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Germany's blocked account (Sperrkonto) for students: 992 Euro a month in 2027, and what the BAföG bill could change

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    • Timeline added: For 2024 the amount was 934 Euro a month, published on 30 August 2023, with a housing threshold of 360 Euro.
    • Timeline added: For 2025 the amount rose to 992 Euro a month, published on 27 August 2024, with the housing threshold at 380 Euro.
    • Timeline added: For 2026 the amount was also 992 Euro a month, published on 29 August 2025.
    • Timeline added: For 2027, the Federal Interior Ministry has set the money a student must show for a German study visa or residence permit at 992 Euro a month, unchanged from 2026. It published the figure in the Federal Gazette on 31 August 2026.
    • Timeline added: In October 2026 the federal government sent the Bundestag a bill (Drucksache 21/8405) that would raise the BAföG housing amount from 380 Euro to 440 Euro and the insurance supplements from 102 Euro to 121 Euro and from 35 Euro to 39 Euro, from 1 April 2027.
    • Confirmed: The same notice sets 959 Euro a month for vocational training (betriebliche or schulische Berufsausbildung) and 666 Euro a month for a permit under section 16g of the Residence Act.
    • Confirmed: The Residence Act ties the amount to the monthly need under the student-grant law (BAföG, sections 13 and 13a(1)), and the Interior Ministry must announce it for each calendar year by 31 August of the year before.
    • Confirmed: The student amount is the sum of four BAföG amounts: 475 Euro basic need, 380 Euro for housing away from parents, 102 Euro for health insurance and 35 Euro for long-term care insurance.
    • Confirmed: For recognition measures (section 16d), language courses that do not prepare for study, and stays to look for a training place or a university place (section 17), the law asks for the same amount plus 10 percent.
    • Confirmed: For 2026 the amount was also 992 Euro a month, published on 29 August 2025.
    • Confirmed: For 2025 the amount rose to 992 Euro a month, published on 27 August 2024, with the housing threshold at 380 Euro.
    • Confirmed: For 2024 the amount was 934 Euro a month, published on 30 August 2023, with a housing threshold of 360 Euro.
    • Confirmed: A blocked account (Sperrkonto) is the usual way to show the money. You can choose any bank or similar provider, often online; its fees come on top of the blocked amount; the account is normally set up for one year; and only a fixed amount can be withdrawn each month, so the money lasts the whole stay.
    • Confirmed: The block can be lifted only with the consent of the mission or foreigners authority named on the account. If your visa is refused, the refusal letter is enough. The Foreign Office does not recommend providers and is not liable if one fails.
    • Confirmed: The bill would then raise the basic student need from 475 Euro to 503 Euro from 1 August 2027 and to 563 Euro from 1 April 2029, with further rises in the insurance supplements.
    • Confirmed: The Bundesrat criticised that the housing rise comes in the summer semester 2027 instead of the winter semester 2026/2027 promised in the coalition agreement. The government rejected most of its demands.
    • Source added: Bekanntmachung zu § 2 Absatz 3 AufenthG für das Jahr 2027 (BAnz AT 31.08.2026 B1) (Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette))
    • Source added: § 2 AufenthG - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 13 BAföG - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 13a BAföG - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: Bekanntmachung zu § 2 Absatz 3 AufenthG für das Jahr 2026 (BAnz AT 29.08.2025 B1) (Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette))
    • Source added: Bekanntmachung zu § 2 Absatz 3 AufenthG für das Jahr 2025 (BAnz AT 27.08.2024 B1) (Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette))
    • Source added: Bekanntmachung zu § 2 Absatz 3 AufenthG für das Jahr 2024 (BAnz AT 30.08.2023 B3) (Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette))
    • Source added: Eröffnung eines Sperrkontos in Deutschland für Studierende vor der Einreise (Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt))
    • Source added: Drucksache 21/8405: Entwurf eines Dreißigsten Gesetzes zur Änderung des BAföG (30. BAföGÄndG) (Deutscher Bundestag)
    • Source added: Bundesregierung legt Bafög-Novelle vor (Deutscher Bundestag)