Germany Blocked Account Cost 2026: Deposit, Fees, Total

Nearly every question we get about the Sperrkonto is a money question, and it starts from the same wrong assumption: that the deposit is a fee. It is not. So this page stays on cost: the amount, what providers charge on top of it, and what you are out of pocket after a year. Opening the account is a separate job, walked through in the step-by-step Sperrkonto setup guide, and choosing a provider is settled in the four-way comparison of Expatrio, Fintiba, Coracle and Deutsche Bank.

It is your money, not a payment

You transfer the full amount in one go before the visa appointment. Nobody keeps it. What you lose is the setup fee and whatever the currency conversion takes on the way in. Families who treat the deposit as tuition borrow more than they need, then pay interest on money sitting quietly in a German account with their own name on it.

What the deposit is this year

The Federal Foreign Office sets it at 11,904 euros for one year, which works out at 992 euros a month. It tracks the BAfoeG living rate, so it moves most years. After you arrive, the provider releases roughly one-twelfth each month and no more, whatever your rent turns out to be.

What the providers charge on top

The deposit is identical wherever you open the account, so the provider is a fee decision and nothing else. Expatrio, Fintiba and Coracle are the usual online three, and a German bank branch is the slower alternative. Compare three things and ignore the rest: the setup fee, any monthly charge, and whether the balance earns interest. Some providers run referral offers. Take one if it comes your way, but do not let it pick the provider for you. If you only want the two names most Indian students end up choosing between, Fintiba and Expatrio are compared head to head here.

What a year of holding one actually costs

Add it up in this order and the number stops being frightening.

• The deposit: nothing, eventually. It leaves your account and returns as monthly living money. Budget it as cash flow, not as expenditure.
• Setup fee: 39 to 89 euros, once. Charged whichever provider you pick, and charged before the certificate is issued.
• Monthly account fee: about 4 to 9 euros where it applies. Over a year this can outweigh a cheaper headline setup price, which is what the cheap tiers count on.
• Transfer and exchange costs. Your own bank sets these, and they are usually the largest real cost of the lot. Ask for the forex desk rate before you send anything.
• Loan interest, if you borrowed the deposit. Borrowing the blocked amount when the family already has it liquid is the most expensive mistake on this page.

Why a savings account or a fixed deposit fails

The certificate is what the visa officer reads, and what it certifies is that the money is locked and released in fixed monthly amounts. A regular account, a fixed deposit or a parent's bank statement proves the money exists, which is not the same claim. None of them meets the proof-of-financing rule, so there is no cheaper substitute to find, and learning that at the appointment costs you the slot.

When the money has to be liquid

The full amount has to be in the account before the visa appointment, so it is the first large sum your family needs to free up. Admission, health insurance and the rest of the student visa checklist run alongside it, and Indian applicants need the APS certificate their university will ask for first. APS and the blocked-account confirmation are the two longest waits, so start them in parallel rather than one after the other.

Four ways this ends up costing more than it should

• Depositing last year's amount. The figure moves with the BAfoeG rate, and an old certificate is refused on arithmetic alone.
• Transferring too little to cover fees and exchange. If the amount landing in the account falls short after charges, the provider will not issue the certificate and you pay to send the difference.
• Opening an ordinary account by mistake. It looks the same from India and it fails at the counter in Delhi.
• Forgetting the setup fee. It sits on top of the deposit, not inside it.

Sources

• Federal Foreign Office - Blocked bank account
• Study in Germany - Proof of financing

Want the transfer handled properly the first time? We open and confirm blocked accounts, or take the whole file with our student visa service.