Firstly, when I talk about the Blocked Account, there get some general queries in your mind like what is a ‘Blocked Account’ (Sperrkonto) and why should I open it etc.?
Let me explain about it in brief. Blocked Account (Sperrkonto) is required for financing your studies and living costs in Germany. When you want to study in Germany, you will need money to cover your costs of living. This will include your fixed costs like rent or University administration fees, but also the costs for your every day living (like food, clothes etc.)
In order to enter Germany, students from India need a valid visa. One of the requirements to obtain a visa is that the student can cover his or her costs of living while studying. There are different ways to prove this and the most common one among students is the so called blocked account.
* This document is mandatory while you apply for the VISA at VFS Global Office.
To open an account in Deutsche Bank, Germany, there are two choices or ways that you can open an account.
- Through German Consulate [Time Consuming process] (or)
- Directly through Deutsche Bank [Easy process, recommended].
Steps to follow for Choice ‘1’:
1. To open an account through German Consulate (GC), firstly, you need to book an appointment by sending an E-mail to your local German Consulate for getting the required documents attested.
2. Then in the mean time you need to get the ‘Bank’s Application Form’ [Can get it from the Deutsche bank’s website. Click here] and a xerox copy of your original passport.
3. Now fill in the application form [Caution: Don’t write the place, date and signature. It needs to be filled at GC.) [General queries will be answered in FAQ’s. Please check below].
4. On the day of appointment, go to the respective German Consulate with
- Duly filled in Bank’s Application Form.
- Passport Xerox Copy & Original.
- Pancard (original).
- 2 passport size photos.
- Admission letter from university (not mandatory).
- Money( 30€ in rupees. Subject to current day’s exchange rate). Check in rupees here.
- Appointment mail copy which you got reply about date confirmation.
5. Once the documents get attested, courier them to the address on the Deutsche Bank’s application form.
6. With in few days, you will get a mail from the Deutsche Bank with the details like Bank Account number etc. so that you can transfer your money to your account.
* Here you need to pay all the fees like Attestation fees, Courier charges, travelling expenses (in case if the German consulate is not in your city) etc.
Steps to follow for Choice ‘2’:
It’s very easy and recommended process as you can save fees, courier charges and travelling expenses (in case if the Deutsche Bank is not in your city). Very simple steps to follow. Read below
- Visit the nearest Deutsche Bank branch, you can visit any branch in India for that matter.
- Tell them that you want to open the German Student Blocked Account, they will explain you the complete procedure.
- You will first have to open a Savings Bank Account with the Deutsche Bank India (which is extra amount that you need to afford) , which has a minimum balance requirement of INR 100,000. Note that every Deutsche Bank branch in India has different schemes to open an savings account at them. Once you approach them, they will explain you in detail.
- Take all the documents mentioned above in the CHOICE ‘1’ along with 1 lakh Cheque and then they will take care of you in helping for the rest of the procedure.
- Once you get the mail from the Deutsche Bank, Germany, you can transfer the amount to your account.
Pay Attention: If you are processing through Deutsche Bank i.e.; ‘Choice 2’ then I suggest that you can ask your doubts (if any) directly to the respective Person in the Bank. Thank you!
FAQ’s:
1. How can I book an appointment for to get my documents attested?
A: If you are going through German Consulate then just send an E-mail to the local German Consulate with the subject, “opening a blocked account” and write your name and contact in mail’s body. You get reply within a day.
2. Where can I get the respective Bank’s Application Form?
A: You can find them in Deutsche Bank’s website. Click here.
3. Do I need to sign in the Application Form as I fill other details?
A: No. Don’t fill the Date, Place and Signature columns. You need to fill and sign at German Consulate.
4. I am not understanding what to fill at certain sections of the application form. Can you help me?
A: Yes sure. I am attaching a sample filled in Application Form. Download here sample-db-acc.
5. Can I transfer any extra amount to my blocked account?
A: Yes. Put 50€ extra i.e.; total of 8090 Euros while transferring the amount as it will be deducted by Deutsche Bank, Germany as processing fees. If you put more no harm but it will be useless as that amount will be just blocked and will carry no interest.
6. Through which bank I can transfer the money to my blocked account?
A: Any nationalized bank (of course you need to pay for processing and transferring fees) like SBI, Deutsche Bank etc.
7. What’s the difference between opening a blocked account through German Consulate and directly through Deutsche Bank?
A: No difference. Difference lies in procedure that’s it. When you go through German Consulate it is time consuming as you need to take appointment and pay all the other charges like Attestation fees, Courier charges, traveling expenses etc. where as you can avoid these when you open through Deutsche Bank directly and the process will be easier. But here you need to open a savings account at them of 1,00,000 rupees.
For more information on blocked account and VISA process, go to: http://www.india.diplo.de/
Sherie said:
Hi…I opened a blocked account at Deutsche bank by mailing my details to them directly. However they’ve made a spelling mistake in my name. Iv mailed them but havent received a reply. Also the Deutsche bank here in India seems to have no idea on the blocked account. Could you please help me out as im worried it might create a problem during my visa interview
gchroniclerk said:
@ Sherie
Well I am sorry but I don’t have any knowledge regarding this and I don’t know in which Deutsche Bank branch in India you have asked. Well I have processed it through Bangalore Deutsche Bank and they do process blocked account. If possible call and ask them.
Sherie said:
Hi thank you for your reply…well i did contact Deutsche Bank here in India and they’ve asked me to create another account from India keeping a deposit of 1 lakh.. I ve mailed Deutsche bank in Germany again. Hopefully they will reply this time..
gchroniclerk said:
@ Sherie
You are welcome and All the best! 🙂
Anika Kanwal said:
Hi .. Is it mandatory to submit the Tuition fee payment for VI?? Or only Blocked account will be enough for VI
gchroniclerk said:
@Anika
For VISA, I believe no need to submit Tuition fees receipt. But however most of the uni.’s ask to pay the 1st Sem fees (if applicable) before you arrive. So if you have paid, then carry along with you. Else as far as my knowledge goes, it is not mandatory. Just have a second opinion from others too for safe side. Because rules will be changing.
All the best!
sohail said:
Hi,
Thanks for your well explained blog about everything which makes the whole procedure a piece of candy for those who wants to study in Germany.
i have one question if you can help me i will be glad.
if i want to block more than 8040 euro and by that i mean if i want to make a block account of 9500 euro and write this amount in the form will be there any problem.
gchroniclerk said:
Thank you for the compliment. No Problem. As far as my knowledge goes, you can put as much as you want in your blocked account. The Minimum required amount is 8040 + 50 for processing fees.
All the best!
Kranthi said:
Everything was good about opening blocked account in Deutsche bank. But can you tell me specifically on how that 1 lakh will used I mean u said that 80k can be used as your fixed deposit. What does that mean?
Please reply me .
gchroniclerk said:
@Kranti:
Thank you for mentioning it. That sentence got edited by somehow and I don’t remember why exactly that I wrote. However it’s not important.
Bank will open an account on your Name and they credit your 1 lakh in that account and it will be fixed for certain period. (depends on the branch where you deposit). After that period you can take your Money back if you want.
As you deposit 1 lakh with them, they process the opening of Blocked Account in Germany for free of cost.
I hope this helps you.
Parth said:
When I went for attestation to the german consulate in mumbai, they stamped 2 out of 5 pages of the application form, they said that the rest dont need…
Isnt it required to get all 5 pages of the application form to be attested?
gchroniclerk said:
@Parth,
Well I have opened the Blocked Account through Deutsche Bank and not through the German Consulate. So I personally didn’t experience the process whether they attest all pages or only one or two required pages. I have asked my friend who had attested his application through Chennai German Consulate and as per his answer, they have attested only on One page of Application form and on the Passport copy.
I believe its sufficient.
All the best!
Parth said:
Thanks for the reply
I had another question regarding the travel insurance, Ive never had one so don’t know much about it. I checked a couple like ICICI and Bajaj online and allows you to calculate the cost of it and the estimate is done based on the number of days, im sure you know this….
So my question is, just for the sake of visa requirements, how many days of insurance do I need to get?
gchroniclerk said:
@Parth,
Well to be frank, I don’t know anything about insurance. Soon I got the VISA confirmation, I took the insurance within 1 hour that too online from BAJAJ Alliance. I just called to customer care and asked for Travel + Health insurance for German Student VISA and the rest he took care of it. He had filled everything in the form and I just paid the money online.
YES, we need to take it for 90 days from the date of travel. For me it happened around 2000 rupees.
Parth said:
Alright, thanks buddy
Parth said:
Hey,
sorry to keep bothering you…
I just wanted to know one more thing, my course is for 3.5 years so it’s alright if i take a 90 days travel insurance? or do I need it for the whole period? I don’t know on which date I’ll be returning to India so is it still ok?
Thanks
gchroniclerk said:
@ Parth
Sorry for the late reply. You just Need to take an insurance for 90 days period from the date of journey. Once you land in Germany, you Need to choose an insurance from Germany. The insurance you take in India is just for Initial days.
Hope it cleared your doubt.
santhosh said:
Thank you for the detailed post regarding opening DB account. I have a small doubt. In ‘choice I’ after getting attested from german consulate in chennai, where we have to send the application form. Nearest Deutsche bank (says chennai) or to germany.
Deutsche Bank
Privat- und Geschäftskunden AG
Frankfurter Straße 1
04024 Leipzig
Germany
gchroniclerk said:
Yes, you can send the documents to the address mentioned on the Application formi.e.; Deutsche Bank in Germany (Leipzig or Hamburg which ever is mentioned) .
All the best!
Aparupa said:
Thanks, I have another question. The Deutsche Bank form says the application should be signed in front of embassy official and hand in the filled in application form to the embassy. If I follow second step, How I am supposed to sign in front of embassy official. And also which docs do I need to attest to follow step 2. please help as I need to book an app for visa 😦
gchroniclerk said:
Hello Aparupa,
If you want to open your Blocked Account through Deutsche Bank, just go to the nearest Deutsche Bank and ask the details to manager and they will guide you and complete the rest of the formalities. It’s quite simple!
All the best!
Jegan said:
Hi, Thanks for your valuable information. I am a sri Lankan student, pursuing BE degree in Tamil Nadu. I got admit in Germany for master’s program. Can I also choose the second option to create a blocked account?. Because still I am staying In Tamil Nadu and I want to create the account immediately to apply for a Visa.
gchroniclerk said:
Hello Jegan,
Well if you want to open the blocked account through Deutsche Bank then it’s much better that you go to the nearest Deutsche Bank available to you and you can ask the details. They will tell you the exact details. So it’s better and will be clear to you.
All the best!
muneeza said:
Plz,tell me in the form where we have to write 8040 as block amount money do we have to write 8090 in the form?and hoee about the date is it to be filled in front of the consulate?
gchroniclerk said:
I have kept a SAMPLE filled in form in Q & A section of the article. You can download it and see how to fill the details.
Well just fill in the date and place in the consulate on the day you submit for the attestation.
All the best!
Madhuri said:
Hi, This is a really informative and well written blog.
I’ll be taking an education loan, so I would prefer to get the money transferred in my blocked account closer to my date of joining the university. Can you please tell me if my blocked account statement showing 8040 euros as balance is mandatory during the visa interview? Instead of that, can I show my loan approval letter?
Thank you.
gchroniclerk said:
Hello Madhuri,
Sorry for the delayed reply. I believe that you can show your loan approval letter. I am not an educational consultant. So I don’t have knowledge on all the things. I hope it may work out but please ask few more people in FB groups so that if anyone followed the same procedure before can suggest you better. I apologize that I couldn’t answer to your question.
Thank you and All the best!
Madhuri said:
Hi,
Thank you.
How much time does it take for Deutsche Bank to send confirmation of receipt of 8090 euros after the amount is debited from the sender’s account?
Thanks!
gchroniclerk said:
@Madhuri,
You are welcome!
Generally with in 2 to 4 days they will send you the confirmation receipt.
Madhuri G said:
Hi, I had my visa interview on 23rd June in New Delhi, and on 9th July I got a mail from the embassy saying that my visa has been decided upon. They have asked me to submit my passport along with Rs.935 at the nearest vfs office. Nowhere is it mentioned in the mail if the visa has been approved or not. What does that mean?
Thank you.
gchroniclerk said:
@ Madhuri
Well as far as I understood, your VISA application is accepted. So that they had sent you an Email for further processing. You Need to submit the required documents that they have mentioned in the Email sent to you. You can either directly go to the Consulate or as they have mentioned you can process it through VFS Office also by paying the said amount.
If you have any doubt still, take the xerox copy of the Email to the nearby VFS Office or to the consulate and can clear your doubt.
All the best!
Madhuri said:
Hi,
Do we have to show proof of finance every year? Like will I need to show them proof of 8040 euros again for the next year?
Thank you!
gchroniclerk said:
@ Madhuri
Yes, you Need to Show them next year again for your VISA Extension. In case if you work as an Intern, you can also Show intership contract.
Aparupa said:
Hello, Many thanks for this blog. it has been very helpful for me. just two quick questions. Do I have to open the saving account with 1 lakh? what purpose will it serve? I really don’t understand. aint it making the procedure more complicating?
And do I have to transfer the amount (8090 euro) in euro or INR? if in INR, how much is the amount?
Many Thanks in advance for the reply. 🙂
gchroniclerk said:
@Aparupa:
Thanks for reading my blog. I am happy to read that it was helpful for you.
As I mentioned in my article, its one of the way that you can open the Blocked Account via Deutsche Bank in India. Its not mandatory that you need to open only through Deutsche Bank. You can also open it by getting your documents attested by the German consulate and send them to the specified Bank Address on the application form.
Well if you want to open the Blocked Account through Deutsche Bank then you can go to the bank and they will guide you. The process will be much easier than going through the German consulate. They process everything for free of charge, so they want you to deposit some amount with them for certain period. You can get all these details once you go to Deutsche Bank. They will explain you much clearly.
Once you get the admission you can start with the process and Yes, transferring the amount is mandatory. So you can transfer the 8090 Euros (INR to EUR) in your German blocked Account. If you pay them in INR, they transfer it into Euros according to the current exchange rate. So your blocked account must have 8090 Euros finally.
You can see the exchange rates in websites like xe.com etc.
I hope this answers your questions.
All the best!
Anagha said:
Hi,
After filling the application, where should I go first? To the bank or the German consulate.
gchroniclerk said:
Read the article once again please and if you are processing through the German consulate then yes you need to go the German Consulate and get your Form and Passport ID attested and then send them to the Deutsche Bank’s address, which is mentioned on the form. Hope it clears your doubt.
Parthiban M said:
Thank you,
I need one more information.
What is the difference in sending money(local india bank to germany block account the amount 8040 euro)
SBI/HDFC (India’s bank) vs Deutsche bank India branch(chennai).
which is best? (by transfer rate, other charges)
Parthiban M said:
Hi,
if I open blocked account through local deutsche bank and I transfer about 9050 euros (750 euro per month and including 50 euro bank charge), I did not close my local deutsche bank account(chennai). Consider if I entered germany(Sept 2014) and I entrolled in my college several months past . In that time if I need more money,
Is any possible again sending money (INR TO EURO) from my local(chennai) bank account to germany blocked account by my parents using my local account?
gchroniclerk said:
Yes you can transfer money from local Deutsche Bank to German Deutsche Bank’s account. You ll be credited with the Euros respective to the current day’s market exchange rate.
All the best!
Akash Thakur said:
Hi,
I wanted to know that if the university demands the tuition fee of the study program before its commencement, then is it required to open a blocked account even after i pay the tuition fees to the university? If yes then what amount is it mandatory to deposit in the account?
gchroniclerk said:
Hello Akash,
Opening a blocked account is mandatory and is irrespective of whether an university asks for fees or not. At present I believe it is still 8040 Euros + 50 Euros processing fees. This amount is shown as one year living costs. Try to find out the right amount in the consulate website or other sources.
All the best!
Nandhini said:
And my visa is on hold because of that please help as soon as u can…
Nandhini said:
I opened the student blocked account but received the credit details with a printing mistake in money.. What should I do ? I tried filling up the contact form but there is no option for correcting the printing mistake please do help
gchroniclerk said:
Hi Nandhini,
Sorry for the late reply. Printing Mistake or less amount in your account? If there is a bit less amount of what you Need to credit then it may have happened because of the Foreign Exchange rates. If printing mistake then you can contact directly to Deutsche Bank in Germany or the nearest Deutsche Bank in India. They can also help you out.
Aditi said:
Hi,
I wanted to know if we can transfer more than the blocked amount into the account.
Thanks 🙂
gchroniclerk said:
Yes you can aditi but it is not worth as you get no interest amount for it. Better transfer only 8090 Euros(where 50 Euros will be deducted by the bank for its services) and your account will be credited with 8040 Euros. Any queries please post them in the group “Ich liebe Deutsch und Deutschland” … Please read “About” in this blog. Thanks!
shakeel said:
In section 6 of the application do the mentioning of the university name is manditory
gchroniclerk said:
@shakeel : No, its an option. If you write your university name and city name.. they will open an account in that city.
gchroniclerk said:
@Taku Passma: Thank you! Well it’s out of my knowledge (I am not an educational consultant, I am also a student and I opened this blog to help the people around the world by sharing what I know, so kindly excuse me if I couldn’t answer any of your questions). If you mean the word ‘close’ as ‘near’ then as far as my knowledge goes, you can apply for the VISA by booking a nearest slot available and if all your documents are clear then they might be issued your VISA at the earliest and I think you need to get registered with the university in or on enrollment date. Kindly call to the university people and explain your problem. They may give you a right answer.
I mention once again, if you comment here, you may not get quick response, kindly read the above comment that I wrote to you and post your doubts there.
Thanks!
gChronicle.
rahul sharma said:
I used the second option…and i have got the visa……now can i close the account in DB india?
gchroniclerk said:
@ Rahul Sharma: Thanks for reading my blog. Hope this is helping you out.
Well, as far as my knowledge goes, you can close it (just cross check with the relation manager who helped you to open the account in your branch because when you deposited the amount each branch of Deutsche Bank has different schemes and rules. So ask them what’s the maturity period of your Fixed Deposit and according to that you can close). But I would like to mention that there is an advantage by keeping the account alive, if you are provided with Platinum Debit Card, then you can carry it to Germany and you can use there too. In any case if you are required with extra money, then your parents can transfer them into rupees in your Indian Deutsche Bank account and you can just get the same in Euros by using your card in Germany ATM’s. (can get the Euros subject to current day’s exchange rate).
As I mentioned above, please check with Bank’s manager to get a satisfied answer.
All the best!
Taku Passma said:
Thank you for the post. I would like to find out if option 2 is meant only for students in India. I am a Cameroonian and have a contact on Germany who can send me the bank forms. Can I also use Option 2?
gchroniclerk said:
@Taku Passma : Thanks for reading my posts.
Your Q) I would like to find out if option 2 is meant only for students in India?
My Reply) As far as my knowledge goes, it’s same & applicable to all in the world. If you got a Deutsche Bank in your home town or in any other cities within your country, just approach them without any hesitation and they will explain the entire procedure to you if they are providing such facility. Also there is NO NEED to get an ‘Application Form’ from Germany. You can just download it from the Deutsche Bank’s website.
Go to FAQ’s [current post] -> 2nd Question – > On opening the website you can find the Application form in ‘Forms’ Tab.
If you have any doubts please put add request & post your query in the Facebook group “Ich liebe Deutsch und Deutschland”. [Link can be found in ‘About’ page of this website.
Hope my answer solves your problem. If any further queries, don’t hesitate to post in the mentioned FB group.
Thanks!
Author.
Taku Passma said:
Thank you very much for the reply. I really appreciate it. I would like to find out;
In the case where your admission letter arrived late,
Can one still apply for a visa when the inscription date is close?
Taku Pasma said:
Thank you for the post. Please i would like to find out if the second process is only for students from India. I am a Cameroonian and have someone in Germany who can get the forms from a German bank. Can I also use option 2?