Apply for BAföG to attend school or participate in an internship

BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG refers to the financial assistance you can receive under this law.

Since the legal framework is very complex, you should contact your local student financial aid office as soon as possible.

You can receive BAföG financial aid to help cover the costs

• your time in school or
• under certain conditions, for a required internship as part of your schooling.

To receive the monthly grant, you must meet certain requirements in addition to demonstrating financial need. The most important ones are:

• You are working toward your high school diploma on a full-time basis.
• Age limit at the start of training: 45 years of age (exceptions may be made).

The amount of your BAföG entitlement is based on a set monthly need. Money is deducted from this amount if your parents, your spouse, your partner, or you yourself earn a little more.

As a high school student, you generally receive financial assistance in the form of a grant. You do not have to repay anything. As a student at a technical college, you receive financial assistance in monthly installments, half of which is a grant and half of which is a loan.

In general, if you want to earn a vocational qualification through a school-based vocational training program or a high school diploma, you are eligible to receive BAföG. However, if you attend a general education school, this applies only starting in 10th grade and only if you cannot live at home. This is the case, for example, if you cannot earn the desired degree nearby.

The monthly allowance for students is:

• If you live with your parents:
  • 501.00 EUR if you are enrolled in a technical school class that requires completion of vocational training, an evening high school, or a college preparatory program,
  • 276.00 EUR if you are attending a vocational school or a technical college that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • 498.00 EUR if you are attending an evening secondary school, a vocational advancement school, an evening secondary school, or a technical college class that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
• If you don't live with your parents:
  • a total of 666.00 EUR if you are attending a secondary school providing a general education, a vocational school, or a technical high school that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • A total of 775.00 EUR if you are attending an evening secondary school, a vocational extension school, an evening secondary school, or a technical college class that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training
  • A total of 882.00 EUR if you are enrolled in a technical school program that requires completion of vocational training, an evening high school, or a college preparatory program.
• If you are not covered by your parents' health and long-term care insurance, you will receive an additional 102.00 EUR and 35.00 EUR, respectively.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a child care supplement of 160.00 EUR for each child.

Even if you spend a year abroad during your school years, for example, you can still receive BAföG. If you spend time abroad, you’ll receive additional payments to cover the cost of your round-trip travel.

The following amounts are taken into account, meaning they reduce your BAföG eligibility:

• The income of your parents and your spouse or domestic partner during the year before last prior to the start of the authorization period, if it exceeds the exemption amount. The exemption amount is:
  • 2,540 EUR if your parents live together,
  • 1,690 EUR per parent if your parents live apart and
  • 1,690 EUR for your wife or partner, or your husband or partner.
  • An additional 50 percent of the parental income calculated in this manner—plus an additional 5 percent for each sibling who is not enrolled in an eligible educational program—is excluded from the calculation
  • In addition, there may be other tax exemptions, such as for additional children or other dependents of the individuals mentioned above as defined by civil law.
  • Note: If your parents, spouse, or domestic partner are currently earning significantly less than they did in the year before last prior to the approval of your application, you may submit a request for an update.
• Your own income, if it exceeds 556.00 EUR per month. In addition, there may be other additional allowances if you are required to pay support to other people.
• Your own assets, provided they exceed 15,000 EUR before you turn 30 or 45,000 EUR after you turn 30.

Parent-Independent BAföG: Your parents' income is not taken into account if you

• have been employed for 5 years after turning 18, or
• have completed a three-year vocational training program and have been employed for at least 3 years afterward. If your training was shorter, you must demonstrate a correspondingly longer period of employment.
• are over 30 years old when they begin their training.

If you attend an evening high school or a college preparatory school, you are eligible for BAföG that is independent of your parents' income. This means that your parents' income is not taken into account when calculating your BAföG eligibility.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total of all positive income. Under student financial aid law, for employed individuals this is gross income minus the

• Advertising expenses,
• Social Security Flat Rate and the
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and the solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive on your behalf is not taken into account.

Interns:

BAföG funding is available only for internships that

• You are completing a program of study that is eligible for BAföG funding.
• Mandatory internships are required as part of your training program so that you can complete your training.
• Mandatory internships that take place within the EU, or
• Mandatory internships that take place outside the EU and last at least 12 weeks.

You must immediately notify the Office for Student Financial Aid in writing of any changes in your financial situation or in your family or educational circumstances. This includes, for example,

• If your income changes,
• If you change your program of study,
• If you drop out of the program,
• if you complete the training program or
• if such changes occur among your siblings.

Trainees at technical colleges, business administration colleges, social pedagogy colleges, social economics colleges, and special education colleges, as well as trainees at the one-year technical college for office communication, have the option to choose between financial aid under

a) the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG), competent authority: Fulda District, Office for Educational Assistance, Heinrich-von-Bibra-Platz 5-9, 36037 Fulda,

and

b) the Advanced Vocational Training Assistance Act (AFBG), commonly known as the “Meister-BAföG”; competent authority: Studentenwerk Gießen, Otto-Behaghel-Straße 23, 35394 Gießen, Phone: (0641) 4 00 08 – 0 or Info Hotline: 0800 / 622 36 34 (toll-free),

to select.