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BAföG + Finances

BAFÖG · Loans + Scholarships · Save money · Part-time work ...

You are here: Start > BAFÖG + FINANCES > BAföG FAQ

BAföG Saves the Day!

BAföG, German Federal Training Assistance Act, enables young people to choose the training that suits their personal interests, irrespective of their families' financial means.
For international students, BAföG is only entitled in exceptional cases. The eligibility depends on the residency permit. As the legal regulations are very complex, it is advisable to contact the department directly at an early stage if needed.

Half for free!
Half of the BAföG financial support is a grant, the remaining half an interest-free loan.
The Rest Is an Interest-Free Loan!
The loan to be repaid is a maximum of €10,010.
The repayment period starts 5 years after the standard finishing time of your study program. The loan is repaid in installments, the height of which depends on your income and other factors. If your parents’ financial means are limited and you are unsure how to finance your studies, then this is the financing option for you!

The Rest Is an Interest-Free Loan!
The loan to be repaid is a maximum of €10,010.
The repayment period starts 5 years after the standard finishing time of your study program. The loan is repaid in installments, the height of which depends on your income and other factors. If your parents’ financial means are limited and you are unsure how to finance your studies, then this is the financing option for you!

Extension of the standard period of study / BAföG eligibility

The individual standard period of study will also be extended for the summer semester 2021!

For students enrolled in the summer semester 2020, winter semester 2020/2021 or summer semester 2021, an individual standard period of study that deviates from the standard period of study will be extended by one semester for each of these semesters; in order to cushion hardships caused by the Corona pandemic.

The individual standard period of study essentially affects the period of entitlement to BAföG. For first-semester students (summer semester 2021), this means that the submission of the certificate of achievement according to § 48 BAföG will be postponed by one semester and the maximum funding period will increase by one semester.
For students who were enrolled in the summer semester 2020, winter semester 2020/21 and summer semester 2021, the submission of the transcript of records is now also postponed by a further semester, i.e. by a total of three semesters. The same applies to the maximum funding period.

I Don’t Even Know If I’m Eligible!

Based on your documents we can calculate if and how much BAföG you are eligible for. If you are unsure, why not just try?

BAföG is usually granted in accordance with the income of the parents during the second last calendar year. In special cases, the application may also be assessed on the basis of the parents’ current income.

There are no rigid income thresholds.

How Much Will I Get?

How much BAföG you get always depends on your personal circumstances. The funding amount is based on your needs (Are you living with your parents or not? Do you pay for your own health and long-term care insurances or are you included in your parents’ insurances), the creditable income and financial assets of the student as well as the income of spouse/partner and parents. Even siblings may be taken into consideration – do they get financial support from the parents or do they earn their own income? Are they still completing their training?

Personal Prerequisites

BAföG is generally a support system for German students. However, international students may also be eligible for funding.

BAföG is usually only granted for one training, which must commence before the age of 45. Exemptions may be made in cases where exceeding the age limit is justified (e.g. pregnancy or rearing children up to 14 years).

A subsequent master’s program is also eligible for funding.

Parent-independent Assistance

Students, who worked for five years after their 18th birthday or completed a 3-year apprenticeship and subsequently worked for 3 years before beginning their academic studies, can apply for parent-independent assistance.

Composition and Repayment

Half of the BAföG financial support is a grant, the remaining half an interest-free loan. The maximum loan to be repaid is €10,010.

Repayment of the loan starts five years after the end of the maximum BAföG funding period in the form of reasonable installments. These installments are collected centrally by the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) in 50728 Cologne. Partial waiving is possible in the case of

above-average academic success and
graduation ahead of schedule (for graduations until 31 December 2012), or
loan repayment ahead of schedule

On the portal of the Federal Office of Administration, you can report changes, obtain information and submit applications for deferments and early repayments after registering.

BAföG portal of the BVA

Calculation of Maximum Assistance

	up to now	WS 2024/25
Basic Needs Allowance	452 €	475 €
Housing Allowance -living with parents -living in own flat/shared flat	59 € 360 €	59 € 380 €
Supplementary Allowance for Health Insurance - under 30 years - over 30 years	122 € 206 €	137 € 233 €
MAXIMUM ALLOWANCE	1018 €	1088 €

Application

Responsibility
The student finance department of the Studierendenwerk Ulm provides services to Ulm University, the Universities of Applied Sciences in Ulm, Aalen and Biberach, the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University in Heidenheim, the PH and HfG in Schwäbisch Gmünd, the HfK+G in Ulm as well as the Mobile University Riedlingen.

Forms
Application forms can be obtained from the student finance department directly at the universities, on our website or online.

Start of the Funding Period
BAföG is paid from the beginning of the month in which the study commenced, with the earliest start being the month in which the application was submitted. Submission of an initial informal, written application is sufficient to adhere to the deadline. Official forms, however, need to be submitted for the further processing of the application. Filling out the official forms diligently and completely helps speed up the processing time of the application immensely.

Submission
The application can be submitted and discussed in person with the responsible administrative officer during office hours. The Studierendenwerk Ulm also offers personal consultations directly at the universities. The dates are announced through the secretariats and on notice boards. Students who already receive BAföG should submit an application for the continuation of the funding (“Weiterförderungsantrag”) at least two months before their BAföG ends.

Working and Child Benefit (“Kindergeld”) During BAföG

Working
Students may earn 6.672 Euros (gross salary in dependent activity, i.e. 556 Euros per month) without having to pay any deductions. Different free allowances apply during practical semesters.

Child Benefit
The "Steueränderungsgesetz 2007" (Tax Amendment Act) reduced the age limit for the granting of child benefit ("Kindergeld") from 27 to 25 years. This revision applies to all age groups starting from 1983.

Financial Assets

The calculation of the BAföG amount also considers the applicant’s financial assets at the time of application (receipt stamp). These include checking accounts, savings accounts, building society savings accounts, investment funds as well as securities, stocks and bonds, among others. The assets exemption threshold increases depending on age.

The assets exemption threshold is:
€15,000 up to the age of 29,
€45,000 from the age of 30.
If the assets are higher than the exemption threshold, this amount is prorated over the funding period. Example: Assets 21,000 euros minus 15,000 euros = 6,000 euros, funding period 10/2024 to 09/2025. The assets above the asset exemption threshold, in this example 6,000 euros, are distributed over 12 months (funding period). This means that 500 euros are deducted each month.

Attention: data comparison
Financial assets must not be concealed! The student finance department is obliged to ascertain existing financial assets due to the nationwide data comparison with the Federal Central Tax Office (“Bundeszentralamt für Steuern“). The Federal Central Tax Office has records of all exemption orders for capital gains. Applicants are advised to answer questions about their financial means honestly and diligently.

Certificate of Achievement

From the fifth semester in the study program, funding is only granted if the student has provided a certificate of achievement.

(Official form 5)

Changing Study Programs

It is usually possible to change your study program after the first or second semester. If you wish to change to another program at a later time, you need to have an important (until the end of the third semester in the program) or irrefutable (after the start of the fourth semester in the program) reason. To avoid the risk of losing your eligibility for BAföG, we recommend that you contact the Studierendenwerk Ulm for further details in advance. Lost semesters due to a change of study program can be funded with a bank loan until the end of the program.

Funding Period and Graduation Grant (“Studienabschlussförderung”)

The maximum BAföG funding period depends on the standard period of study, which is stated in the study and examination regulations of the respective study program.

Under certain conditions, the Studienabschlussförderung (graduation grant) offers the opportunity to receive funding beyond the maximum funding period.

Exemptions are:
• serious reasons
• as a result of caring for a close relative in need of care in the home environment within the meaning of Section 7 (3) of the Caregiver Leave Act, who is classified as at least care degree 3 in accordance with §§ 14 and 15 of the Eleventh Book of the German Social Code - Social Care Insurance.
• as a result of participation in committees and bodies provided for by law or the articles of association
a) universities and academies within the meaning of § 2 paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 6,
b) the self-administration of students at educational institutions within the meaning of letter a,
c) the student unions and
d) the federal states
• first-time failing of the final exam
• a disability, pregnancy or rearing a child of up to ten years

Advance BAföG Payments

If the parents refuse to pay the amount calculated according to the BAföG regulations or to provide declarations regarding their income situation, the student can apply for advance payment. For more information, please contact Mr. Jansen (0731 79031-159) and Mr. Oberdorfer (0731 79031-160).

BAföG for Training Abroad

Applications for BAföG for studying abroad (“Auslands-BAföG”) must be submitted to the responsible office that processes training assistance for the country you want to go to. These offices are spread throughout Germany. Applications should be submitted six months before the beginning of the studying abroad.

https://studierendenwerk-ulm.de/en/bafoeg-and-finances/bafoeg-application/

YOU DON'T have much time right now?

BAföG Application Online

With BAföG Digital, the BAföG application can be conveniently created, processed and sent digitally on the computer. The special feature: You do not simply fill out forms provided online, but get access to an online tool that is used to enter all the necessary data step by step. This data is automatically saved in a personal BAföG Digital account. Necessary documents are uploaded using the upload function. The process can be interrupted at any time and continued on another day.
Furthermore, you can use BAföG Digital to call up the current processing status of your BAföG application at any time and are therefore always up to date.

When using the BAföG Digital electronic application assistant, a digital application for BAföG funding can be submitted with immediate legal effect by creating a simple user account. It is no longer necessary to print out and sign the application.

This also makes it much easier for the relevant BAföG departments to process applications, as there is no need to request additional signatures for applications submitted electronically and the application can be processed more easily.

https://www.bafoeg-digital.de

Advantages

You can submit the application paperlessly
You can submit the application via mobile phone using the BAföG app
You are guided through the application by the online application assistant
You will receive instructions on where to attach supporting documents
You can call up the processing status
You use a secure connection

If you do not wish to take advantage of the digital application process, you still have the option of submitting an analog application.
To do this, print out the forms, fill them out and submit them.

All forms for your analog BAföG application can be found here.

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