
Blocked Account
Secure and fast Blocked Account for your German visa

Secure and fast Blocked Account for your German visa
You may need to open a blocked account to secure your German visa.
Suppose you are moving to Germany for university studies, language courses, preparatory courses (Studienkolleg), job search, and more. In that case, a Blocked Account allows you to prove sufficient financial resources during your stay in Germany.
The Blocked Account (Sperrkonto) is a special type of bank account required by German law for many internationals to secure their German visa.
At Expatrio, you can quickly open your Blocked Account entirely online in just a few minutes. Expatrio Blocked Account is accepted by all foreigners' authorities to secure your German visa.
Expatrio’s Blocked Account is one of the fastest ways to secure your proof of sufficient funds for your German visa. Our process is fully online and super simple. On your profile in the Expatrio User Portal, you have easy access to detailed information about your Blocked Account and other Expatrio services.
To open your account, just follow our application flow, and you’ll have your German Blocked Account within a few minutes. Should you have any questions, our Customer Service is happy to help you throughout your entire journey.
Our low monthly and set-up fees allow you to save some money on what really matters during your relocation to Germany.
Tip: get our Value Package and receive an attractive cashback and many other perks!
To minimize high rates when transferring funds from your home country to your German Blocked Account, we offer you the option to transfer your money in your local currency. That is possible due to Expatrio Payments, offered in partnership with the international payment provider, Cohort Go.
With CohortGo, customers can pay in their local currency and with the latest payment methods, like Alipay. Paying in your local currency is usually way faster and more affordable than transferring from a local bank to one’s own German Blocked Account. But do not worry, we also offer you the traditional bank transfer option.
Open a Blocked Account and get a Health Insurance bundle with Expatrio's Value Package.
Find out moreFill in our form and open your Blocked Account within a few minutes.
Once your Blocked Account is open, you can transfer your funds to it.
Activate your Blocked Account upon arrival to receive your monthly payouts.
Our 12-month Blocked Account break down for you
The current blocked amount established by the German government is €934 per month of one’s stay in Germany. It means you have to calculate the total amount based on the months you plan to live in Germany. Do not worry. For stays over one year, you need to confirm your blocked amount for one year. After that, you can extend your Blocked Account. We will break down the costs for you for a 12-month period in Germany:
Tip: get our Value Package and receive an attractive cashback and many other perks!
When moving to Germany, a blocked account is one of the first things you have to figure out.
So what exactly is a blocked account? How can you open one?
All the info you need to know on this special type of bank account, you can check in our video!
Expatrio Blocked Account fully complies with the applicable immigration law.
The Expatrio Blocked Account is complying with the highest instances and complies with all German authorities’ laws, provisions, treaties, and requirements regarding visa applications and residence permits. Including but is not limited to § 2 (3) Residence Act (AufenthG) and 16.0.8.1 Administrative Order of the Residence Act (VwV-AufenthG). The monthly Blocked Amount is regularly €934 (€11,208 per year), which is specified in the §§ 13 and 13a (1) Federal Training Assistance Act (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetzes - BAföG) for students at secondary schools and universities in Germany.
Blocked Account is a bank account required by the German Authorities as a proof of sufficient financial means necessary to receive a German visa. Blocked Account is essential for international students, au-pairs and job seekers that want to move to Germany. The monthly amount that should be blocked is being changed regularly and is adjusted to the minimal cost of living in Germany. In 2023, the required blocked amount is €934 per month or €11,208 for the whole year.
If you are going to Germany for long term and need a visa, most probably you will be asked for a confirmation of your financial resources. In such a case, you would need to open a Blocked Account and bring the confirmation to the German Authorities in order to apply for the visa.
Yes, the Blocked Account Expatrio is providing is accepted by all German authorities worldwide.
In order to open a Blocked Account with Expatrio you just need to go to our webpage, choose Blocked Account among the services listed, and then go through the questionnaire. After that, you would be asked to provide some personal information to create a user account. When the account is created and approved, you will be able to access the bank details necessary for money transfer. When the funds reach your bank account, you will get the confirmation document necessary for your visa application.
The Blocked Account fees paid for Expatrio services are €49 for account set up (one-time fee) and €5 monthly fee. Please take into consideration that together with these fees you will be asked to transfer the Blocked Amount required by the German Authorities. This amount varies depending on the length of your expected stay in Germany. An additional €100 buffer is required as it will be used to cover potential transaction fees if such occur. The buffer will be sent back to you together with the last monthly disbursement from your Blocked Account.
You can use any bank or remittance service to transfer the necessary amount to your Blocked Account. Via Expatrio Payments, you are able to perform a domestic transfer in your own currency in many countries, which makes the process faster and less expensive. You also have the possibility of transferring in USD or EUR.
Normally international money transfers take around 3-5 business days, while domestic bank transfers take 2-3 business days. However, in some cases, the process can last up to 14 days. The speed mainly depends on the country from which the money is transferred and the channel which is used for the transaction. When choosing the domestic transfer option (if available), the money transfer usually takes 1-3 business days.
When the funds arrive at your Blocked Account you will immediately receive an automatic email confirmation. Such confirmation can be brought to your visa appointment as proof of your financial resources.
From the point in time when you request to activate your Blocked Account by submitting all the necessary documents, it will take us 24 hours to validate them (otherwise we would come back to you asking to provide more details if something is missing). After the documents are validated, it would take 2-3 business days for the transaction to take place and the money to arrive.
In case of visa rejection, Expatrio will transfer you back the whole amount from your Blocked Account as well as the service fees.