitted to third parties in whole or in part without the written consent of the FIA and the author. The FIA shall accept no liability for the content of presentations in the course or accompanying work documents, unless the FIA or one of its agents engaged in intentional or grossly negligent and culpable behavior. Sec. 14 also applies.
Section 10 Data privacy
(1) Personal data transmitted to the FIA shall be machine processed in order to complete the booking and carry out the qualification or courses, and to inform the PA regarding other events and services of the FIA. In addition, personal data of the PA shall be made accessible available to teachers and other PAs, for instance through sign-in sheets in the course rooms. The PA’s personal data shall also be transmitted to the company that handles mailings.
(2) Full information on the topic of data protection and on how PA personal data are processed is available under “Data privacy” on the FIA website.
Section 11 Termination
(1) The qualification agreement may not be terminated through ordinary means. Section 627 BGB shall not apply.
(2) The right to extraordinary termination for just cause without notice according to Sec. 626 BGB (German Civil Code) shall remain unaffected.
(3) The termination shall require the text form according to Sec. 126 b BGB, and must be declared to the FIA.
Section 12 Obligations of the participant
(1) To receive a final certificate, the PA must take part in at least 80% of course units.
(2) Before attending FIA courses, the PA must conclude private liability insurance. He must submit it upon request from the FIA.
(3) The PA shall comply with applicable house rules. These are posted in the FIA training rooms.
(4) The PA hereby undertakes not to take any photos or audio or video recordings during the qualification or courses.
(5) The PA shall provide the FIA with a copy of his “notice of deficit” (Defizitbescheid), the C1 technical language certificate and the German license to practice medicine at the latest 2 weeks after receiving these.
(6) The PA shall provide information on his testing dates received for technical language testing and skills testing, as well as his test results, and shall inform the FIA if he begins work subject to social security contributions in Germany in up to four status queries from the FIA.
(7) The FIA is entitled to exclude the PA from participating in the course for the day if he violates his obligations, following a warning. If the PA repeatedly violates his obligations or commits severe violations, following a warning the FIA can fully exclude the PA from participating in the course. The PA's contractual payment obligations shall remain unaffected.
Section 13 Reviews, certificates and certificates of participation
(1) The FIA shall have a right of retention to tests passed and certificates of participation until all costs due are paid according to Sec. 273 BGB.
(2) Acceptance of tests by the FIA shall be regulated by the examination regulations.
Section 14 Liability and offsetting
(1) Claims for damages can only be asserted by the PA against the FIA if they are based on intentional or grossly negligent behavior by the FIA, its legal representatives or their aids. This does not affect the PA’s claim to compensation for damages due to a violation of cardinal contractual obligations, or an injury to life, body or health resulting from a negligent breach of duty by the FIA, its legal representatives and its agents.
(2) The PA can only offset claims against the FIA's cost claims if they are undisputed and have been established in a court of law.