Apply for BAföG to study

Source: BUS Rheinland-Pfalz

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

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

In order to receive the monthly grant, you must meet other requirements in addition to financial need. The most important are

You are studying full-time.
Age limit: 45 years. Exceptions are possible.

The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your spouse or partner or you yourself earn a little more.

If you are studying, you will receive half of the funding as a loan and half as a grant. This means that you generally only have to pay back half of the money after your studies. You do not have to pay any interest on the loan ("interest-free loan"). The maximum repayment amount is usually EUR 10,010, regardless of the total amount of funding. This corresponds to 77 monthly installments of EUR 130 each from the start of repayment. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) is responsible for collecting the loan. Repayment does not begin until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period, which usually corresponds to the standard period of study. If you do not earn enough to repay your loan, you can apply to the Federal Office of Administration for a deferment of payment.

If you are studying, your monthly requirements are made up of different parts:

Basic needs:
- EUR 475 if you are completing your education at a higher technical college, academy or university, for example.
Accommodation requirements:
- EUR 59 if you are living with your parents or
- EUR 380 if you do not live with your parents.
If you do not have health and long-term care insurance through your parents, you will receive an additional EUR 102 or EUR 35 respectively.
If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare allowance of EUR 160 for each child.

Within the European Union (EU) and Switzerland, your studies can be funded from the start until you obtain your foreign educational qualification. For stays abroad outside the EU, BAföG is available for up to one year; in special exceptional cases for up to 2.5 years. Your stay abroad must be completed within a continuous period of time and in one country, unless attending training institutions in several countries is of particular importance for your training.

Your compulsory internship abroad can also be funded with BAföG. For this, your internship must last at least 12 weeks if it is completed outside the EU.

For a semester or year abroad or an internship abroad, you can apply for supplements to travel costs, tuition fees and international health insurance. For stays abroad outside the EU or Switzerland, you will also receive a purchasing power allowance. You do not have to repay supplements for verifiably necessary tuition fees abroad.

The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:

The income of your parents and your spouse or partner in the penultimate year before the start of the approval period, if it is above the allowance. The tax-free amount is:
- EUR 2,540 if your parents live together,
- EUR 1,690 per parent if your parents live separately and
- EUR 1,690 for your spouse or cohabiting partner
Your own income if it is more than EUR 556 per month. There may also be additional allowances if you pay maintenance to other people.
Your own assets, if they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 after the age of 30.

Note: If your parents or your spouse or partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last before approval, you can submit an update application. There may also be other additional allowances, for example for additional children or other dependants of your parents or your partner under civil law.

Parent-independent BAföG:

Your parents' income is not taken into account if you

have been gainfully employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18 or
have completed three years of vocational training and have then been employed for at least 3 years. If your training was shorter, you must have been gainfully employed for a correspondingly longer period.
are older than 30 at the start of their training.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total positive income. In the case of training assistance law, this is the gross income for employed persons minus the

income-related expenses,
social allowance and the
taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not taken into account.

You must inform the Office for Education immediately in writing of any changes in your financial situation and your family and educational circumstances. This includes, for example, if your income changes, if you change, drop out or end your education or if your siblings do the same.

There is a maximum funding period. You can receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study or a comparable period. Your BAföG can then be extended by one semester without giving reasons, i.e. in the Bachelor's or Master's degree. This is known as the flexible semester. There are also other extension options. For example, if you have exceeded the maximum funding period because you

have failed the final examination for the first time,
have a disability,
are or were pregnant,
have raised a child up to the age of 14,
are or were active in committees and bodies of the university, the student self-administration, the student unions or the federal states provided for by law or the statutes, or
have cared for close relatives in their home environment who are classified in care grade 3 or higher.

An extension for the above reasons is possible before or after a flexible semester. If you have already been granted an extension due to failing your final examination, you will no longer be eligible for a flexibility semester.

Please note: If you are entitled to an extension due to a disability, pregnancy or the care and upbringing of a child up to the age of 14, you will receive full grant funding without a loan component during the extension period deemed appropriate in this respect. It may therefore make sense to make use of this extension option instead of or before taking advantage of a flexible semester. If necessary, seek advice from your BAföG office.

If you give up one degree course and start another ("change of degree course"), your new degree course can only be funded if

the change took place in the 3rd semester at the latest or
the change took place in the 4th semester and there is an important reason for the change or
there was an unavoidable reason for the change, for example
- a disability that occurred after commencement of studies or
- an allergy to certain substances that occurred after commencement of studies and which makes it impossible to continue studying or to pursue the profession previously pursued.

The change for an unavoidable reason will still be recognized after the 4th semester.

Interns and trainees:

BAföG can only be used to fund internships that you complete while you are enrolled in a course of study that is eligible for funding under BAföG.

Only compulsory internships are eligible for funding. These are internships that are prescribed by your study regulations and that you must complete in order to graduate. Compulsory internships completed outside the EU are only eligible for funding if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory internships within EU member states can also be funded if they are shorter than 12 weeks.

If you would like to apply for BAföG for your studies online:

Open the BAföG Digital website and create a BundID user account.
Complete the form data fields online using the application wizard and send your data electronically to the relevant office.

If you would like to submit the application in paper form:

Go to the BAföG Digital website and download the application forms (forms) that apply to you. Alternatively, you can also collect the applications from your Studierendenwerk.
You can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out or print them out and fill them in by hand. You must enter your name at the end of the application form.
Attach the necessary supporting documents.
Send the completed application forms with the supporting documents directly to the Office for Educational Support responsible for you.

The Office for Educational Support will check the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be checked and the decision will be notified by post.

You can receive BAföG if

you are attending a university, academy or higher technical college. If it is a private educational institution, it must be state-recognized;
you are studying full-time and
you are either
- are German or German nationals or
- you are from abroad and, for example
  - have a permanent right of residence or a settlement permit,
  - are a citizen of the EU and are entitled to freedom of movement under EU law as an employee or self-employed person or are entitled to freedom of movement as a family member of a citizen of the EU,
  - have prospects of remaining in Germany, for example a corresponding residence permit for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
  - have already resided in Germany for 5 years or longer before starting their training and have worked during this time.
- Please note: As the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your local education funding office at an early stage.
you are younger than
- 45 years
- Exceptions:
  - You have acquired your higher education entrance qualification via the second-chance route,
  - You have enrolled at a university solely on the basis of your professional qualifications,
  - you were prevented from starting the course on time for personal or family reasons, in particular due to the uninterrupted upbringing of a child under the age of 14, and did not work more than 30 hours per week during this time, or
  - you have become needy due to drastic changes in your personal circumstances. You were therefore unable to complete a vocational training course eligible for funding under BAföG.

Internship:

You will receive BAföG for the internship if this is prescribed by the training regulations and lasts at least 12 weeks for internships outside the EU. Shorter compulsory internships can also be funded for stays abroad within the EU.

Completed application form
Certificate of enrollment with the note "according to § 9 BAföG" in the original or certificate from the training institution (form 02).
If applicable, copy of the
- current residence permit.
If you do not live with your parents:
- Copy of the registration certificate or
- Copy of the tenancy agreement, if requested by the Office for Educational Support
if you are not covered by family insurance: Proof of health and long-term care insurance with
- legal basis and
- contribution amount.
If applicable, proof of your own income during the approval period, for example
- payslip from your part-time job or a copy of your work contract,
- Orphan's pension certificate,
- notice of scholarship,
- Riester pension certificate.
Proof of assets or debts on the date of application, e.g. bank statement.
- If the value of the assets of trainees does not exceed the amount of EUR 10,000, the form "Simplified assessment of assets" can be attached
if you have a car:
- Estimate of the value, for example, printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
- vehicle registration certificate.
from the 5th semester onwards: Proof of performance in the form of
- a certificate of an intermediate examination or
- a certificate from the university confirming that the usual level of performance has been achieved or
- proof of the usual number of ECTS credit points
Depending on the case, further documents may be required. Please follow the instructions in the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request any missing documents.

Apply for BAföG to study

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