Germany blocked account 2026: the amount in rupees and how to open one from India

A blocked account (Sperrkonto) is a German account that holds a year of your living money and releases a fixed sum each month after you arrive. For most Indian students it is the single biggest payment before a German student visa: about ₹13 lakh, sent from India months before the course starts. It is also the part families find most confusing, because the money is yours and comes back to you, yet you can only reach it in fixed monthly amounts.

The figures and rules below come from the German missions in India, the Federal Foreign Office, German law and the providers’ own pages, checked on 23 October 2026. Rupee figures use €1 ≈ ₹109.

How much is the Germany blocked account in 2026, in rupees?

€11,904 for a year, about ₹13 lakh, with no more than €992 a month, about ₹1.08 lakh, released to you. The German missions in India ask for a blocked account “with sufficient funds to cover the first year of studies” of €11,904, and a confirmation that no more than €992 can be withdrawn each month. With a provider’s setup fee on top, the transfer itself is larger: at Fintiba, €12,063, about ₹13.1 lakh.

The figure is not set by the missions. Under section 2(3) of the Residence Act, it follows the maximum student grant for German students under BAföG, Germany’s student finance law: €475 for living costs, €380 for housing, €102 for health insurance and €35 for care insurance, which adds up to €992 a month. The interior ministry publishes it each year by 31 August, and its notice for 2027 keeps it at €992.

Will the blocked account amount go up in 2027?

Not yet. The 2027 amount announced on 31 August 2026 is still €992 a month. But the German cabinet has approved a BAföG amendment that would raise the housing allowance from €380 to €440 and the health and care insurance supplements from €102 and €35 to €121 and €39 from 1 April 2027, with a higher living-cost rate from August 2027. The bill had its first reading in the Bundestag on 15 October 2026 and has not passed. If it passes as drafted, the same sum would come to €1,075 a month from April 2027 and €1,107 from August 2027, but that is our arithmetic, not an announced figure. When the amount last rose, the missions applied the new figure from 1 September 2024, mid-year, so check the mission page when you open the account.

Is a blocked account mandatory for a German student visa from India?

No, but it is how most Indian students prove their funds. The German missions in India accept one of three things:

• a blocked account in Germany for €11,904;
• a formal obligation letter (Verpflichtungserklärung) from a sponsor living in Germany, made at their local immigration office;
• a German or EU scholarship covering €992 a month.

Several things that families often offer do not replace it. The missions say “An education loan is additional to the blocked account”, and “We do not accept the Indian ‘Affidavit’ of support as a replacement for an official sponsorship letter (VE) or blocked account.” A loan can still pay for the deposit: ask the lender early, and in writing, whether it will disburse the living-cost portion into the blocked account before the visa. Loan money from a financial institution also carries no TCS. Our guide to an education loan without collateral covers the lenders. A scholarship that covers only tuition still needs a blocked account or sponsor letter alongside it, and our proof of funds guide compares Germany with the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA.

Which blocked account is best: Fintiba or Expatrio?

Neither the German government nor the missions recommend one. The Federal Foreign Office “does not make any recommendations” and removed the provider list it kept until mid-2022, and the missions say there is “no preference between the providers.” In October 2026, the two main online providers open to new applicants from India were Fintiba and Expatrio. Coracle’s help centre shows a pause on new blocked account applications, and Deutsche Bank says it no longer opens blocked accounts. These are the two providers’ own terms:

Both offer bundles with health insurance, but you can take the blocked account on its own. Fintiba’s help page says a student opening a standard 12-month account needs €12,063: the €11,904 plus the €159 setup fee.

How do you open a blocked account from India?

• Apply online with your passport; Fintiba and Expatrio both say a passport is usually all they need to open the account.
• Pay from India through the provider’s payment route, usually Flywire. Expatrio lists the documents Flywire needs: the payer’s PAN, your admission letter or tuition invoice, your passport, the payer’s ID with an address, and an LRS declaration.
• Wait for the money to arrive. Both providers quote about 2 to 5 business days through Flywire; a SWIFT transfer can take longer.
• Download the blocking confirmation and upload it with your visa application in the Consular Services Portal.

The money can come from your own account or a close relative’s, such as a parent or sibling; Fintiba adds that it must be a private, not a business, account. Open the account early: the missions say visa processing “may take several months”, and you need the confirmation before you apply.

Is TCS charged when you send blocked account money from India?

Possibly, on the part above ₹10 lakh. The money goes out under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which needs your PAN and Form A2 and allows up to US$250,000 a year. Under section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, tax is collected at 2% on education remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year, and not at all if the money is an education loan from a financial institution. For other purposes the rate is 20%.

Take a parent who sends €11,904 (about ₹13 lakh) from savings, having sent nothing else abroad that year. If the bank treats it as education, 2% is collected on about ₹3 lakh, roughly ₹6,000. The law does not say how a blocked account deposit is classified, and some provider pages still quote the old 5% rate, so check the rate shown before you pay. TCS is tax collected in advance against the sender’s PAN, which they can claim against their income tax.

Can you use an Indian bank’s blocked account instead?

Only if the mission accepts it, and we found no mission page that says it does. Kotak Mahindra Bank offers a German blocked account service in which the money stays in a Kotak savings account in India, held under a lien in rupees, and the bank issues a letter stating the amount in euros. Kotak sends the money to a blocked account in Germany after you arrive, asks you to top up if the rupee falls, and says issuing the letter is at its discretion. The missions’ checklist asks for a “Blocked bank account (‘Sperrkonto’) in Germany”, so ask the mission in writing before relying on an account held in India.

What happens to the blocked account if your visa is refused?

You get the money back. The Federal Foreign Office says “the rejection notice is sufficient to lift the blocking notice.” Send the refusal letter to your provider, and the money goes back to the account it came from. Expatrio says it refunds the deposit and all fees within four weeks of receiving the documents. Fintiba refunds the deposit, with the return payment taking up to a week, but keeps the setup fee and any transfer fees on its basic account; its Plus package says no fees apply. If you were granted a visa but decide not to go, the mission can issue a certificate to release the account. The €75 visa fee is not refunded either way.

How do you get your money after arriving in Germany?

Activate the account with your provider, and €992 a month is paid into a current account. Both providers ask for your German address, your visa, and a current account in Germany or another SEPA country; Expatrio opens one for you automatically. Register your address with the local residents’ office “immediately after entering Germany”, as the missions advise. To activate payouts, Fintiba asks for your German address, and Expatrio for a proof of address such as a rental agreement or your registration. Payouts usually arrive at the end of the month before the month they cover, and Fintiba takes its monthly fee from each one.

How does the blocked account fit into the German student visa?

It is one document in a longer file. You apply for a national visa through the Consular Services Portal, then book an appointment with VFS to give your fingerprints. The fee is ₹8,300 (€75), plus the service provider’s charge. If your university charges tuition, public or private, the missions also expect proof that the first two semesters are paid, and almost all applicants with Indian qualifications need an APS certificate. Fintiba notes that some missions in India ask students at universities that charge tuition to deposit more than the standard amount, so check what your mission asks for. Our guide to studying in Germany covers the full cost and the APS and dMAT steps.

Germany blocked account checklist

• Admission or conditional admission letter from your German university.
• Provider chosen, account opened online with your passport.
• €11,904 plus the setup fee, sent from your account or a close relative’s, with PAN and Form A2.
• TCS rate checked on the remittance screen before you pay.
• Blocking confirmation downloaded and uploaded with your visa application.
• After arrival: address registered, account activated, current account set up for the monthly €992.

If you would like help planning the transfer alongside an education loan, our education loan team in Egmore, Chennai, can go through it with you.