Blocked account amount for the Germany Opportunity Card

The figure above is a monthly living-cost minimum you must show for each month of your first year in Germany, not a lump sum you hand over once — and a blocked account is only one of three ways to prove it.

The amount shown above is a monthly living-cost minimum: a fixed sum you must be able to show for each month of your first year in Germany, not a one-off payment you make once. It exists to prove you can support yourself without full-time work, and you can meet it in three different ways — you only need one of them to work.

Check the source and date above

That monthly figure is set by Germany's Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) and dated in the box above; it is reviewed periodically, so check the date before relying on an older quote or a forum estimate. The three routes are alternatives, not amounts you add together: a blocked account (Sperrkonto) that releases a fixed monthly sum to you, a formal declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) signed by a sponsor already living in Germany, or a part-time employment contract that pays enough on its own each month.

The application fee charged by the visa authority is separate from this living-cost amount, much smaller, and a one-time charge — unlike the living-cost figure, it is not refundable if your application is turned down. The living-cost money, by contrast, stays yours: it funds your early months in the country rather than being paid out to anyone else.

A blocked account is the most common route. A German bank, or one of several fintech providers now approved for this purpose, holds a full year's worth of the monthly minimum and releases it to you in equal monthly instalments after you arrive, rather than handing it over as a lump sum you could spend immediately. Opening one typically means paying the provider's own account-opening and maintenance charges, on top of and separate from the living-cost money itself.

A sponsor's declaration of commitment works differently. Someone already resident in Germany — often a relative, sometimes an employer — formally commits to covering your living costs and any public costs you might incur, and the immigration office checks that sponsor's own income and savings before accepting it. No money changes hands at the point of application; the commitment itself is what satisfies the requirement.

A part-time employment contract satisfies the requirement on its own only if the pay meets the monthly minimum without needing to be topped up by savings or a sponsor. A lower-paid or fewer-hours contract does not qualify by itself, and the immigration office will ask to see the contract's actual terms, not just an offer letter.

What to ask before you pay

• Which of the three routes — blocked account, sponsor's declaration of commitment, or a part-time employment contract — is this quote actually pricing, and is it the one that best fits your situation?
• If it's a blocked account: what does the provider charge to open and maintain it, and is that charge refunded if your visa is refused?
• Is the figure you've been quoted a monthly amount, or has it already been multiplied out for the year — and which one does your embassy expect to see?
• If you're relying on a sponsor's declaration of commitment instead, what proof of income or savings does the sponsor need to provide, and who checks it?
• Can you withdraw money from a blocked account before your visa is approved, and what happens to the account if the application is refused?
• Does the money you're being asked to pay go to the German government, or is part of it the provider's own service charge on top?

Check your own figure

Before you commit to a blocked-account provider or sign a sponsor's declaration, compare what you're being asked for against the published rules for the Opportunity Card — not against a forum estimate or a consultant's rounding. Use the check below: type in the figure you've been quoted and it places it against the published rules for this route — no account, no document needed. Already have a quote, a provider's contract, or a sponsor's letter in hand? Upload it for the complete document check instead — it compares your document against the published program rules.

General information, not legal advice.