Your blocked account will be automatically closed once all the monthly payouts are processed after you arrived in Germany and activated it. You will not need to provide any documents for this.
You will also not need any documents to close the account if there are no funds in it. You can simply contact our customer support team.
In case you sent funds to your blocked account and need to get your balance back outside of the standard monthly payouts you can submit a closing request. You will need the below documents with all the mandatory details for this process. Please read this article carefully.
Sperrfreigabe (Blocked Amount Release Confirmation):
Traditionally, a Sperrfreigabe is a document from a German embassy or foreigners' office stating that we can close your Blocked Account.
If your latest 06 Blocked Amount Confirmation expired, you can close your blocked account without a Sperrfreigabe.* You can find the template you need to use at the bottom of this article.
Otherwise, as stated on the Federal Foreign Office website, we will not be able to close your blocked account without the confirmation of the German federal authority.
" The blocked account may only be closed with the consent of the blocked account beneficiary. The blocked account beneficiary is either the mission abroad or, after entering Germany, the competent foreign authority. A blocking notice, therefore, only ensures that sufficient funds to cover living expenses are always available. It does not entitle the blocked account beneficiary to withdraw money from the blocked account. "- https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/sperrkonto/388600
You can use this document to ask for the Sperrfreigabe from the embassy! Please note that this is not a legal document. It is only intended as a guide when requesting this document from your German visa authority. We cannot guarantee that this document will ensure you receive a Sperrfreigabe document.
Please note: The Sperrfreigabe can be obtained from a German embassy or consulate in any country or an Ausländebehörde (foreigners’ office) in Germany. You can ask for this document via email or phone call or during an in-person appointment with the German authorities.
Apart from a confirmation that your blocked account can be closed, we can also accept a visa rejection as the Sperrfreigabe.
Please note: not being able to get a Visa appointment or not applying for a Visa does not mean you do not need a Sperrfreigabe document.
The only exception to needing a Sperrfreigabe if you already received a 06 Confirmation from our side is the expired 06 Confirmation letter.
If you have never received a 06 Confirmation letter for your blocked account yet but you have transferred some funds to your blocked account, please fill out the form attached to this article at the end and upload it as your Sperrfreigabe.
Documents accepted as a Sperrfreigabe
The following documents are accepted and sufficient for the Sperrfreigabe in the Closing Order:
- Sperrfreigabe: a document, letter or email stating that your German embassy, consulate or foreigners office has no objections against releasing your blocked amount. This may also be known as the Blocked Account Release confirmation.
- Visa Rejection Letter
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Visa Application Withdrawal signed and/or stamped by your embassy.
- If you receive this via email, it must show your full name and passport no.
- This does not include visa appointment cancellation. Your visa application must be withdrawn with the aforementioned points.
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Border crossing certificate / Grenzübertrittsbescheinigung
- You can use your border crossing certificate only after the exit date written on the border crossing document.
- You have to combine this document with proof that you left Germany; this can be:
- a passport exit stamp (from Germany) where your passport ID is showing on the page or
- a public transport (flight, train, bus) ticket with (1) your full name, (2) Germany as the starting country and (3) another country as the destination
- the exit stamp and/or the ticket has to be dated after the issue date of the border crossing certificate
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BA closing request with expired 06 form
- This can be used only if (1) your latest 06 Blocked Amount Confirmation has expired and (2) you never activated your blocked account. You can find the template at the bottom of this page.
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BA closing request when no 06 blocked amount confirmation has been created for the blocked account
- This can be used only if (1) you have some funds on your blocked account and (2) you have never received 06 Blocked Amount Confirmation. You can find the template at the bottom of this page.
Note: The Sperrfreigabe document cannot be more than 6 months old or it will be rejected. If it is more than 6 months old, you must request for a new one.
Documents not accepted as a Sperrfreigabe
The following documents are not accepted and will be deemed insufficient if uploaded as the Sperrfreigabe in the Closing Order:
- Visa or expired visa
- Exmatriculation (deregistering from your university)
- Abmeldebescheinigung (address deregistration form)
- Visa appointment cancellation documents
Bank Document:
We can return your funds to a bank account under your name or to the original bank account which your funds came from.
Important! We can not send your funds to someone else's bank account if funds did not come from their account originally.
Depending on whether you want the payout to a bank account under your own name or to a bank account under someone else's name, you will need one of the below document:
Closing Bank Document
If you would like to receive the funds to a bank account under your own name.
This can be any document or letter from your bank, or even a screenshot from your banking platform with your full name as the account holder and the account number/IBAN. It has to be clear that the document is coming from your bank.
Closing Transfer Receipt
If you would like to receive funds to someone else’s account (that has sent the funds to your blocked account).
It is a detailed receipt for the original transfer to your blocked account, proving that the funds in your blocked account came from the bank account where you want us to send the funds now. This document has to include the following details:
- full name of the sender account holder
- full IBAN/account number of the sender account holder
- full recipient account number (this will have to match your original blocked account transfer details)
- date of the transfer
- amount of the transfer
Note: if your sponsor used a transfer provider (e.g. Wise, Instarem, etc.) to send the funds, you need to merge the below two bank documents into one file:
- the receipt of the transfer from the sponsor's account to the transfer provider
- the receipt of the transfer from the transfer provider to the blocked account
Once you created a single file that contains both of these receipts you can upload it as your closing transfer receipt when submitting the blocked account closing request on your Expatrio portal. This is of course not applicable if your sponsor transferred directly to the account details we provided for the payment.
Can I receive my last payout early without the closing documents?
Unfortunately, we can not transfer your payouts earlier than the scheduled date if you can not provide the mandatory closing documents. However, we can cancel the last monthly payout to your connected bank account and send it to your home country after the last payout date.
For that, please contact our support team directly and they will assist you.
*Please note that none of the 06 Blocked Amount Confirmations created before November 2022 have an expiration date, and not all of them have one since either. You have to check your 06 Blocked Amount Confirmation on your Expatrio portal to find out whether it has an expiration date.