You usually receive BAföG for a first, job-qualifying degree Vocational Training, if you are under 30 years old. After your 30th birthday, it becomes more difficult to submit a promising application, because you have to give a good reason for your delay.

study abroad

Reasons for the BAfög Office

From now on, you will have to provide the BAföG Office with a good explanation of why you are now starting to study. In essence, the following three justifications are accepted:

Conditions

Caution: You must start your studies immediately, as soon as the stated reasons have ceased. If this is not the case, you must also provide a good reason (eg with an internship, which is prescribed by the regulations of study, with illness, etc.), if you want to get BAföG.

As you can see, these regulations leave a certain latitude - in the end it is also very dependent on the individual case and the person responsible, which justification is accepted. You can also clarify the situation by a preliminary ruling. By the way, all these subsidies are granted independent of parents.

Authorized groups of persons

You do not automatically receive BAföG because you are in Germany studieren only if you belong to one of the following groups of people:

Support for studies in the EU

Within the European Union and Switzerland, you can start studying abroad with BAföG funding from the first semester onwards. However, one should first assure that the planned study is really recognized in the sense of BAföGs. Otherwise, there may be nasty surprises.

Otherwise, the conditions of funding are identical to those in the country, but the BAföG has to be applied for at the responsible foreign office of BAfög. In addition, it is now possible to change from a course of studies in the EU country to a master's degree, without the loss of the BAföG claim, provided that the previous degree is recognized as a bachelor's degree.

Conditions

But be careful: You should check this very carefully and have it confirmed in writing by all parties involved - i.e. the future university and BAföG office - that the recognition really works.

A long-term study (more than a year) outside of Germany is, however, not funded anyway, if the apprentice had his permanent residence in Germany for less than three years.

foreign allowance

However, there are also disadvantages. This is no longer the case for the foreign bid awarded so far. The travel expenses are flat-rate, with 250 Euro being given for return travel within Europe and 500 Euro outside Europe. Further outward and return journeys, even in the case of a long stay, should be carried only in cases of hardship - ie only on special request and with good reason.

As before, unavoidable study fees can be borne up to an amount of 4600 Euro for a maximum of one year. Even more study fees are only taken into account in exceptional cases. For this purpose, a demand is always required from the competent office.