The state of Bavaria will make the change this summer and Lower Saxony in spring 2014, scrapping fees of up to €1,000 per year (£845). In future, first-time students will only pay a nominal per semester fee to cover administration, student support and other costs.

“International students are typically more accustomed with the concept of education funded by the individual”

Tuition fees, which are the same for both domestic and international students, were allowed by law in Germany in 2005, but have proved unpopular, contravening a long-held principle of “free tertiary education” as a human right. While low compared to other destinations’, the fees prompted a backlash in public opinion and most states to introduce them – including North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Wurttemberg, Hamburg and Saarland – have dropped them.

It is unclear, however, whether the news will have impact abroad. Edwin Van Rest, the CEO of Study Portals told The PIE that while fees were an important topic for the German public, internationals were not bothered.

“International students are typically more accustomed with the concept of education (partially) funded by the individual,” he said in an email. “And an international student still has full cost of about €10,000 annually per year when living in Germany, so a €1,000 tuition fee per year makes a smaller difference.”

He added that even with the fees in place, Germany remained attractive from a cost perspective, especially for non-European Union students accustomed to paying more elsewhere. The UK, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands all charge international students significantly higher fees.

Similarly, many internationals choose to study degrees in English in Germany, which are for a significant share offered by private institutions or treated as “non-consecutive” programmes – in both cases commanding significant fees.

That said, Van Rest conceded there could be some impact in the German-taught market in which Austria and Switzerland are competitors.

“The question is which of the German states will be the first to reintroduce the fees”

Gudrun Paulsdottir, former President of the European Association of International Education, is more optimistic that dropping fees will add to the attractiveness of the country overseas. However, she questioned whether Germany could actually afford it.

“In competition with the other German states [the last two states] may not have very much of an option [but to scrap fees]. But the real questions is how long can any state in Germany keep this up,” she said. “The cost for German tax payers is huge… The question is which of the German states will be the first to reintroduce the fees.”

Van Rest added that fee income not only improved student services, but students also had a say in how it was spent. With funds coming from the government again, students now have less influence a university’s policy and quality, he believes.

According to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), affordability is one of Germany’s selling points as a destination, but it is by no means the most important. Major draws include the rapid spread of English medium education, relaxed part-time and post-graduation work rights, and an easier path to permanent residency than in many countries.

Foreign students registered at German universities surpassed 250,000 in 2011 – 11.4% of all students in Germany – making it the fourth most popular study destination in the world (although China and France also lay claim to the title).