Study financing for refugees

On average, students in Germany who do not live with their parents spend around 934 euros per month to finance their living costs. This sum includes rent, health insurance and semester fees, food, clothing and all other monthly costs.

To get this amount together, there are various financing options for refugee students, which we would like to inform about on this page. Often, it is only the interaction of the various options that leads to the sum that covers the costs of the studies.

Options for financing your studies

Since the issues surrounding student financing are very individual, a visit to the student financing counseling service is recommended in all cases. An overview of the basic options is provided in the video above. The more detailed information below has been conscientiously researched, but is without guarantee and does not replace personal counseling.

Financial support from the family

In Germany, it is common for parents to support their children financially until the end of their education, if this is possible for them.

For example, child benefit is often used to directly support children who are studying. Parents receive child benefit for their children in their initial education until the age of 25. This already finances a small part of their studies. Refugee families also have the option of receiving child benefits if they have the appropriate residence status.

Other models of partial financing by the family are of course conceivable and vary from person to person.

Support through BAföG

BAföG (short for Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz - Federal Training Assistance Act) refers to financial training assistance that students receive from the state if sufficient support from their parents is not possible. Half of the educational support is granted as a subsidy - a "gift", so to speak - and half as an interest-free state loan, which must be repaid in parts each month after completion of studies. The current maximum rate is 934 euros; the maximum repayment amount is 10,010 euros.

Under which circumstances refugee students can receive BAföG are regulated in §8 BAföG and 61 BAföG. There you can check whether your own residence title is listed. In this way, you can find out at an early stage whether BAföG funding is an option. The most important criteria are the residence title, one's age and academic history.

The contact for all questions regarding BAföG is the AKAFÖ (Akademisches Förderungswerk).

Own income through side jobs

Note: Refugees and persons granted asylum often have free access to the German labor market. However, this depends on the residence title and in some cases permission from the foreigners authority is required.

In Germany, it is common for students to earn extra money with part-time jobs. 520 euros or more can usually be earned in this way. Whether as a student assistant, mini-jobber in the supermarket or commercially in the promotion area: there are many possibilities to become gainfully employed alongside your studies. A positive side effect is the work experience you gain on the side, which can be helpful when looking for a job later on.

However, your studies always come first! Thus, it should be avoided at all costs to work more than 20 hours per week, as otherwise, in addition to the lack of time for studies, there are also consequences with regard to the student health insurance contribution.

MORE INFORMATION

Scholarships for refugees

Many foundations and organizations run support programs not only for German or international students, but also specifically for students with a refugee background.

In Germany, there are 13 scholarships for gifted students that provide financial and non-material support for students with above-average academic achievements.

INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAMS

You can find out more about the specific opportunities and conditions for applying at the scholarships for the gifted. Among others, the gifted support organizations include:

Avicenna Foundation
Cusanuswerk - Episcopal scholarship program
Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
Hans Böckler Foundation
Heinrich Böll Foundation
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
Study Foundation of the German People

At RUB, particularly successful students can apply annually for the so-called Deutschlandstipendium, which offers a monthly grant of 300 euros.

The International Office also offers scholarships that are specially tailored to students with a refugee background. The monthly funding amount is 300 euros if you receive BAföG at the same time. If you do not receive BAföG, then the funding through the scholarship can also be higher.

Further funding organizations

For individual scholarship advice, please contact: studienfinanzierung@rub.de.

Taking out a student loan

If all other options for financing studies fail or are insufficient, students have the option of financing their living expenses through a student loan. However, this is often associated with difficult conditions or high interest rates. Therefore, taking out a loan should be thoroughly considered and the loan should be kept as small as possible.

Before applying, it is essential to obtain independent advice, for example from the RUB's student finance advisory service: studienfinanzierung@rub.de.

Offers for refugee students

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