How to Open a German Student Block Account

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If you are planning to pursue studies in a foreign country, during visa process, the embassy will want to see that you or your sponsor have enough money needed to take care of your studies and living expenses in that country. They will calculate the total tuition fees and living expenses for a year and will expect such amount to show in either your bank account statement or sponsor’s own. This is what many countries accept during visa process. But the case is different with Germany. Since education is funded by the government, public universities operate tuition free, meaning that students are not charged any tuition fees. When applying for visa, the German embassy will expect you to have certain amount of money in a block account enough to take care of your living expenses, since their schools are tuition free. The total amount required for this is 10,000 Euros and the embassy will expect this amount to be put in block account during visa process.

So in today’s article, we shall be looking at the steps involved in opening this block account. I will also talk about the cost of living in Germany and if possible provide a list of some tuition free universities in Germany.

What is a block account?

As explained earlier, block account is a bank account for foreign students wishing to pursue their studies in Germany. This is a proof that a student has enough money to live in Germany. It’s called blocked account since a student cannot withdraw all the money at once, only about 853 Euros per month. This blocked account can be opened at Finitiba or Deutsche Bank.

Please note that 1^st January 2020, the amount needed to be in the blocked account when applying for visa will increase to 10,236 Euros. This increment applies to all applicants that submitted their visa applications from 1^st September 2019.

Steps on how to open the blocked account in Germany

To open a blocked account in Germany is very easy. This can be done online and all you need do is follow the steps below and you will be able to open one for yourself:

Choose the provider (Fintiba or Deutsche Bank).
Apply online for your blocked account (only applies to Fintiba).
Download and fill the pdf application form (only applies to Deutsche Bank).
Seek proper legalization at the German embassy (only if you’ve chosen Deutsche Bank).
Deposit funds.
Get your blocking confirmation.

Documents needed to open a blocked account

Ensure that you have the following documents ready before you start opening a block account:

An application form
Your valid passport
The admission letter from your university
A bank statement of your income
A prepaid fee

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to open a German blocked account without the assistance of anybody. If after going through this article, you cannot open it yourself, kindly go to the nearest German embassy for assistance on how to do it.

Cost of living in Germany

As a student in Germany, you will be expected to have about 853 euros a month to cover for your living expenses like feeding, accommodation, transportation, buying of books, recreation etc. Note that you will only be expected to withdraw this amount or less from your block account monthly.

List of tuition free universities in Germany

These universities are all tuition free for all students including international students. You can contact them by clicking on those links to their website and get more information. You can bookmark this page so you can visit the schools as many times as you want. Don’t forget to share this information to your friends so they can also benefit from this free education.