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

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

  • Schule, Ausbildung und Studium 



    	    

		    
Under the BAföG, individual educational assistance is granted if trainees do not otherwise have the necessary means to support themselves and their education. This is intended to enable individuals - regardless of their family's economic situation - to pursue the education they have chosen based on their interests and abilities. The aim is to open up comparable educational opportunities for all trainees.

		    


                					    

						    

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							    Basic information
						    

						    

							    

								    
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
Training assistance is provided for attendance at 


  • Vocational schools and technical school classes, attendance of which does not require completed vocational training, provided they offer a vocational qualification in a course of education lasting at least two years.
  • technical and specialized upper secondary school classes, attendance at which requires completed vocational training
  • Evening secondary schools and evening real schools in day form, postgraduate vocational schools, evening grammar schools (only for the last three school semesters before the final examination) and colleges
  • Higher technical schools and academies
  • Universities

 Attendance at 


  • secondary general schools from grade 10 (grammar schools, secondary modern schools, lower secondary schools)
  • Vocational schools from grade 10 (including the basic vocational training year)
  • technical colleges and specialized upper secondary schools, attendance at which does not require completed vocational training

cannot be supported as a rule. Support is only possible if the trainee necessarily lives outside the parental home. The Office for the Promotion of Education will decide on any necessary accommodation away from home. 

 Training assistance is also granted for the completion of an internship that is required in connection with attendance at the above-mentioned training institutions and whose content is regulated in training regulations. 

 An entitlement to training assistance is also dependent on personal requirements such as age, aptitude and nationality. 

 In addition to German nationals, foreign trainees with a migration background can in principle also be supported under BAföG, provided they already have a long-term right of residence or a permanent perspective of staying.  

Whether the personal requirements are met in the individual case and justify an entitlement to training assistance can only be determined with binding effect 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, the subsidy is granted in full as an interest-bearing bank loan under private law.