Germany raises financial proof requirements for international students

The amount represents the minimum cost for an international student to stay in Germany for one year, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research said in an announcement on its website on July 31.

The ministry explains that students can meet the funds requirement in a number of ways. These include the submission of certified documents detailing family income and assets, producing a bank guarantee, or via the use of a blocked account.

The latter is a bank account designed precisely for international students and offered by banks and service providers, including Expatrio, Coracle, and Fintiba. The account is considered blocked because students cannot access it until they arrive in Germany, and then may only withdraw funds up to a specified monthly limit.

According to the ICEF Monitor, the new requirement keeps Germany among the leading study destinations, comparable to Australia (US$19,500), Canada (US$14,900), Ireland (US$10,700), and France (US$8,000).

Both Australia and Canada have announced substantial increases to their funds requirements over the past several months, with Australia increasing it by 20% in May, marking the second increase within a year, and Canada doubling its proof of funds requirement in December last year.

For the academic year of 2022-2023, there were more than 458,000 international students in Germany, an increase of 52% compared to 2014.

The average cost of living for international students there is about 930 euros (US$1,000) per month. After graduation, students have the option to stay and work for up to 18 months.

More than 40% of foreign students in Germany are pursuing an engineering program. Germany is a top destination for science-minded students, not least because of the Applied Science universities in the country. Enrolments in those institutions have risen by 140% over the past decade, compared with 64% for more generally oriented universities.

There are nearly 7,400 Vietnamese students in Germany, an increase of about 30% compared to before the Covid pandemic, Steffen Kaupp, Deputy Director of the Vietnamese office of the Goethe-Institutin Hanoi, said in May.