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This is a question for Nationals from Australia, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of South Korea, United States of America who have successfully obtained their Student Visa/Residence Permit to do their Ph.D.s in Germany.

I keep seeing the requirement of a minimum amount of €10,236/year in a German blocked bank account/Sperrkonto for the Student Visa. I have learned that international Ph.D. students in Germany are required to first get the Type D/National Visa then the Residence Permit. However, I am unclear if Ph.D. students are exempt from depositing €10,236 for each year of their studies in a German blocked bank account.

I will be receiving a salary (work contract/Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter) from my university and able to support myself, so does this waive the blocked account requirement? The P.D. program I applied to in Germany is three years long and I am unclear if I am expected to deposit €10,236 x 3 at once.

I also applied to a Ph.D. program in Sweden and they only require me to show proof of salary from the university I have been accepted to so I'm wondering if it's the same for Germany.

Vielen Dank im Voraus!

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  • Are you going to receive a work contract (As Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter), or just a scholarship paid by your University (without a work contract)?
    – Dr. Snoopy
    Mar 1, 2020 at 23:09
  • I will have a work contract.
    – user19710
    Mar 2, 2020 at 5:52
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    Then you should apply for a work visa, not a student visa, for which there are no blocked account requirements. Your work contract and your degrees are what you need to apply for a visa.
    – Dr. Snoopy
    Mar 2, 2020 at 7:21
  • A type D national visa covers a broad range of types, including employment. But the requirements to apply for such a visa depends on the purpose. So the most likely case is that you apply for a type D visa for employment, for which the documents required are different (AFAIK: no blocked account, but need an employment contract, among others).
    – GoodDeeds
    Mar 3, 2020 at 21:42

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Yes. I can expect that you will need to show the requested amount of money when applying for a residence permit (after getting visa and after entering Germany). Then you need to prove that you have this amount of money. Blocked account is only one of many possible ways to prove it. Another one would be a working contract with yearly salary higher than the requested amount.

However, getting student residence permit when having salary might be a very bad idea. With this type of residence permit you will not be allowed to change employers and work more than 240 half days per year without extra permission from immigration office. Besides this, in order to stay in Germany you will need to finish PhD or apply for a Blue Card. See my another answer for details.

So, as a PhD student with salary in Germany, consider applying for residence permit according to §18, 19a or 20 AufenthG, but not §16. In case of trouble, consult a lawyer, but do not agree with §16 to avoid problems in the future.

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