BAföG A-Z

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Our address is: Studierendenwerk Mannheim, Amt für Ausbildungsförderung, Bismarckstraße 10, 68161 Mannheim.

If your parents or one of your parents refuse to pay you the maintenance amount that is due according to the BAföG notification, you can apply to the BAföG office for an advance payment. As there are still many questions to be answered in most cases, please enquire at the BAföG office in advance and ask for a detailed explanation of the advance payment procedure.

If you have already reached the age of 45 at the start of your degree programme, you can only receive educational support under certain conditions. Reasons for this are, for example, if the entry requirements for the degree programme were achieved via the 2nd educational pathway, child-raising, etc. This applies to both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes.

Legislative allowances are granted from your income and assets, as well as from the income of your parents and spouse.

If you want to receive BAföG, you must submit an application. If you are studying at a university in Mannheim, the Studierendenwerk Mannheim, Amt für Ausbildungsförderung is responsible.

The application forms or the link for the digital application can be found on our homepage under BAföG-Service Center or www.bafoeg-digital.de

Your own assets include all of your own accounts, securities accounts and securities, building society and savings contracts, life insurance policies, land or even a proportionate inheritance on the house, other items. A car is also considered an asset at its current market value. Proof of assets must always be provided at the time of application.

The approval period (BWZ) is the period over which the application is decided (usually two semesters). For seamless continued funding, the complete application for continued funding must be submitted to the Office for Educational Support two months before the end of the approval period. Please use the BAföG deadline reminder on our homepage.

The entitlement to educational support under BAföG for the Bachelor’s degree programme normally ends at the end of the maximum funding period. If the programme ends before the end of the grant period due to passing the final examination, this must be reported immediately in writing. Educational support for a higher education programme is paid at the latest until the end of the month in which the overall result of the successfully completed part of the programme is announced, but at the latest at the end of the second month in which the last part of the examination was taken and not beyond the end of the approval period.

Useful information and tips on BAföG can be found at www.bafoeg-check.de.

If you have to withdraw from registered examinations due to illness, please remember to make a copy of the certificates you submit to the study office beforehand. These certificates may be required for an application for later submission of the certificate of achievement according to § 48 para. 2 BAföG or for exceeding the maximum funding period according to § 15 para. 3 BAföG. It is not possible for the study office to issue the certificates or make copies at a later date.

The BAföG office must be informed immediately of all changes in personal circumstances (e.g. dropping out of studies, end of studies, change of subject, internship semester, leave of absence, study abroad, change of university, relocation, change of tenancy, income, marriage and legally equivalent civil partnerships, other). The same applies to changes in the personal circumstances of parents or spouses (e.g. separation, divorce, death, any changes in siblings, end of education, moving out of the parental home, etc.).

The BAföG office must be informed immediately of a change of specialisation. If the change of subject is made by the end of the 2nd semester, there are no problems with the BAföG entitlement. However, this only applies to the first change of subject.

For a change of subject after the third semester, there must be an important reason. The same applies if you are changing your specialisation for the second time. An important reason can be, for example, a lack of aptitude or a change of inclination. A written justification must be submitted to the BAföG office as to why the change of specialisation is being made. If the change of specialisation only takes place after the fourth semester, there must be an irrefutable reason in addition to the important reason. Before such a change of specialisation, it is generally advisable to seek advice from the BAföG office.

All necessary documents and evidence to be submitted can also be viewed and uploaded via the BAföG Service Centre.

If you live in a household with your own child who has not yet reached the age of 14, you can apply for the childcare supplement. The requirement is increased by €160 for each child, is granted as a subsidy and does not have to be repaid.

If you do not agree with a decision issued by the BAföG office, you can lodge an objection against this decision. The objection must be in writing, signed in your own hand and received by the BAföG office within one month of receiving the decision (a simple e-mail is not sufficient). The objection must be justified. Before lodging an appeal, it is advisable to contact the BAföG office to clarify any misunderstandings and have the decision explained to you.

If you de-register, you must inform the BAföG office immediately. You must state why you have de-registered, when you made this decision, how long you attended lectures and when you took your last examination. The BAföG office will then check how long you were still entitled to funding.

You can find the relevant form for exmatriculation on our homepage in the BAföG Service Centre.

The applicant’s own debts may be deducted from their assets. The relevant evidence must be submitted by the application deadline. Parents’ debts (e.g. loan for building a house) cannot be taken into account when calculating the parents’ income.

If you have received a repayment notice because you have to pay back too much BAföG and you are unable to repay this in one amount from your income or assets within four weeks, you can apply for a deferral.

If you still live with your parents or in a flat owned by your parents, the maximum rate you can receive is currently €511. This amount can be increased by the health and long-term care insurance supplement if you are no longer insured as a non-contributory family member in your parents’ health insurance fund. If you live outside your parents’ home, the maximum rate is currently €812. The health and long-term care insurance supplement may also be added here. If you live in a household with a child of your own who has not yet reached the age of 14, the requirement is increased by €160 for each child.

If you are unable to complete your studies within the maximum funding period, you can apply to exceed the maximum funding period if there are serious reasons for doing so. Serious reasons may be: illness, failure to pass examinations, raising children or involvement in student committees.

If you do not notify the BAföG office of any changes in your personal circumstances (e.g. semester on leave, change of subject, separation of parents, end of a sibling’s education, etc.), you may be fined. It is therefore in your own interest to inform the BAföG office immediately of any changes.

The BAföG application must be submitted on the official forms. You can find these in the BAföG Service Centre.

see repeat application

If you are unable to complete your studies within the maximum funding period, but have no reasons within the meaning of BAföG for exceeding the maximum funding period, you can apply for graduation assistance for a maximum of 12 months. The prerequisite is that you have been admitted to the final examination within four semesters of the maximum funding period and the examination centre certifies that you will be able to complete your studies within the maximum funding period.

If one of your parents, a sibling, your spouse or yourself has a severe disability, you can apply for a hardship allowance. A current copy of the severely disabled person’s ID card (front and back) or (if you do not have a severely disabled person’s ID card) a certificate from the pension office must be submitted to the BAföG office.

If you have health or long-term care insurance that is subject to contributions, you can apply for a supplement for health and long-term care insurance. A corresponding certificate from the health insurance company stating the legal basis on which the insurance exists must be submitted to the BAföG office. This also applies to applicants with voluntary or private health insurance.

ATTENTION: Students at dual universities are excluded from the subsidy. Since 1 January 2012, there has been a statutory social insurance obligation for students at dual universities. This means that students on dual study programmes are assessed in the same way as trainees, meaning that the corresponding contributions to health, nursing care, pension and unemployment insurance must be paid from the payment of the “training allowance” (generally half by the student and half by the company providing the training).

For applicants themselves, gross income from employment (no remuneration from a compulsory internship) of less than an average of € 520.00 per month is exempt from offsetting. This means that you can earn a total of €6,240.00 in an authorisation period of 12 months without this being offset. Income from an internship or training allowance is taken into account without deducting an allowance. Proof of income must be submitted at the end of the authorisation period without being asked. Upon receipt, your income in the authorisation period will be checked and corrected if necessary. This may result in a recalculation and, if necessary, a reclaim in accordance with § 20 para. 1 no. 3 BAföG if your income is deducted from the funding amount during this period.

For applicants, siblings or other dependants, the income in the current approval period is decisive; for parents, spouses or registered partners, the income from the calendar year before last is decisive.

BAföG documents can be handed in at the Infothek at the Mensa am Schloss.

An initial application is the first application in a training phase. The application should be submitted at the latest in the month in which the training programme begins, as BAföG is not paid retroactively.

During a semester of leave of absence, no BAföG training grant will be paid. The BAföG office must be informed immediately of any leave of absence in order to avoid overpayment. In the event of a subsequent leave of absence, the grant already paid out will be reclaimed. A subsequent leave of absence for a semester already in progress (e.g. due to illness etc.) must also be notified immediately. Failure to notify a leave of absence will result in a fine.

Half of the BAföG is paid as an interest-free loan. This is only to be repaid in monthly instalments 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period. For graduates of second degree programmes (here also the constellation Bachelor / Master), the maximum funding period of the first degree programme is decisive. Half of the total funding amount must be repaid. The loan must be repaid in equal monthly instalments of at least €130 within 20 years. If 77 monthly instalments have been paid, the remaining loan debt will be waived. This includes a Master’s programme funded after the Bachelor’s degree. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) in Cologne is centrally responsible for all questions relating to the repayment of the loan.

Explanation of the assessment notice from the BVA

A new educational phase begins with the start of the Master’s programme. A new BAföG application must be submitted for this. If the last Bachelor’s examination was completed no more than one month before the start of the Master’s programme and thus concludes the Bachelor’s programme, BAföG funding can be received for the month of the transition period to the Master’s programme if a new BAföG application is submitted in good time for this month. BAföG can only be received for the Master’s programme if it builds on a previously completed Bachelor’s or Bachelor’s degree. BAföG cannot be granted for the Master’s programme after a Diplom degree.

The maximum funding period is the maximum time for which you can receive BAföG in a degree programme. It can be seen on every notification and may change if you are studying abroad or are on leave of absence.

Germans within the meaning of the Basic Law are entitled to funding if the other requirements of the law are met. Foreign nationals can also be supported under certain conditions. If you have any questions, please contact the BAföG office.

As soon as the application has been calculated, you will receive a notification of the educational grant. Here you can see all the details of the grant and the calculation basis. The monthly grant amount is always paid out at the end of the month for the following month. If an additional payment is due, this will be transferred separately in advance if necessary.

In principle, BAföG training grants are calculated on the basis of the parents’ income. The requirements for parental-independent support are strictly regulated.

§ 11 Scope of the training grant

(3) 1 Parental income is also not taken into account if the trainee

1. attends an evening grammar school or college,
2. has reached the age of 30 at the start of the training period,
3. has been gainfully employed for five years at the start of the training period after reaching the age of 18, or
4. has been gainfully employed for three years or, in the case of a shorter period of training, for a correspondingly longer period of time at the start of the
5. training period after completing a previous training programme leading to a professional qualification lasting at least three years.

²Sentence 1 numbers 3 and 4 only apply if the trainee was able to support himself/herself from his/her earnings during the years of gainful employment.

If you have any application-related questions, you can book a personal consultation appointment online with the person responsible for you in the BAföG Service Centre under Service & Contact.

For data protection reasons, information may only be provided to the applicants themselves. Also, only the applicants themselves can submit applications or raise objections. If you would like another person you trust to do this on your behalf, you must issue a written authorisation and submit it to the BAföG office.

If an internship semester is completed, the internship contract must be submitted to the BAföG office immediately after completion. The payslips must be submitted collectively after the end of the authorisation period. Internship remuneration from a compulsory internship is counted as income towards the funding amount.

If you intend to change your specialisation but make the change of specialisation dependent on whether you continue to receive educational support, you can apply to the BAföG office for an advance decision. You will then find out before you have actually completed the change of specialisation whether you are still entitled to funding. You will need to explain why you intend to change your specialisation (see the information on changing your specialisation).

Advance decisions can also be made at the start of the degree programme if the age limit is exceeded. In this case, you should also do this before starting your degree programme.

If there is no contact with the parents or if they refuse to hand over the proof of income, this must be explained to the office in writing and proof of the unsuccessful request (copy of the letter and recorded delivery by post) must be submitted. The BAföG office will then request the proof of income directly from the parents.

From the 5th semester onwards, educational support can only be provided if the university certifies that the usual work of four semesters has been completed. This must be confirmed by the responsible full-time lecturer (authorised signatory) on Form 5. The level of achievement can also be verified by means of a certificate of the individually achieved ECTS credit points (transcript of records or status report) at the end of the respective semester.

If, in the first four months of a current fourth semester, a certificate of positively confirmed performance is submitted by the end of the third semester or this is positively proven on the basis of the ECTS credit points, this can serve as the basis for seamless further funding. When submitting the transcript of records from the fifth month of a current semester, the positive achievements of the current semester must always be proven.

If you are unsure about the proof of performance or if you are unable to provide proof of performance, it is worth consulting the BAföG office. We would also like to point out that deadlines must be observed for the timely submission of this proof (see above), and an application for further funding must also be submitted at the same time.

If you move, please inform the BAföG office by submitting the new tenancy agreement. The Federal Office of Administration in 50728 Cologne must be informed of any change of address after the end of the BAföG entitlement, as the loan portion of the BAföG is collected by the Federal Office of Administration.

Students who do not live in their parents’ home or in a flat owned by their parents can receive the increased needs rate for students who live outside their parents’ home. The amount of rent is irrelevant. A copy of the concluded tenancy agreement or a current rent certificate must be submitted once as proof.

If the approval period has expired, you must submit a repeat application if you wish to continue receiving educational support. This repeat application should be submitted in full to the BAföG office two months before the end of the authorisation period.

If you are studying at the University of Mannheim, the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, the Mannheim State University of Music and Performing Arts, the Mannheim School of Management, the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Mannheim, the University of Health Sciences Rhine-Neckar, Mannheim or the Popakademie Mannheim or are training to become a psychotherapist at a training centre in Mannheim, the BAföG office of the Studierendenwerk Mannheim is responsible for your BAföG application. If you are studying abroad, responsibility depends on the country in which you are studying.

If you receive a scholarship from one of the organisations for the promotion of gifted students (e.g. German National Academic Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, etc.), you will not be eligible for BAföG funding. As soon as the scholarship has been approved, the BAföG office must be informed of this by submitting the letter of approval. Other scholarships (e.g. from companies) are counted as income in full or in part. Proof of this must be submitted.

A second degree programme cannot generally be funded. There are a few exceptional cases in which educational support can also be provided for a second degree programme (e.g. completed sports studies, followed by a serious accident; the profession of sports teacher can no longer be pursued). A separate decision must then be made.

The Bachelor’s/Master’s constellation is not a second degree programme in this sense. However, an intended Master’s programme that builds on a completed diploma programme is.

If you have never applied for BAföG because you assume that you are not entitled to it due to your income and/or financial circumstances or the income situation of your parents, submit a short application. You can find the form under BAföG Service Centre and submit the tax assessment of your parents and, if applicable, your spouse for the calendar year before last. You will then receive a non-binding trial calculation from us. You can then decide whether you want to submit a formal application for BAföG.

An allowance can be granted for siblings who are in training and are supported by their parents. The BAföG office must be informed immediately if this education ends.

If you are studying abroad, the BAföG application must be submitted to the relevant BAföG International Office. Use the link www.bafög.de to find out which office is responsible for the country in question.

It is recommended that you submit the application for funding abroad six months before the start of your stay abroad.

The domestic BAföG office must be informed of the planned stay abroad so that the existing approval period can be adjusted if necessary. If the application is submitted in good time, it may be possible to close a funding gap between the domestic and international funding. If you have any questions, please contact your BAföG office.

A complete new application must be submitted for a subsequent study programme in Germany. You can find the application forms on our homepage in the BAföG-Service Center.

If it is not possible to submit a positive transcript of records at the beginning of the 5th semester, e.g. because you have not passed examinations, have been ill, have been involved in student committees or your studies have been delayed due to having children, you can submit an application to the BAföG office for later submission of the transcript of records in addition to your normal BAföG application (continued funding). A separate decision will be made on this application.

In principle, BAföG does not provide for the reimbursement of travelling expenses for domestic studies.

If the expected income of the parents, spouse or registered partner in the relevant year of the authorisation period is lower than the income earned in the calendar year before last, it is possible to submit an update application. Please note that all changes in income must be reported immediately and that an income update cannot be cancelled (even if it turns out in retrospect that the calculation based on the original income would have been more favourable).