How Do You Get a German Student Visa? (2026)

Who Needs a German Student Visa?

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not. Freedom of movement covers studying, so you arrive, enrol and complete the Anmeldung like any resident. No blocked account, no visa appointment.

Everyone else applies for a national visa at a German mission before travelling, and the mission wants to see that you can fund the year. The student route is section 16b AufenthG. Related routes carry their own, higher figure: the Chancenkarte and job-seeker visa, the section 16d recognition visa, the section 16f(1) language-course visa and the section 17 study-place-search visa all sit at EUR 1,091 per month, EUR 13,092 for the year, in 2026.

Note what a blocked account is not for. Schengen visitors do not need one at all: short tourist visas run on bank statements or a Verpflichtungserklärung instead.

How Much Money Must You Show?

EUR 11,904 for the year, EUR 992 per month. The money stays yours. It is blocked, which means you cannot withdraw more than the monthly tranche, and it is released to you month by month once you arrive. Every provider in our catalogue quotes the same deposit, because it comes from the residence law and not from the provider.

Budget for the extras that sit on top of the deposit. Expatrio and Fintiba both require a EUR 100 transfer buffer, which is refundable and returned with a payout. Provider fees are separate again, and health insurance premiums are separate from both.

Scholarship holders may not need a full blocked deposit at all. Fintiba sells a Basic option for scholarship holders who need the documents rather than the account, so check what your award letter already proves before you tie up EUR 11,904.

Which Sperrkonto Provider Should You Open?

First, the thing most applicants get wrong: the Federal Foreign Office abolished its provider list in mid-2022 and endorses no provider. Any marketing that claims official approval is describing acceptance in practice, not an endorsement. Confirmations from the mainstream providers are accepted by German missions worldwide.

• Expatrio: EUR 119 setup plus EUR 9 per month, EUR 227 for the first year for accounts opened from 7 July 2026. It is the only major provider that refunds setup and service fees, not just the deposit, if the visa is refused. It accepts US citizens. It does not accept applicants under 18. Funds sit with UniCredit, formerly Aion Bank, under the Italian deposit guarantee scheme rather than the German one.
• Fintiba: EUR 159 setup plus EUR 9.90 per month, EUR 277.80 for the year for accounts opened from 3 November 2025. It is the only major provider accepting under-18s, through a parent-held account in a process agreed with the Federal Foreign Office, and funds sit with Sutor Bank in Hamburg under German statutory deposit protection up to EUR 100,000. Two catches: US citizens and residents are excluded under FATCA, and the setup fee is generally not refunded on visa rejection.
• Coracle: do not plan a 2026 visa file around it. Coracle has accepted no new blocked-account applications since August 2025 and its page still shows the opening fee as coming soon. Existing customers can manage and extend accounts.

Choose on the constraint that actually binds you: a US passport rules out Fintiba, being under 18 rules out Expatrio, and a real risk of refusal makes Expatrio's fee refund worth the choice.

What Documents Does the Account and the Visa Need?

Opening the blocked account needs less than people expect. Expatrio asks for a valid passport, your personal details, the visa type or university admission letter, with conditional admission accepted, and a video identification. Fintiba registers you on the passport alone, and states that an admission letter is not strictly required to open the account. Minors add parental consent and guardian documents.

The visa appointment itself is a separate document set, defined by the mission in your country, and it builds on the admission letter, the blocking confirmation and the insurance confirmation. Check the published requirements of your own mission rather than a general list, because they differ by country.

How Long Does Each Step Take?

• Opening the account: roughly 10 to 15 minutes online at Expatrio, around 10 minutes at Fintiba with a passport.
• Getting the money there: SWIFT transfers take 3 to 7 business days, faster through a provider transfer partner. Fintiba Transfer is quoted at 2 to 4 days.
• Getting the confirmation: Expatrio issues it typically within 1 to 3 business days after funds arrive. Fintiba confirms within hours of funds arriving, and a card payment can produce an instant confirmation.
• Bundling insurance: the Expatrio Value Package lands the insurance confirmation in the same dashboard, which the provider reports saves 2 to 3 days at the embassy stage.

Work backwards from the university deadline, not from the visa. Admission comes first, and severalEnglish-taught masters close between 1 March and 31 May, months before the standard 15 July date.

What Health Insurance Do You Need?

The split runs on your age and your programme type, not your nationality.

• Students under 30: statutory cover, GKV, with TK or BARMER at roughly EUR 128 to EUR 140 per month, paid to the insurer rather than the blocked-account provider. Fintiba quotes BARMER at around EUR 140 per month for the same group, or DAK.
• Language-course students, Studienkolleg students and students over 30: directed to private tariffs instead, from around EUR 37 per month with DR-WALTER through Expatrio, or around EUR 35 per month with MAWISTA through Fintiba.
• Travel cover: both bundles include free incoming travel insurance for up to 92 days, which covers the gap between landing and statutory cover starting.

Bundling has one real cost worth naming: package lock-in. Switching insurer later means redoing the paperwork, so pick the cover you actually want rather than the one that arrives fastest.

What Happens After You Land?

1. Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt, generally within 14 days of moving in, using the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord. Check before you sign anything that the address permits registration at all.
2. Steuer-ID arrives by post after the Anmeldung. Nothing you do speeds it up, and an employer needs it to pay you correctly.
3. Residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde.The foreigners' authority handles the Aufenthaltstitel. Do not confuse it with BAMF, the federal office that handles asylum and integration courses, which is a different body with a different job.
4. Enrolment and the Semesterbeitrag. The university needs proof of insurance to enrol you, and a German account to collect the Semesterbeitrag. The Expatrio bundle includes a free Girokonto, which means the first EUR 992 payout lands without opening another bank account.

What Happens After the First Year?

The blocked account is a twelve-month product and extending it is not free. Expatrio charges EUR 119 to extend, the same as a new setup fee. Fintiba charges EUR 159. Coracle charged EUR 60 per year while it was open to new customers.

You may not need a second blocked year at all. Werkstudent income can replace blocked proof when the residence permit is renewed, so speak to the Ausländerbehörde about what evidence they will accept before you top up the account for another twelve months.

Frequently Asked Questions