Leistungen A-Z

Forms: yes

Online procedure possible: yes, with eID or De-Mail

Written form required: yes

Personal appearance required: no

• All application forms on the BAföG website
• Application assistant to find out the necessary forms on the BAföG website
• Links to the electronic application of the individual federal states on the BAföG website

BAföG is the abbreviation for Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG is the colloquial term used to describe the funding that you can receive under this law. You will receive the funding to finance

• of your studies,
• under certain conditions of a mandatory internship as part of your studies.

To receive the monthly subsidy, you must meet a number of requirements. The main ones are:

• Your parents and/or partner earn comparatively little.
• They themselves have little or no income.
• Your assets are below the tax-free allowance of EUR 7,500.
• You are studying full-time
• Age limit: 30 years; 35 years of age in the Master's degree (exceptions are possible)

If you are a student, you will receive half of the funding as a loan and half as a grant. This means that you only have to pay back half of the money after graduation. The loan is interest-free, you do not have to pay any interest ("interest-free loan"). You do not start repaying until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period, which usually corresponds to your standard period of study. You have to repay a maximum of EUR 10,010, which corresponds to 77 monthly instalments of EUR 130 each from the start of the repayment. If you do not earn enough to repay your loan, you can apply to the Federal Office of Administration for a deferral of payment.

The amount of your BAföG depends on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this need if your parents, your partner or you earn a comparatively large amount.

Student

When you are studying, your monthly needs are made up of different parts:

• Basic Needs:
  • EUR 391.00 if you attend a technical school class, for which you need to have completed vocational training, an evening grammar school or a college or
  • EUR 419.00 if you complete your education at a college of higher education, academy or college (e.g. at a university).
• Requirements for accommodation:
  • EUR 55.00 if you live with your parents or
  • EUR 325.00 if you do not live with your parents.
• If you are unable to take out health insurance through your parents, you will receive an additional EUR 84.00 or EUR 25.00.
• If you have a child under the age of 10 who lives in your household, you will also receive a childcare supplement: EUR 140.00 for each child.

The following amounts will be credited, i.e. they will reduce your BAföG needs:

• The income of your parents and/or spouse/partner in the penultimate year before the start of the grant period, if it is higher than the allowance. The allowance is:
  • EUR 1,835 if your parents live together,
  • EUR 1,225 per parent if your parents are separated and
  • EUR 1,225 for a potential spouse/partner.
  • Note: If your parents or spouse/partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before the grant was granted, you can submit an update application.
  • Parent-independent BAföG: Your parents' income will not be taken into account if you
    • have been gainfully employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18, or
    • have completed 3 years of training and then worked for at least 2 years.
    • In certain exceptional cases, if you are over 30 years old at the start of the training.
• Your own income if you earn more than EUR 450.00 per month.
• Your own assets if you own more than EUR 7,500.

For example, if you have a basic requirement of EUR 649.00 and

• you don't live with your parents,
• your parents are separated and your father earned EUR 29,470 and EUR and your mother 21,740 gross in the year before last,
• You earn EUR 400.00 per month with your part-time job and
• have no assets,

EUR 87.11 will be deducted from your needs due to your father's surplus income and EUR 8.14 due to your mother's surplus income. Your 400-EUR part-time job has no influence on your BAföG rate. You will then receive a total of EUR 554.00 BAföG.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the sum of positive income. In tax law, this is the gross income minus the

• Advertising costs
• social lump sum and the
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

You can receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study. Only in exceptional cases can your BAföG be extended thereafter, for example if you

• have not passed the final exam,
• have a disability,
• are or have been pregnant,
• have raised a child up to 14 years of age,
• are or have been active in student self-administration, university committees or bodies, the Studierendenwerk or student self-administration, or
• have cared for close relatives.

If you drop out of a course of study and start another course of study ("change of degree programme"), your new degree programme can only be funded if:

• the change has taken place in the 2nd semester at the latest, or
• the change took place in the 3rd semester and there is an important reason for the change, or
• the change follows from the 4th semester onwards and there was an irrefutable reason for the change, for example:
• a disability that occurred after the start of training, or
• an allergy to certain substances that makes it impossible to continue training or to pursue the profession previously aspired to.

Study Abroad

If you are completing a semester or year abroad, you can apply for supplements for travel expenses, tuition fees and international health insurance.

In the case of study stays in other EU countries, shorter stays are also eligible for funding, and in the case of stays abroad outside the EU/Switzerland, a purchasing power compensation is also granted. For example, if you are studying at a university in Germany, do not live with your parents, but are insured through them, and do not have a child of your own, your need is EUR 744.00 (basic requirement of EUR 419.00 plus EUR 325.00 need for accommodation).

Interns:

BAföG can only be used to fund internships that you complete while you are in an apprenticeship that is eligible for BAföG funding.

Only compulsory internships are funded. These are internships that are prescribed by your study regulations or training plan, i.e. that you must do in order to complete or carry out your studies or training. Compulsory internships completed abroad are only eligible if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory traineeships within the EU Member States are funded regardless of a minimum length of stay.

You can also receive BAföG if you complete your entire studies in another EU country.

Study:

You can receive BAföG if

• You attend a university, an academy or a college of higher education. If it is a private training institution, it must be state-recognised.
• You are a full-time student,
• You either
  • are German or German, or
  • come from abroad and e.g.:
    • have a right of permanent residence or a settlement permit,
    • are citizens of the Union and are entitled to freedom of movement under EU law as an employee or self-employed person, or are themselves entitled to freedom of movement as a child or spouse of such a Union citizen,
    • have the prospect of remaining in Germany, for example a residence permit for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
    • have already resided in Germany for 5 years or more before the start of the training and have worked during this time.
• You are younger than
  • 30 years (Bachelor's degree) or
  • 35 years (Master's degree)
  • Exceptions:
    • You have acquired the university entrance qualification in the 2nd chance of education,
    • You have enrolled at a university solely on the basis of your professional qualifications,
    • They were prevented from starting the training period on time for personal or family reasons, in particular because of the uninterrupted upbringing of a child under the age of 14 (and did not work more than 30 hours per week), or
    • They have become needy due to drastic changes in their personal circumstances. As a result, you were not able to complete an apprenticeship that was eligible for BAföG funding in order to qualify you for a job.

Internship:

• You will receive BAföG for your studies and internship, provided that this is required by the training regulations and lasts at least 12 weeks for internships abroad. For stays abroad within the EU, no minimum length of stay is necessary.

Note: Since the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your responsible office for educational support at an early stage.

• Certificate of enrolment with the imprint "according to § 9 BAföG" in the original or certificate from the educational institution
• Copy of the
  • Id
  • Passports or
  • current residence permit
• If you don't live with your parents: copy
  • of the rental agreement, or
  • of the registration certificate
• If you do not have 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
  • Payroll, part-time job, work contract,
  • Orphan's pension notice,
  • Scholarship notification or
  • Riester Pension Certificate
• Proof of assets or debts on the day of application, such as bank statement
• If you have a car:
  • estimation of the value, e.g. printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
  • Motor vehicle registration document.
• From the 5th semester: Proof of achievement from your university

Note: Depending on the case, additional documents may be required. Please follow the instructions in the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request missing documents.

none

If you would like to apply for BAföG for your studies or school education online,

• First, either activate the online ID function of your identity card (eID) or open a De-Mail account. You will need to register for both.
• The procedure depends on the state in which you are studying.

If you wish to submit the application in paper form,

• go to the BAföG website and download the application forms that concern you. Alternatively, you can also pick up the applications from your Studierendenwerk.
• If you do not know which forms apply to you, you can use the application assistant on the BAföG website: you will answer a few questions and the assistant will tell you which forms you need to submit.
• You can fill in and print the forms on the computer or print them out and fill them in by hand. The application must be signed.
• Add the necessary supporting documents.
• Send the completed application forms directly to the Office for Educational Assistance responsible for you.
• The Office for Educational Support checks the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be examined and the decision will be notified by notice.

None, but BAföG is only granted from the start of your training, but at the earliest from the month in which you submit the application. If you submit your application as completely as possible, then a decision on your application can usually be made quickly.

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

The offices for educational support established by the districts and independent cities and the student unions of the state of Brandenburg are responsible for the subject matter. They carry out the tasks in accordance with the Federal Training Assistance Act on behalf of the Federal Government.

Territorial jurisdiction is governed by Section 45 (1) and (2) of the Federal Training Assistance Act.

• Territorial jurisdiction

The Studierendenwerk or the funding department of the university at which you are enrolled.

• Federal Act on Individual Support for Education (BAföG)

• Website of BAföG
• Brochure on BAföG on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Website of BAföG
• Publications BAföG
• Brochure on BAföG for students on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Federal Ministry of Education and Research