BAföG for international students: who is eligible?

Last updated: 8 November 2026

If you do not hold a German passport, you will only be eligible for BAföG under certain conditions. These are set out in Section 8 BAföG. The key factors are your nationality, your residence status and the length of time you or your parents have lived and worked in Germany. This guide goes through the rules paragraph by paragraph so that you can see which category you fall into.

Who is eligible for BAföG as a foreign national?

BAföG is available to students and school pupils. It is a form of state educational support. Section 8 BAföG divides those eligible into four groups:

• Paragraph 1: Germans, EU citizens and EEA citizens with a specific status, foreign nationals with permanent residence, recognised refugees and stateless foreign nationals. There is no waiting period.
• Paragraph 2: Foreign nationals with certain residence permits; for some, eligibility only applies after 15 months’ residence. You must also have a permanent residence in Germany.
• Paragraph 2a: Persons with a Duldung (tolerated stay) who have been in Germany continuously for 15 months.
• Paragraph 3: all other foreign nationals, provided that they or a parent have lived and worked in Germany for a sufficiently long period.

In addition, there are the general requirements, such as an eligible course of study and the age limit. Nationality merely determines whether you belong to the group of eligible recipients. How much money you receive depends further on your parents’ income; the maximum rate serves as the upper limit.

Studying on a visa: generally no BAföG

Most international students enter Germany on a visa or a residence permit for study purposes in accordance with Section 16b of the Residence Act (AufenthG). This residence permit does not appear in paragraph 1 or in the list in paragraph 2. As long as you are in Germany solely for the purpose of studying, you are therefore generally not entitled to BAföG. This also applies even if your degree programme at a German higher education institution would otherwise be eligible for funding.

You may become eligible if your status changes. This can happen, for example, if you marry a German national (Section 28 of the Residence Act), if you are granted protected status, or if you are granted a settlement permit. Paragraph 3 may also apply if you have already lived and worked in Germany for several years prior to your studies (see below).

You will therefore need to plan your finances differently: for the visa application, you must in any case prove that you have sufficient means to support yourself (Section 5 of the Residence Act). With a residence permit, you are allowed to work up to 140 working days a year under Section 16b(3) of the Residence Act; part-time student jobs do not count towards this limit. You can find information on earning extra income in the guide for working students, whilst the overview of scholarships outlines alternative options.

EU citizens, EEA citizens and Swiss nationals

A passport from an EU country is not sufficient for BAföG. Section 8(1) BAföG is linked to your right of residence under the Freedom of Movement Act (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU). For EU citizens, there are three options:

• Employee or self-employed person (No. 3): Under Section 2(2) of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU, you are entitled to freedom of movement as an employee or self-employed person. This also applies to your family members and close relatives (Section 1(2) Nos. 3 and 4 of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU), for example spouses, civil partners and children. Children aged 21 and over are also covered if they do not receive financial support from their parents. Example: Your mother works in Hamburg; you moved to Germany with her and have the right of residence as a family member.
• Previous employment (No. 4): You worked in Germany before starting your degree, and the nature of the work is relevant to your course of study. Example: You worked as a care assistant and are now starting a degree in nursing. This option does not apply to family members.
• Permanent residence (No. 2): After five years of lawful residence, you are entitled to permanent residence. Details are set out in the next section.

Nationals of the EEA states Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are treated in the same way under No. 5. The same applies to Swiss nationals. Although Switzerland is not part of the EEA, under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the EU, its nationals are treated in the same way as EEA citizens under No. 5 for BAföG purposes, and under No. 2 in the case of permanent residence. You provide proof of this with your residence permit (paras 8.1.7 and 8.1.14 of the BAföG administrative regulations (BAföGVwV)).

Residence card: As an EU citizen, you do not need a residence card for BAföG. Under Section 5(1) of the Freedom of Movement Act (FreizügG/EU), it is intended only for family members entitled to freedom of movement who are not themselves EU citizens, such as the Turkish husband of a Polish worker. You can prove your entitlement yourself with your passport or identity card, a certificate of registration and evidence of your employment, such as an employment contract and payslips.

Official language: German
By the way, all documents must be submitted in German. Should your BAföG office ask you to have certain documents translated, such as your parents’ tax assessment notice, we recommend using Lingoking’s translation service.

Long-term residence and settlement permit

Under Section 8(1)(2) BAföG, you are entitled to student finance without a waiting period and without having to provide proof of employment if you have one of the following rights:

• As a citizen of the European Union or a family member of such a citizen, the right of permanent residence under Section 4a of the Freedom of Movement Act (FreizügG/EU). You generally acquire this right after five years of continuous lawful residence.
• As a third-country national, you must hold a settlement permit (Section 9 of the Residence Act) or a permanent residence permit for EU citizens (Section 9a of the Residence Act).

Example: A Spanish woman has been living in Germany for six years and is starting a degree course. She is not working, but has acquired the right of permanent residence. She is therefore eligible.

Recognised refugees and asylum

For those seeking protection, there are two routes to financial support:

• Paragraph 1, No. 6: You have your habitual residence in Germany, have been recognised as a refugee outside Germany in accordance with the Geneva Convention on Refugees, and are permitted to stay on a more than temporary basis. No. 7 covers stateless foreign nationals.
• Paragraph 2, No. 1: You hold a residence permit under Section 25(1) or (2) of the Residence Act (AufenthG). Paragraph 1 applies to persons entitled to asylum; paragraph 2 applies to refugees and persons entitled to subsidiary protection. There is no waiting period, but you must have a permanent residence in Germany.

As long as your asylum proceedings are ongoing and you only have a provisional permission to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung), you are not yet eligible for support. As soon as the Federal Office has granted you protection status and the Foreigners’ Registration Office has issued your residence permit, you can submit your application. However, in the case of a ban on deportation under Section 25(3) of the Residence Act, the 15-month waiting period applies (see below).

Residence permit under Section 8(2) BAföG

Paragraph 2 applies to foreign nationals who are not covered by Paragraph 1 but who have their permanent residence in Germany. The waiting period that applies to you depends on the section under which your residence permit is issued. You will find this on the title page. Without a waiting period (No. 1), you are eligible for support with a permit under:

• Section 22 of the Residence Act (admission from abroad on grounds of international law or urgent humanitarian reasons)
• Section 23(1), (2) or (4) of the Residence Act (admission by a federal state, admission by the federal government, resettlement of persons seeking protection)
• Section 23a of the Residence Act (cases of hardship)
• Section 25(1) or (2) of the Residence Act (asylum, refugee protection, subsidiary protection)
• Section 25a of the Residence Act (well-integrated adolescents and young adults)
• Section 25b of the Residence Act (sustainable integration)
• Section 28 of the Residence Act (family reunification with German nationals, for example as a spouse or as a parent with custody of a German child)
• Section 37 of the Residence Act (right of return)
• Section 38(1)(2) of the Residence Act (former German nationals)
• Section 104a of the Residence Act and Section 104c of the Residence Act (provisions for long-standing cases, right of residence based on prospects)
• Section 30, Sections 32 to 34 and Section 36(2) of the Residence Act, if you are the spouse, civil partner or child of a foreign national holding a settlement permit or a long-term EU residence permit

For the following residence permits (No. 2), you must also have been residing in Germany lawfully, with permission or on a tolerated basis for at least 15 months without interruption:

• Section 25(3) of the Residence Act (prohibition on deportation), paragraph 4, second sentence (extension in cases of exceptional hardship) and paragraph 5 (obstacle to departure through no fault of one’s own)
• Section 31 of the Residence Act (spouse’s independent right of residence)
• Section 30, Sections 32 to 34, Section 36(2) and Section 36a of the Residence Act (family reunification with beneficiaries of subsidiary protection), if you are the spouse, civil partner or child of a foreign national with a residence permit

Example: You entered the country 20 months ago, initially went through an asylum procedure and subsequently obtained a residence permit under Section 25(5) of the Residence Act. The period during which you held an Aufenthaltsgestattung (provisional permission to stay) counts towards this; you have reached the 15-month threshold.

Paragraph 4 protects spouses and civil partners who are themselves eligible for support under paragraph 1 or 2: they do not lose their entitlement if they live permanently apart or if the marriage is dissolved, provided they continue to reside lawfully in Germany.

Duldung (tolerated stay) under Section 8(2a) BAföG

Even with a Duldung (tolerated stay) under Section 60a of the Residence Act (AufenthG), you may be eligible for financial support. Section 8(2a) BAföG stipulates two requirements: a permanent residence in Germany and an uninterrupted period of residence of at least 15 months, which was lawful, authorised or tolerated.

Example: Your asylum application has been rejected; you have been in Germany for 18 months and have had a Duldung (tolerated stay) for half a year. The time spent in the asylum procedure counts towards this. You will meet the requirement if your stay has not been interrupted during this period.

Whether you grew up here or have been working here for a long time: Section 8(3) BAföG

If you do not fall into any of the groups mentioned so far, Section 8(3) BAföG may be of help to you. One of the two conditions must be met, assessed before the start of the eligible part of the course:

• You yourself have resided in Germany for a total of five years and have been lawfully gainfully employed.
• One of your parents has resided in Germany for a total of three years over the last six years and has been lawfully gainfully employed.

Example: You hold a Chinese passport, and your mother has been working in Germany for five years. In that case, she meets the parental requirement, and you are eligible for funding. Studying alone does not count as gainful employment.

What counts as gainful employment is governed by the administrative regulations on Section 8 BAföG. A person is considered to be in gainful employment if they work either self-employed or as an employee and can support themselves from their earnings (para. 8.3.5). A small part-time job from which you cannot make a living is not sufficient for this purpose, nor is a training allowance on its own. The five or three years may consist of several periods; interruptions do not affect eligibility (para. 8.3.2). In the case of a parent who has worked for at least six months, periods of illness resulting in incapacity for work, maternity leave and parental leave, as well as periods of unemployment during which unemployment benefit was received under SGB III, also count. Periods during which they received basic income support under SGB II do not count (para. 8.3.9). You must provide evidence of these periods in the form of residence permits, a confirmation from your employer and proof of your earnings, such as tax assessment notices or insurance documents (para. 8.3.8).

There are exemptions in three cases: The requirements are also deemed to be met for a single further stage of education, such as a Master’s degree following a Bachelor’s, provided you continue your studies without delay. If a parent has not worked for a reason beyond their control, the authorities may waive this requirement, provided they have been in gainful employment in Germany for at least six months. And if the requirements are only met during the course of the education, entitlement begins from that point onwards.

Furthermore, under Section 8(5) BAföG, other legal and administrative provisions entitling foreign nationals to educational support remain unaffected.

What the 2027 BAföG reform is set to change in Section 8

The government’s draft of the 30th BAföG Amendment Act (Parliamentary Paper 21/8405, first reading in the Bundestag on 15 October 2026) has not yet been published. Until then, Section 8 applies in the version described above. The draft amends the provision only in Article 1(5):

• Family members and close relatives of EEA nationals are no longer to be eligible for support on the basis of previous employment (No. 4). No. 4 is to apply only to the EEA nationals themselves.
• In paragraph 2(1), references have been editorially amended.

Both provisions would come into force on 1 April 2027, subject to the Bundestag’s approval. Nothing will change for students holding a visa or for the groups referred to in paragraphs 2, 2a and 3. Further details on the proposed legislation can be found in the article on the 2027 BAföG reform.

Here’s how to proceed

First, check which group you fall into based on your residence permit or your proof of freedom of movement. You submit your application to the responsible BAföG office; you can find the steps and forms under Apply for BAföG. The office will ask for proof of your residence status, and the other papers are listed under BAföG documents. If you are unsure, submit the application anyway: the office checks your eligibility itself and decides by notice.

Frequently asked questions about BAföG for foreign nationals