To open and apply for a Blocked Account, all you have to do is to go through the questionnaire section to identify what type of service is right for you. To open the questionnaire, please click your preferred option (only Blocked Account or Value Package) on the Expatrio homepage.
First of all, you will be asked about your profession. Please note that there are separate options for a university students (Bachelor, Master, etc.) and a separate option for language students. Please choose the option that fits your particular situation.
After doing so you will be asked about your age. You just need to mark whether you are over or under 18 years old.
On the next page, you would need to indicate:
- How long you are going to stay in Germany (which will constitute the duration of your Blocked Account) - if you are already in Germany, please simply indicate for how long you need the Blocked Account.
- What is the monthly Blocked Amount that is required by the German Authority in your city,
- Whether there is a need for an Additional Basic Sum (that is sometimes required by Foreign Authorities - if this should be applicable in your case, the authority handling your visa request would let you know).
After filling in all the information you will see the calculation for the amount of money you need to transfer. Apart from the Required Blocked Amount, it will include a setup fee of €69 and a €5 monthly service fee.
For students, the presumed annual requirement that must be paid into the blocked account is €11,208 per year or €934 per month as of January 2023. According to our understanding, monthly blocked amount will be €992 per month from 1 September 2024 on, so the total Blocked Amount needed would be €11904 per year.
However, if you have already confirmed with your visa-issuing authority that you need to block more or less than €934 per month because of a scholarship or any other reason, you can adjust the amount as per your needs.
If your authority requires you to block a higher monthly amount than what our application flow allows simply submit your application with the available amount and contact us here right away to increase the amount (please choose "Blocked Account Change Request" as category).
Account Buffer: If the sender bank or an intermediary bank charges unexpected fees on your incoming transfer and the amount is less than €100 short, we will use the buffer to cover the difference and you will not have to transfer additional funds. If this does not happen, we will return the buffer with the last monthly deposit from your blocked account into your personal German bank account.
You will then be directed to the following page where you can see the summary of the products you are about to purchase and our tailored suggestions. You can turn on/off the toggles to opt-in/out for the current account and health insurance.
You can also check the product details by clicking the green arrow on the right side of the grey boxes.
By clicking APPLY NOW you will enter this page to fill in more information about your personal and legal information. Please fill in the form with the exact same information that is shown on your passport.
- make sure that these details match your passport exactly
Tip: if your passport does not differentiate between your first name and last name on the upper section, refer to the MRZ lines at the bottom to be sure; it is built as follows:
P<3 digit country codelast name 1<last name 2 (if any)<<first name 1<first name 2 (if any)<<<<<
Example 1 (first and last name too):
First name: John
Last name: Doe Jones
Nationality: Indian
P<INDDOE<JONES<<JOHN<<<<<
Example 2 (first name only):
First name: John
Last name: [none]
Nationality: Indian
P<IND<<JOHN<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Example 3 (last name only):
First name: [none]
Last name: Doe
Nationality: Indian
P<INDDOE<<<<<<<<<<<<<
If you already have your German address, choose 'Yes' and write it down. If not, please choose 'No' and write down your home address, outside Germany.
Choose the university you are planning to study at and your major (search in English and choose the major from the list that is the most similar to your major). If you do not know the exact dates of your arrival or the start of studies just provide the approximate ones.
Please fill in the nationality shown on your passport.
As the next step, you will need to upload a color copy of your passport. All four corners have to be shown, with no information covered or blurred by holograms. The information which you have provided before must be the exact same information that is shown on your passport.
The final step is Terms & Conditions, look them through and mark the boxes on the left side to agree and proceed.
If you have received an invitation code from your friend, feel free to put it in the code box.
After clicking the "Confirm and Submit" button you will receive an application confirmation email.
You will be able to initiate a transfer to your blocked account from Expatrio User Portal after successful identification and verification.