If you are preparing to attend your higher education course in Germany, then you may have definitely come across the term, ‘Blocked Account’. A blocked account is essentially like a savings account which offers fixed returns to students who have moved to Germany for the purpose of finishing their higher studies. 

Purchasing a blocked account is an important step in the student visa process for Germany. An education loan is one of the most preferred modes of funding their higher education in Germany for a significant proportion of Indian students.

This article aims to explain two important aspects of the education loan process for Germany- the various hurdles faced by students when they apply for an education loan to study in Germany and how they can obtain their living expenses so that they can transfer money to blocked accounts. The below video will help you understand the entire process.

What is a Blocked Account?

As mentioned before, a blocked account is basically a savings account which holds the student’s living expenses required by them for the entire course of their studies in Germany.

As a prerequisite to getting their German student visa approved, students are required to purchase this blocked account by depositing 10,236 Euros or roughly INR 8,47,162 which is the annual living expense specified by the German embassy for International students.

Once students transfer money to the blocked account, their visa application is accepted and they become eligible for a German student visa. Only the students who have purchased a blocked account are granted a student visa to study in Germany. 

The Biggest Hurdle in The Education Loan Disbursement For Blocked Account

Many banks that lend an education loan for MS in Germany to aspirants are not aware of the fact that German public universities charge very less or no tuition fees for most MS courses. Many students who apply to such public universities need an education loan to fund their living expenses. Many of these managers are also not aware that a blocked account has to be purchased prior to the student visa application process. This disbursement of living expenses prior to the visa process is called a pre-visa disbursement.

When students approach their respective branch managers requesting for disbursement of living expenses, the branch managers often turn them away by citing ignorance about the relevance of a blocked account in the German higher education process. Another excuse provided by them is that they need to see the student visa in order to sanction the disbursement of living expenses.

As a result, a lot of such students are under the impression that banks do not release the disbursement which is required to purchase a Germany blocked account. If your manager has asked you for a student visa before approving the disbursement of living expenses, you need to understand that this is because of their lack of understanding of the education loan product which is being endorsed by the lending bank.

Please keep in mind that most prominent banks have released circulars asking all the authorities to approve the pre-visa disbursement of all students who have applied for an education loan to study in Germany. If your loan manager is giving you similar excuses or is refusing to approve your pre-visa disbursement, do get in touch with the WeMakeScholars team for further help and assistance.

Possible Solutions For the Pre-visa Disbursement Issue

One of the biggest advantages enjoyed by the students who had applied for an education loan to study in Germany through WeMakeScholars is that their entire loan procedure was conducted smoothly. This is because the WeMakeScholars team has been responsible for many crucial decisions taken by banks regarding important issues. In this case, the issues faced by students regarding their pre-visa disbursement was brought up by the financial team of WeMakeScholars with their partner banks.

The efforts of our financial team were acknowledged by many prominent government banks and hence, it resulted in many of them making the required modifications in their education loan disbursement policies.

All higher education aspirants are welcome to avail of our support and assistance at any given point in their education loan process. All they need to do is register for a callback and the assigned financial officer will get in touch with the students within no time.

Note: WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education finance. We are associated with 10+ public/Pvt banks/ NBFCs in India and help you get the best abroad education loan matching your profile. As this initiative is under the Digital India campaign, it’s at free of cost. The organization has vast experience dealing with students going to various abroad education destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, China, France among others