Blocked account for a German Student Visa: A Guide for International Students (2023)

Thereby, if you fall into the first category, you do not need a visa or a residence permit to study in Germany. This, in turn, means that the citizens of those countries do not need a Blocked Account to study in Germany. 

Although the citizens of the countries that fall into the second category do not need a student visa, they still need a student residence permit. Hence, they might need a Blocked Account in Germany. As for the countries from the third category, they need both a German student visa and a German student residence permit, meaning that German Blocked Account will possibly be an indispensable element for their visa and residence permit applications.

In this article, we are focusing on the first category, namely the students, who want to study in Germany.

In order to get a German student visa and/or German student residence permit, one of the prerequisites is that the applicants can provide the authorities with proof that they have enough money to cover their stay in Germany for at least a year. And the Blocked Account is one of the best ways to do so! As long as the international students have opened a Blocked Account with an accepted Blocked Account provider in Germany and transferred the money requested by the German government, the prerequisite for the proof of finances is met.

In a word, Blocked Account serves as proof that international students who want to study in Germany can cover their living expenses for a minimum period of 12 months without any financial support from the German government.

Is it necessary to get a Blocked Account in Germany?

Yes, the Blocked Account is necessary if you want to get a German student visa. However, once again, remember that it is one of the options through which you can prove your finances, which is an integral part of your German student visa application. 

It is noteworthy that you can open a Blocked Account from your home country. And, of course, the key requirement is that you transfer to your Blocked Account provider the requested amount of money!

In fact, the Blocked Account presents the most practical option for German missions abroad as well as for your needs due to its speed, reliability, and certainty. It should be emphasized that the process of establishing a Blocked Account has been significantly simplified. Previously, you would have needed to personally visit a German mission abroad to obtain physical certification for your documents in order to open a Blocked Account at Deutsche Bank. Nowadays, this account can be set up online within a matter of minutes.

The exact amount of money that you need to allocate to your German Blocked Account is determined by the German government. Currently, international students in Germany need 11 208 Euros per year or 934 Euros per month. It is important to emphasize that this amount is not set in stone, and it can often change because of some financial reasons (e.g., inflation). For instance, since 2020, the requested amount of money for the German Blocked Account has increased several times from 10 236 Euros (or 853 per month) to reach the current amount of 11 208 Euros. In other words, in around 3 years, there was over a 9% increase in the realm of the Blocked Account in Germany.  

You should also be aware of the fact that 11 208 Euros is just the minimum amount of money that you have to have on your Blocked Account in Germany. In case you would like to, (usually) you can also deposit more than 11 208 Euros to your German Blocked Account.

There is no "universal" amount of money that international students might need to pay to open or maintain a Blocked Account in Germany. Put differently, every German Blocked Account provider is different, which is why it has its own regulations and fees.

International students in Germany who opt for a Blocked Account as proof of their finances need the Blocked Account for every year of their studies. For instance, if an international student comes to Germany to pursue a 2-year Master's in Germany, s/he will need a German Blocked Account not only for the first year but also for the second year. So, in such a case, after opening a Blocked Account in Germany for the first year, the student needs to extend the Blocked Account into the second year by blocking the amount of money requested by the German government.

Note: as per governmental regulations, you cannot open a Blocked Account for more than 12 months. That's why you should open it for the first year only and then, if needed, extend it.

Keep in mind that in case you did not finalize your studies within the standard period of time set by your study program and you want to take an extra semester(s), you can still extend the German Blocked Account for those required additional months.

Let us play it safe here: you should open the German Blocked Account as soon as you receive the letter of admission/letter of acceptance from your German university. As already mentioned, some of the German Blocked Account providers give the students an opportunity to open a Blocked Account even without a letter of admission. So, in case you decide to open a Blocked Account without being accepted to the university, and then your study program application is rejected, you will need to go through an additional procedure of cancelling the Blocked Account. Maybe it is a good idea to wait until the acceptance letter arrives so that you do not create any additional "bureaucratic adventures" for yourself.

Do not worry that you need to wait for the letter of admission until you open the Blocked Account. The good news is that opening a German Blocked Account is quite a swift procedure. All in all, submission and then verification of the information provided by you will take, in most cases, from 1 hour to 24 hours. Thereby, with many of the Blocked Account providers, it will take around 1-24 hours to open a German Blocked Account.

Naturally, there are some factors that will impact the speed of opening the Blocked Account. Among them are:

• Your Blocked Account provider. As already mentioned, different German Blocked Account providers have varying procedures. Hence, they differ in terms of speed.

• Your money transfer method. Depending on the service you choose to transfer your money to the Blocked Account provider, you will experience different waiting times.

• Country of origin. Depending on the country you are sending the money from, the speed of receiving the money will be influenced.

So, depending on these factors and on how smooth the whole procedure goes, from the moment you start opening your Blocked Account until receiving your blocking confirmation, you will need to wait around 1-2 weeks.

To put it simply, there are two key ways through which you can transfer your money to the German Blocked Account:

1. Via special money transfer companies; 

2. Via international bank transfer.

Bear in mind that some of the German Blocked Account providers partner with particular money transfer services and suggest you the best options when it comes to money transfers tailored to their company.

Do not worry: in case your application for a German student visa is rejected, your Blocked Account provider will give your money back to you. In other words, your money is safe! Make sure to get an official letter of rejection from the local German Embassy/Consulate that is responsible for your student visa application. This document is crucial for getting your refund.

Besides, the procedure of closing your Blocked Account because of the visa rejection can differ from provider to provider. Thus, it is of utmost importance to be directly in touch with your Blocked Account provider and find out what are the exact steps that you need to undertake to close the Blocked Account and get your money back into your pocket. It is noteworthy that the whole refund procedure might take over a month.

In general, closing the German Blocked Account is quite an easy procedure, especially after you are done with your studies. Some of the Blocked Account providers close it automatically after you graduate (by that time, the whole amount of money deposited in the Blocked Account is supposed to be paid out).

However, keep in mind that you can continue using the German Blocked Account even after your studies if you are going to prolong your stay in Germany for a relevant purpose. For example,  if you want to continue with a PhD or you want to apply for a job-seeker visa after your studies, you can extend your German Blocked Account and keep using it.

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