If you are studying, you will generally only receive half of your BAföG as a grant. The other half is paid as an interest-free loan, which you must repay. You will receive the request for this from the Federal Office of Administration around 4.5 years after the end of the standard period of study.

Regardless of the amount of your BAföG loan, you must repay a maximum of EUR 10,000. For those who received BAföG funding for the first time from 01.08.2019 or later, a maximum of 77 monthly installments of EUR 130.00 each must be repaid (i.e. a maximum total of EUR 10,010; repayment installments reduced on request depending on income count as full monthly installments, so the total repayment amount can then also be lower, even if a total of more than EUR 10,010 was paid out as a loan).

If you want to pay at least EUR 500.00 before the start of the repayment period, you can receive a discount and have to repay less. You will receive the largest possible discount if you pay the full amount in one go before the start of the repayment period.

You do not have to pay any interest on the BAföG loan and have up to 20 years to repay it.

• The monthly repayment installment is EUR 130.

The installments are paid every 3 months in the amount of EUR 390. If you have a low income, you can apply for a deferral of the repayment obligation of your BAföG loan or the payment of lower installments ("income-dependent repayment"). If you pay an installment more than 45 days late, reminder fees and interest will be charged.

At the end of the repayment period of 20 years, the Federal Office of Administration will automatically check whether the remaining loan debt can be waived. You can be released from the remaining debt if you

• received BAföG funding with a loan component for the first time from 01.08.2019,
• were financially unable to repay the BAföG loan in full and
• have fulfilled your payment and cooperation obligations during the entire repayment period.