You’ve got your admission letter — now the consulate wants proof you can pay for your first year. That proof is a blocked account.
It is one of the last boxes to tick before a German student visa, and it catches out more students than it should. Here is what it is, the 2026 amount, and how to open one without losing money or time.
What a blocked account actually is
A blocked account — Sperrkonto in German — is a special bank account that holds a fixed sum as proof you can support yourself in Germany. The money is “blocked”: once it lands, you cannot take it all out at once. After you arrive and activate the account, the bank releases a set amount to you each month to live on.
Germany asks for it so immigration authorities can be sure you can cover your own costs without relying on public funds. It is not a fee, and it is not money you lose — it is your own savings, handed back to you in monthly instalments.
Who needs one
You need a Sperrkonto if you are a non-EU/EEA national (a “third-country national”) coming to Germany for a longer stay. That covers:
- Students — bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral.
- Language-course and Studienkolleg students — intensive German courses and university preparatory courses.
- Job seekers and Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) holders.
- Ausbildung trainees — those on vocational apprenticeships.
If you hold an EU/EEA passport, you do not need one.
The 2026 amount
The amount is tied to the BAföG rate — the maintenance figure the German government uses for its own students — so it moves with that, not on a whim. For 2026 it is unchanged from 2025.
The Federal Foreign Office does not print a single euro figure on its own page; it points you to your local German mission, because the exact amount depends on your visa category and is reviewed roughly yearly (updates usually land in autumn). These are the current figures.
For students
| What you show | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per month | €992 |
| For the year (12 months) | €11,904 |
For job seekers and Chancenkarte holders
| What you show | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per month | €1,091 |
| For the year (12 months) | €13,092 |
The monthly payout is capped
This is the part students misread. Once the account is active, you can withdraw only up to that monthly amount — €992 for students, €1,091 for job seekers. You cannot pull the whole year’s money out in the first week. The cap is the point: it guarantees you have living costs for every month, not just the first one. In a genuine emergency the local Foreigners’ Authority (Ausländerbehörde) can permit more, but that is the exception, not the plan.
When you don’t need one: exemptions
Two things can stand in for a blocked account, if your mission accepts them:
- A recognised full scholarship — one that officially covers your living costs, from a body the embassy recognises.
- A Verpflichtungserklärung — a formal sponsorship undertaking, where someone (often a resident in Germany) legally commits to covering your costs.
If you have neither, a blocked account is the standard route.
How to open one
The process is mostly online and runs in a few steps:
- Choose a provider. Most students use a digital provider approved for this purpose — Expatrio, Fintiba and Coracle are the common names. Their fees and banking partners change, so check the provider’s site for current costs, and confirm your consulate accepts them before you pay.
- Apply and upload your documents — usually your passport and your admission letter.
- Get your IBAN. The provider gives you an account number to transfer the money into.
- Transfer the funds by international wire. Send a little more than the minimum — international transfers and one-off setup fees can nibble at the amount that arrives, and the confirmation has to show the full figure. A cushion of around €100–€200 is common.
- Receive your Sperrbestätigung — the Blocking Confirmation. Once your deposit clears, the provider issues this document.
- Submit it at the consulate with your visa application. After you reach Germany and register your address, you activate the account and the monthly payouts begin.
One note on banks: traditional branch banks such as Deutsche Bank have heavily restricted their blocked-account service for applicants abroad, which is why most students now use the digital providers above.
Common mistakes we see
- Transferring the exact minimum. Fees come out of your transfer, so €11,904 sent can arrive as less — and a confirmation under the requirement gets rejected. Send the buffer.
- Leaving it too late. The transfer, the deposit check and the confirmation all take time, and you need the Sperrbestätigung in hand for the visa appointment. Start early.
- Mixing up the figures. The job-seeker and Chancenkarte amount is higher than the student one. Use the number for your actual visa category.
- Expecting the full sum on arrival. It is metered monthly — budget for that, especially for a big first outlay like a rental deposit.
- Picking a provider your consulate won’t accept. Accepted lists vary by mission, so check yours first.
Talk it through
The blocked account is rarely the hard part on its own — it is the timing, the buffer and matching the right figure to your visa that trip people up. If you are planning a German course and want the funding and visa steps mapped in the right order, get in touch — and you can read more on our Germany page.
Sources & last reviewed
- Federal Foreign Office — Opening a blocked account
- Study.eu — Blocked bank accounts for students in Germany
Last reviewed: 20 July 2026. The amount is linked to the BAföG maintenance rate and reviewed roughly yearly, with updates usually in autumn — confirm the current figure with your German mission before you transfer.