Study Track · Proof of Funds · §2 Abs. 3 AufenthG

No Blocked Account, No Visa: How €11,904 Clears the Proof-of-Funds Gate

A German student visa has one condition that no admission letter can substitute for: you must prove you can pay for the year before you arrive. For most Indian applicants, the blocked account is how that proof is produced - and without the confirmation, the application does not move.

German residence law makes secured livelihood a standing condition of every long-stay permit under § 2 Abs. 3 AufenthG. For a student under § 16b, the embassy needs that proof up front, as a Finanzierungsnachweis. The blocked account (Sperrkonto) is the standard instrument: a restricted account at a German bank into which you deposit a full year of living costs, locked, before the visa is issued. The confirmation document it produces - the Sperrbestätigung - is what you file with your application. No Sperrbestätigung, and the application is incomplete.

The 2026 number, and where it comes from

The required deposit is not a bank product price. It is pinned to the maximum BAföG support rate - the German benchmark for a student's monthly living costs - and set by the Auswärtiges Amt. For 2026 the student figure is €11,904 for twelve months, which is €992 per month. That rate was last adjusted in September 2024 and has held through 2025 and 2026. The older €11,208 (€934 per month) figure that still circulates online is out of date.

The amount also depends on the purpose of stay. A Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) job-seeker is held to a higher floor, because the law expects self-funding without student discounts and without guaranteed income on arrival. Using the student figure for a Chancenkarte application is a common and costly mistake - the file is returned as incomplete.

How you actually open one

You can open a blocked account online with a regulated provider - Fintiba and Expatrio are the two most widely used in 2026, with Coracle a third that has not been reliably accepting new applications. A traditional German bank (Sparkasse, Postbank) is possible too, but is practical mainly once you are already in Germany. Whichever route you take, the sequence is fixed and time-sensitive.

Processing typically runs one to six weeks, around three on average, so opening six to eight weeks before your embassy appointment leaves a buffer for transfer and verification delays. One detail sinks more applications than any other: if intermediary bank fees shave even a single euro off the transfer, the deposit arrives short of €11,904 and the Sperrbestätigung is withheld until the full amount clears.

Whose money counts - and the India-specific trap

The funds must come from you or a family member. Transfers from friends, employers, or business accounts are not accepted, and embassies can ask for proof of the source of funds. For applicants transferring from India there is a recurring snag: funds routed through some domestic banks that are not registered in Germany can be rejected at verification, so confirm your provider accepts the transfer channel before you send anything. Build the provider fees and the international transfer cost on top of the €11,904, never inside it.

When you do not need a blocked account

The Sperrkonto is the most widely accepted proof, but it is not the only one. Two alternatives clear the same proof-of-funds gate, each with its own condition.

For most Indian students without a resident sponsor or a full scholarship, the blocked account remains the path of least resistance, because it is accepted at every German mission worldwide without discretion.

After approval, the account keeps working

Clearing this gate funds the visa, but it does not end the financial question. Once you arrive, register, and link a German current account, the deposit is released to you at €992 a month rather than as a lump sum - and that metering is itself the proof that your livelihood stays secured across the year and at every renewal. That ongoing side is its own subject, covered in the companion article below.