Financial support for studies: BAföG for Students of Universities, Academies or higher level Technical Colleges
You can receive financial support for your studies or internship if your parents do not have a higher income or if you have already been employed for a longer period of time. This support is called BAföG.
BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law. You receive this funding to finance
- your studies,
- under certain conditions of a prescribed internship as part of your studies.
In order to receive the monthly grant, you must meet other requirements in addition to financial need. The most important are
- You are studying full-time.
- Age limit: 45 years. Exceptions are possible.
How is BAföG calculated?
The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your spouse or partner or you yourself earn a little more.
If you are studying, you will receive half of the funding as a loan and half as a grant. This means that you generally only have to pay back half of the money after your studies. You do not have to pay any interest on the loan ("interest-free loan"). The maximum repayment amount is generally EUR 10,010, regardless of the total amount of the grant. This corresponds to 77 monthly installments of EUR 130 each from the start of repayment. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) is responsible for collecting the loan. Repayment does not begin until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period, which usually corresponds to the standard period of study. If you do not earn enough to repay your loan, you can apply to the Federal Office of Administration for a deferment of payment.
If you are studying, your monthly requirements are made up of different parts:
- Basic needs:
- EUR 475 if you are completing your education at a higher technical college, academy or university, for example.
- Accommodation requirements:
- EUR 59 if you are living with your parents or
- EUR 380 if you do not live with your parents.
- If you do not have health and long-term care insurance through your parents, you will receive an additional EUR 102 or EUR 35 respectively.
- If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare allowance of EUR 160 for each child.
Within the European Union (EU) and Switzerland, your studies can be funded from the start until you obtain your foreign educational qualification. For stays abroad outside the EU, BAföG is available for up to one year; in special exceptional cases for up to 2.5 years. Your stay abroad must be completed within a continuous period of time and in one country, unless attending training institutions in several countries is of particular importance for your training.
Your compulsory internship abroad can also be funded with BAföG. For this, your internship must last at least 12 weeks if it is completed outside the EU.
For a semester or year abroad or an internship abroad, you can apply for supplements to travel costs, tuition fees and international health insurance. For stays abroad outside the EU or Switzerland, you will also receive a purchasing power allowance. You do not have to repay supplements for verifiably necessary tuition fees abroad.
The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:
- The income of your parents and your spouse or partner in the penultimate year before the start of the approval period, if it is above the allowance. The tax-free amount is:
- EUR 2,540 if your parents live together,
- EUR 1,690 per parent if your parents live separately and
- EUR 1,690 for your spouse or cohabiting partner
- Your own income if it is more than EUR 556 per month. There may also be additional allowances if you pay maintenance to other people.
- Your own assets if they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 from the age of 30.
Note: If your parents or your spouse or partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last before approval, you can submit an update application. There may also be other additional allowances, for example for other children or other dependants of your parents or your partner under civil law.
Parent-independent BAföG:
Your parents' income is not taken into account if you
- have been gainfully employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18 or
- have completed three years of vocational training and have then been employed for at least 3 years. In the case of shorter training, a correspondingly longer period of gainful employment is required.
- are older than 30 at the start of training.
Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total positive income. In the case of training assistance law, this is the gross income for employed persons minus the
- income-related expenses,
- social allowance and the
- taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.
Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not taken into account.
For how long is Bafög granted?
You must inform the Office for Education immediately in writing of any changes in your financial situation and your family and educational circumstances. This includes, for example, if your income changes, if you change, drop out or end your education or if your siblings do the same.
There is a maximum funding period. You can receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study or a comparable period. Your BAföG can then be extended by one semester without giving reasons, i.e. in the Bachelor's or Master's degree. This is known as the flexible semester. There are also other extension options. For example, if you have exceeded the maximum funding period because you
- have failed the final examination for the first time,
- have a disability,
- are or were pregnant,
- have raised a child up to the age of 14,
- are or were active in committees and bodies of the university, the student self-administration, the student unions or the federal states provided for by law or the statutes, or
- have cared for close relatives in a home environment classified as at least care grade 3.
An extension for the above reasons is possible before or after a flexible semester. If you have already been granted an extension due to failing your final examination, you will no longer be able to receive a flexibility semester.
Please note: If you are entitled to an extension due to a disability, pregnancy or the care and upbringing of a child up to the age of 14, you will receive full grant funding without a loan component during the extension period deemed appropriate in this respect. It may therefore make sense to make use of this extension option instead of or before taking advantage of a flexible semester. If necessary, seek advice from your BAföG office.
If you give up one degree course and start another ("change of degree course"), your new degree course can only be funded if
- the change took place in the 3rd semester at the latest or
- the change took place in the 4th semester and there is an important reason for the change or
- there was an unavoidable reason for the change, for example
- a disability that occurred after commencement of studies or
- an allergy to certain substances that occurred after commencement of studies and which makes it impossible to continue studying or to pursue the profession previously pursued.
The change for an unavoidable reason will still be recognized after the 4th semester.
How is an internship supported?
BAföG can only be used to fund internships that you complete while you are enrolled in a course of study that is eligible for funding under BAföG.
Only compulsory internships are eligible for funding. These are internships that are prescribed by your study regulations and that you must complete in order to graduate. Compulsory internships completed outside the EU are only eligible for funding if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory internships within EU member states can also be funded if they are shorter than 12 weeks.
What are the prerequisites?
You can receive BAföG if
- you are attending a university, academy or higher technical college. If it is a private educational institution, it must be state-recognized;
- you are studying full-time and
- you are either
- are German or German nationals or
- you are from abroad and, for example
- have a permanent right of residence or a settlement permit,
- are a citizen of the EU and are entitled to freedom of movement under EU law as an employee or self-employed person or are entitled to freedom of movement as a family member of a citizen of the EU,
- have prospects of remaining in Germany, for example a corresponding residence permit for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
- have already resided in Germany for 5 years or longer before starting their training and have worked during this time.
- Please note: As the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your local education support office at an early stage.
- you are younger than
- 45 years
- Exceptions:
- You have acquired your higher education entrance qualification by the second-chance route,
- You have enrolled at a university solely on the basis of your professional qualifications,
- you were prevented from starting the course on time for personal or family reasons, in particular due to the uninterrupted upbringing of a child under the age of 14, and did not work more than 30 hours per week during this time, or
- you have become needy due to drastic changes in your personal circumstances. You were therefore unable to complete a vocational training course eligible for funding under BAföG.
Internship:
You will receive BAföG for the internship if this is prescribed by the training regulations and lasts at least 12 weeks for internships outside the EU. Shorter compulsory internships can also be funded for stays abroad within the EU.
Which documents are required?
- Completed application form
- Certificate of enrollment with the note "according to § 9 BAföG" in the original or certificate from the training institution (form 02).
- If applicable, copy of the
- current residence permit.
- If you do not live with your parents:
- Copy of the registration certificate or
- Copy of the tenancy agreement, if requested by the Office for Educational Support
- if you are not covered by family insurance: Proof of health and long-term care insurance with
- legal basis and
- amount of contributions.
- If applicable, proof of your own income during the approval period, for example
- payslip from your part-time job or a copy of your work contract,
- Orphan's pension certificate,
- notice of scholarship,
- Riester pension certificate.
- Proof of assets or debts on the date of application, e.g. bank statement.
- If the value of the assets of trainees does not exceed the amount of EUR 10,000, the form "Simplified assessment of assets" can be attached
- if you have a car:
- Estimate of the value, for example, printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
- vehicle registration certificate.
- from the 5th semester onwards: Proof of performance in the form of
- a certificate of an intermediate examination or
- a certificate from the university confirming that the usual level of performance has been achieved or
- proof of the usual number of ECTS credit points
- Depending on the case, further documents may be required. Please follow the instructions in the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request any missing documents.
Are there costs involved?
There are no costs.
What is the application procedure?
If you would like to apply for BAföG for your studies online:
- Open the BAföG Digital website and create a BundID user account.
- Complete the form data fields online using the application wizard and send your data electronically to the relevant office.
If you would like to submit the application in paper form:
- Go to the BAföG Digital website and download the application forms (Formblätter) that apply to you. Alternatively, you can also collect the applications from your Studierendenwerk.
- You can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out or print them out and fill them in by hand. You must enter your name at the end of the application form.
- Attach the necessary supporting documents.
- Send the completed application forms with the supporting documents directly to the Office for Educational Assistance responsible for you.
The Office for Educational Support will check the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be checked and the decision will be notified by post.
How long does processing take?
4 - 6 weeks
If you have submitted all documents with your first application for a Bachelor's or Master's degree and - the Office takes longer than 6 calendar weeks to make a decision or - the payments are not made within 10 calendar weeks, you will receive an advance payment for 4 months up to the amount of 4 fifths of the estimated monthly entitlement. The payment can be reclaimed by the office if you are not entitled to educational support after all.
If, on presentation of the complete documents
- the required findings cannot be made by the Office within 6 calendar weeks, or
- payments cannot be made within 10 calendar weeks,
the Office shall make an advance payment up to the amount of four-fifths of the estimated monthly needs.
What are the relevant deadlines?
There is no deadline. BAföG is only granted from the start of training, but at the earliest from the beginning of the month in which you submit your application. If you submit your application as completely as possible, a decision on your application can usually be made quickly.
You must notify us immediately in writing of any change in your or your family's financial situation.
What conditions must be observed?
The following information is available:
- False or incomplete information or the omission of change notifications can be prosecuted or punished as an administrative offense with a fine. Unjustly paid amounts can be reclaimed.
- If the requirements are met, the information provided on income or assets can be checked by comparing data with the relevant authorities.
What legal assistance is available?
- As a rule, objection
- Action before the administrative court
In which languages is the service available?
BAföG Digital is currently available in German.
Financial support for school attendance: BAföG for Students of second-level institutions
Apply for BAföG for a school visit
You can get financial help to go to school or do an internship if your parents do not earn much or if you have already been working for a while. This help is called BAföG.
BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law.
As the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your local education funding office at an early stage.
You receive BAföG funding to finance
- your school attendance or
- under certain conditions, for a prescribed internship as part of your school attendance.
In order to receive the monthly grant, you must meet other requirements in addition to financial need. The most important are
- You are aiming to complete your schooling full-time.
- Age limit at the start of training: 45 years of age (exceptions are possible).
How is BAföG calculated?
The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your wife or husband, your partner or you yourself earn a little more.
As a student, you usually receive the financial support as a grant. You do not have to pay anything back. As a student at a higher technical college, you will receive funding in monthly installments, half as a grant and half as a loan.
In principle, you can receive BAföG if you want to obtain a vocational qualification as part of school-based vocational training or a secondary school leaving certificate. However, if you are attending a general school, this only applies from year 10 onwards and only if you are unable to live at home. This is the case, for example, if you cannot complete the desired qualification nearby.
The monthly requirement for pupils is:
- If you live with your parents:
- EUR 442 if you are attending a technical college class that requires you to have completed vocational training, an evening grammar school or a college,
- EUR 276 if you attend a vocational college or a technical college that you can attend without having completed vocational training or
- EUR 498 if you attend an evening secondary school, vocational college, evening secondary school or specialized secondary school that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
- If you do not live with your parents:
- EUR 666 in total if you attend a secondary general school, a vocational school or a specialized upper secondary school that you can attend without having completed vocational training or
- a total of EUR 775 if you are attending an evening secondary school, vocational college, evening secondary school or technical college that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
- If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare allowance of EUR 160 for each child.
You can also receive BAföG if you spend a year abroad during your time at school, for example. If you spend a year abroad, you will receive an allowance for the travel costs for the outward and return journey.
The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:
- The income of your parents and your wife or husband or your partner in the penultimate year before the start of the approval period, if it is above the allowance. The tax-free amount is:
- EUR 2,540 if your parents live together,
- EUR 1,690 per parent if your parents live separately and
- EUR 1,690 for your spouse or partner.
- A further 50 percent of the parental income calculated in this way - and an additional 5 percent for each sibling in non-eligible education - is exempt from deductions
- In addition, there may be further allowances, for example for other children or other dependants of the above-mentioned persons under civil law.
- Note: If your parents, your wife or husband or your partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last before approval, you can submit an update application.
- Your own income if it is more than EUR 556 per month. There may also be additional allowances if you have to pay maintenance to other people.
- Your own assets if they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 after the age of 30.
Parent-independent BAföG:
Your parents' income is not taken into account if you
- have been employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18 or
- have completed three years of vocational training and then worked for at least 3 years. If you have completed a shorter period of training, you must have been in gainful employment for a correspondingly longer period.
- are over 30 years old at the start of training.
If you attend an evening grammar school or college, you will receive BAföG independent of your parents. This means that your parents' income is not taken into account when calculating your BAföG requirements.
Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the sum of positive income. In the case of training assistance law, this is the gross income for salaried employees minus
- income-related expenses,
- social allowance and the
- taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.
Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not taken into account.
For how long is Bafög granted?
Funding will be provided for the duration of your training. The training and thus your BAföG support ends with the month in which the final examination was passed or – if a final examination is not scheduled - with the scheduled end of the training period. The training and thus your BAföG support also ends if the training is discontinued, unless the training is continued at a training institution of another type of training institution.
How is an internship supported?
BAföG can only be used to support internships that
- you complete while you are in training that is eligible for funding under BAföG.
- Compulsory internships are internships that are prescribed by your training plan so that you can complete your training.
- are compulsory internships and take place within the EU or
- are compulsory internships that take place outside the EU and last at least 12 weeks.
What are the prerequisites?
- You attend one of the following types of school as a pupil or trainee:
- Secondary general school and vocational school (including classes of all forms of basic vocational training) from grade 10 if you cannot live with your parents because of your training,
- Technical and technical secondary school class (without completed vocational training) if you cannot live with your parents,
- Vocational school class or technical college class (without completed vocational training) if it provides a vocational qualification in a course of at least two years,
- Fach- and Fachoberschule class (with completed vocational training),
- Abendhauptschule, Berufsaufbauschule, Abendrealschule, Abendgymnasium and Kolleg or
- higher technical college or academy that awards a qualification that is not equivalent to a university degree under state law.
- You attend the school full-time.
- You are German or
- You are from abroad and:
- have a permanent right of residence or a settlement permit,
- are a citizen of the EU and are entitled to freedom of movement under EU law as an employee or self-employed person or are entitled to freedom of movement as a family member of such a citizen of the EU,
- have prospects of remaining in Germany, for example a corresponding residence permit for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
- have already resided in Germany for 5 years or longer before starting the training and have worked during this time.
- Internship:
- You will receive BAföG for the internship, provided this is prescribed by the training regulations and lasts at least 12 weeks in the case of an internship outside the EU. Shorter internships can also be funded for stays abroad within the EU.
Which documents are required?
- completed application
- Certificate from the school or training center (Form 02)
- Copy of the current
- if you do not live with your parents:
- Copy of the registration certificate or
- Copy of the tenancy agreement, if requested by the Office for Educational Support
- if you are not covered by family insurance: Proof of health and long-term care insurance with legal basis and contribution amount
- If applicable, proof of your own income during the approval period, for example
- payslip from a part-time job or a copy of the work contract,
- Orphan's pension certificate,
- scholarship certificate or
- Riester pension certificate
- Proof of assets or debts on the date of application, e.g. bank statement.
- If the value of the assets of trainees does not exceed the amount of EUR 10,000, the form "Vereinfachte Vermögensfeststellung" can be attached.
- if you have a car:
- Estimate of the value, e.g. printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
- vehicle registration document.
- Depending on the case, further documents may be required. Please follow the instructions in the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request any missing documents.
Are there costs involved?
There are no costs.
What is the application procedure?
If you would like to apply for BAföG for your school education online:
- Open the BAföG Digital website and create a BundID user account.
- Complete the form data fields online using the application wizard and send your data electronically to the relevant office.
If you would like to submit the application in paper form:
- Go to the BAföG Digital website and download the application forms (Formblätter) that apply to you. Alternatively, you can also pick up the applications from your local education funding office.
- You can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out or print them out and fill them in by hand. You must enter your name at the end of the application form.
- Attach the necessary supporting documents.
- Send the completed application forms with the supporting documents directly to the Office for Educational Support responsible for you.
The Office for Educational Support will check the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be checked and the decision will be notified by post.
How long does processing take?
4 - 6 weeks
If you have submitted all documents with your first application for a training period and - the office takes longer than 6 calendar weeks to make a decision or the payments are not made within 10 calendar weeks, you will receive a payment on account for 4 months of training assistance up to 4 fifths of the monthly amount of the estimated need. The payment can be reclaimed by the office if you are not entitled to training assistance after all.
If the complete documents are available and
- the necessary findings cannot be made by the Office within 6 calendar weeks or
- payments cannot be made within 10 calendar weeks,
the Office will make an advance payment of up to four fifths of the estimated monthly entitlement.
What are the relevant deadlines?
There is no deadline. BAföG is only granted from the start of training, but at the earliest from the beginning of the month in which you submit your application. If you submit your application as completely as possible, a decision on your application can usually be made quickly.
You must notify us immediately in writing of any change in your or your family's financial situation.
What conditions must be observed?
You must notify the Office for Vocational Training immediately in writing of any changes in your financial situation or family and training circumstances. This includes, for example
- if your income changes,
- if you change your training,
- if you break off your training,
- if you end your training or
- if such changes occur with your siblings.
What legal assistance is available?
- As a rule, objection
- Action before the administrative court
In which languages is the service available?
BAföG Digital is currently available in German.
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