Applying for a training grant under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG)

The aim of training assistance under the Federal Act on the Individual Promotion of Training (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz - BAföG) is to give young people the opportunity to complete a school or university education that matches their abilities and interests, regardless of their social and economic situation.

BAföG is generally granted for one year ("approval period"). The grant is awarded at the earliest at the beginning of the month of application, so the grant should be applied for in good time. The application processing takes up to a quarter of a year.

Requirements

Educational support is provided for attending

• Vocational schools and technical college classes that do not require a completed vocational training course, provided they offer a vocational qualification in a course of at least two years
• Vocational and technical secondary school classes, attendance of which requires completed vocational training
• Abendhauptschulen and Abendrealschulen in day form, Berufsaufbauschulen, Abendgymnasien (only for the last three school semesters before the final examination) and Kollegs
• Higher technical colleges and academies
• Universities

Attendance at

• Secondary general education schools from year 10 (grammar schools, intermediate secondary schools, lower secondary schools)
• Vocational schools from grade 10 (including the basic vocational training year)
• Fachschule and Fachoberschule classes whose attendance does not require completed vocational training

cannot generally be funded. Funding is only possible if the student has to live away from home. The Office for Educational Support will decide whether accommodation away from home is necessary.
Training assistance is also granted for the completion of an internship that is required in connection with attending the above-mentioned training institutions and whose content is regulated in training regulations.
Entitlement to training assistance also depends on personal requirements such as age, aptitude and nationality.
In addition to German nationals, foreign trainees with a migration background can also be supported under BAföG, provided they are already long-term residents or have the prospect of staying permanently.

Whether the personal requirements are met in individual cases and justify an entitlement to training support can only be determined in a binding manner by means of an application procedure.

When attending higher technical colleges, academies and universities, half of the amount is generally granted as an interest-free loan. In certain cases, however, funding is granted in full as an interest-bearing bank loan under private law.