Germany's blocked account: what it is and when to open it

Germany asks international students to prove they can support themselves for their first year. The usual way to prove it is a blocked account, a Sperrkonto. You deposit a year of living costs into it, and the bank releases a fixed amount to you each month once you arrive.

It is called blocked because you cannot take the money out in a lump sum. That is the point. The embassy is not checking that you have money today. It is checking that you will still have money in month nine.

Why it delays people

The account is not the slow part. The order is.

Opening the account needs documents from the university. Transferring the money needs the account. The visa appointment needs proof the money arrived. Each step waits on the one before it, and students who start the account after booking the appointment lose the appointment.

Start the account as soon as you have your admission letter, not when you have the visa date.

How much

The amount is set by the Federal Foreign Office and is reviewed, so it changes. Do not budget from a figure in a blog post, including this one. Read the current amount on the Federal Foreign Office website or your nearest German mission's page before you transfer anything.

Two things about the amount that do not change. It is a year of living costs, not a token deposit. And the transfer fees and exchange spread are yours to absorb, so send a little more than the exact figure or you will arrive short and have to top it up from Pakistan at a worse rate.

Choosing a provider

Several providers are recognised, and the university or mission will usually name the ones it accepts. Compare them on three things.

• Whether the German mission handling your file accepts that provider. This is the only one that can stop your application.
• Opening fee and monthly fee. They differ, and over a year the difference is real money.
• How quickly they confirm the deposit, because that confirmation is what you take to the appointment.

What else the file needs

The blocked account is one document in a stack. The rest of the stack is where refusals come from.

• Admission or conditional admission from the university.
• Proof of German or English at the level the course requires.
• Academic records, often verified through uni-assist, which has its own queue.
• Health insurance, which must be the right kind. Travel insurance is not accepted for enrolment.
• A motivation letter that explains why this course, in this country, for you.

The honest summary

Germany is affordable once you are there and expensive to get into, because the money has to exist up front. A student who starts the blocked account in the same week as the admission letter usually makes the intake. A student who starts it after booking the appointment usually does not.

If you want your file checked in the order the mission will read it, send it to us before you book. We will tell you what is missing while there is still time to fix it.