BAföG is the abbreviation for Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz. BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law. You receive this support to finance

• your studies,
• under certain conditions of a prescribed internship as part of your studies.

In order to receive the monthly subsidy, you must meet a number of requirements. The most important are:

• Your parents and/or spouse/domestic partner do not have a higher income.
• You yourself have no or only a low income, for example from a "mini-job".
• Your assets are below the exemption amount of EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30, or from the age of 30 up to EUR 45,000, or only slightly above.
• You are a full-time student.
• Age limit: 45 years (exceptions are possible).

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

If you are studying, you will receive half of the funding as a loan and half as a grant. This means that you regularly only have to pay back half of the money (loan) after your studies. You generally do not have to pay interest on the loan ("interest-free loan"). The maximum repayment amount, regardless of how much the total grant was, is usually EUR 10,010, which corresponds to 77 monthly installments of EUR 130 each from the start of repayment. The Federal Office of Administration is responsible for loan collection. You do not begin repayment until 5 years after the end of the maximum period of support, which usually corresponds to the standard period of study. If you do not earn enough to cover the repayment of your loan, you can apply for a deferment of payment at the Federal Office of Administration.
If you are a student, your monthly needs are made up of different parts:

• Basic need:
  • EUR 452 if you are pursuing your education at a higher technical school, academy or college (for example, a university).
• Accommodation needs:
  • EUR 59 if you live with your parents or
  • EUR 360 if you do not live with your parents.
• If you cannot obtain health/care insurance through your parents, you will receive an additional EUR 94 and EUR 28 respectively.
• If you have a child younger than 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare supplement: EUR 160 for each child.

If you spend a semester or year abroad, you can apply for supplements for travel expenses, tuition fees, and health insurance abroad; in the case of study stays in the EU, shorter stays than six months are also eligible; furthermore, you can also receive BAföG if you complete your entire studies abroad in the EU; in the case of study stays abroad outside the EU/Switzerland, purchasing power compensation is also granted.

• The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:
  • The income of your parents and/or your spouse/life partner in the penultimate year before the start of the grant period, if it is above the tax-free amount. The tax-free amount is:
  • EUR 2,415 if your parents live together,
  • EUR 1,605 per parent if your parents live separately, and
  • EUR 1,605 for a possible spouse/life partner.
  • Note: If your parents or your spouse/life partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last before approval, you can submit an update application.
  • BAföG independent of parents: Your parents' income is not taken into account if you
    • were gainfully employed for five years after reaching the age of 18, or
    • have completed a three-year training program and have been gainfully employed for at least three years thereafter (if you have completed a shorter training program, you will be gainfully employed for a correspondingly longer period).
    • In certain exceptional cases, if you are over 30 years of age when you start training
• Your own income, if it is more than EUR 520.00 per month.
• Your own assets, as far as they are higher than EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or higher than EUR 45,000 from the age of 30.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is always the sum of positive income. In the case of training assistance law, this is the gross income less the

• income-related expenses,
• social lump sum and the
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not counted.

You can receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study. Only in exceptional cases can your BAföG be extended thereafter, for example if you

• have failed the final examination for the first time,
• have a disability
• are or were pregnant,
• are raising or have raised a child up to the age of 14,
• are or were active in committees and bodies of the university, the student self-administration, the student unions or the federal states as provided for by law or the articles of association, or
• have cared for close relatives classified in care degree 3 or higher.

If you drop out of a course of study and start another course of study ("change of course of study"), your new course of study can only be supported if

• the change has taken place in the 2nd semester at the latest, or
• the change has taken place in the 3rd semester and there is an important reason for the change or
• the change follows from the 4th semester and there was an unavoidable reason for the change, for example:

a disability or allergy to certain substances which occurred after the start of the training and which makes it impossible to continue the training or to pursue the profession previously pursued.

Interns:

BAföG can only support internships that you complete while you are in an education that is eligible for support under BAföG.

Only mandatory internships are eligible for funding. These are internships that are required by your study regulations or training plan, i.e. that you have to do in order to complete your studies or training. Compulsory internships that are completed outside the EU are only eligible if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory internships within EU member states can also be funded if they are shorter than 12 weeks.

You can also receive BAföG if you complete your entire studies abroad in the EU.