What is a blocked account for students?

As mentioned above, potential students who are not from the EU must prove that they are able to finance their stay. This is particularly important for those who need to apply for a visa before they can enter Germany. In addition to other factors such as health insurance valid in Germany, a passport valid for the duration of your stay and (in the case of a student visa) proof of your place of study, you must also prove that you have the financial means to finance your own living expenses for at least one year. If you have a scholarship that covers the costs accordingly, proof of this is sufficient. Also, if there is a person with permanent residence in Germany who insures the immigration authorities to cover your costs, this is often considered acceptable. It is seldom the case that parents' declarations of assumption of costs or general information about your own financial situation are accepted. In many cases, however, the authorities insist on the so-called blocked account. Such an account can be set up at almost any German bank. The special thing about this account is that you no longer have access to the amount that needs to be proven before you arrive in Germany. Here, too, you only have access to the corresponding monthly rate. This is to ensure that the money is actually used for your living expenses. You can find out about the exact visa application process in our blog post.

First, you should consider which bank you would like to set up a blocked account with. Most German banks offer such a service. You should take into consideration that it would be useful if the bank in question had a branch near your place of study. In many cases, you will have to go there in person to unblock your account, so that you can access your money again. Once you have decided on an institute, you should get the account-opening form for a blocked account. You should either find this on the company's website or receive it by e-mail on request. Mostly the form is also available in English. The requested documents usually include copies of your passport and your admission to studies. Once you have completed and collected all the documents, you can have them certified by the German Consulate or the German Embassy in your home country. The responsible local officials will then send everything to the respective bank. Thereupon, the bank will set up the account for you. This can take a week or two and sometimes you have to pay setup fees. Once this process is completed, you will receive your account details, especially the IBAN and BIC.

The amount for one year, which is usually set as a minimum by embassies and consulates, depends on the current BAföG rates. BAföG is short for the Federal Training Assistance Act (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz), which defines the extent to which the state provides financial support to trainees and students. Since September 2019, the maximum rate for students is 853€ per month. This is the amount that German students whose parents are unable to finance their studies and who have to bear all costs such as household expenses and insurance themselves have to receive monthly - and thus the amount that the state considers to be at least necessary to cover the cost of living as a student in Germany. Please note that this is a minimum rate! Depending on where and how you live, the cost of living may be higher. For example, in cities such as Munich or Hamburg the rents alone are significantly higher than elsewhere. (You can find out more about the costs of living in Germany as a student here.) Nevertheless: As a rule, you have to transfer €10.236 to your blocked account, quite a large sum.

You can only access your money again in Germany. Usually you have to present your passport and your visa at a branch of the respective bank, so the account will be activated. Most banks give you a bank card and data for online banking, so that you can withdraw and transfer money just like from any other account. The only difference is that you can only access that €853 per month. The rest remains in your account. If you want to have more money available without having to use another account, you can transfer a higher amount in the beginning.

Thus, the blocked account has its advantages and disadvantages. Of course, it is very difficult to have to transfer such a sum right at the beginning and especially when you arrive, you will have to pay more than in "normal" months for special expenses such as rent deposit, the initial equipment of your apartment or acquisition costs for educational material such as books or laboratory equipment. In this case, the exact monthly allocation of the money can be problematic. Therefore you should be on the safe side and in case you don't want to or can't transfer a higher amount to your blocked account, have some emergency money available for the beginning - in cash, on another account, by credit card or however you prefer. On the other hand, your money can be clearly managed by the monthly maximum amounts and you do not run the risk of being broke after three months. In addition, the blocked account is, as already mentioned, the safest method of proving that you can finance your studies to the embassies. You should therefore consider carefully whether there really is a safe alternative to a blocked account for you.