Iranians applying for a German student visa
There are two cases when applying for a visa and opening a blocked account for Iranian citizens. There is a difference between persons residing in Iran and persons residing outside of Iran.
Iranian nationals applying for a German student visa in Iran (Tehran), do not require a blocking confirmation for the visa application. Instead, after your arrival in Germany, you will be asked by the German authorities to prove your financial means in order to validate your visa, which was issued by the German Embassy in Tehran. In most cases, this information is also written on the supplementary sheet of your visa in your passport. For this, you can open a blocked account with Fintiba.
Please note that if you are an Iranian citizen, who resides abroad and your visa was issued outside Iran, this does not apply to you. In this case, you should open a blocked account for the visa application from abroad. The precise requirements for this are described below.
What is a blocked account and how does it work?
A blocked account is a bank account that is opened to fulfil the student visa application requirements for Germany. For the authorities, this is the preferred way for students to prove sufficient financial means for their stay in the country. More than 90% of international students opt for a blocked account to prove their financial stability to obtain a visa.
Please note that you cannot immediately access all the money from your blocked account after you arrive in Germany. The concept of the blocked account is that the money is transferred to you in monthly instalments. This way, the German state has a guarantee that an applicant will have enough money throughout the entire period of their stay. Thus, the risk of spending it all right at the beginning is eliminated. Once the money is in the account, the respective provider issues a blocking confirmation. This document must be submitted to the authorities to prove that you have the necessary funds for your stay. After the visa or residence permit has been issued, you can set up your monthly withdrawals from the blocked account by connecting it to a regular bank account (Girokonto in German).
Does Fintiba open blocked accounts for Iranian students?
Yes, it is possible for Fintiba to open an account for Iranian nationals. However, clients must prove that their current place of residence is outside Iran. This is due to the fact that Fintiba strictly adheres to all relevant German and EU banking regulations for financial providers, such as compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and more. Thus, Fintiba is obliged to comply with enhanced due diligence measures when opening blocked accounts for customers from Iran, which is one of the so-called high-risk countries.
So, what is the legitimate way to open a Blocked Account with Fintiba for an Iranian student living in Iran who wants to travel to Germany for the purpose of education?
Most steps you have to take to get a student visa to travel to Germany from Iran are similar to those other students have to follow. To start, you need a proof of admission from a German education institution. To apply for a visa, you need to submit the required documents for the visa application at the embassy.
BUT if you are still living in Iran, you do not need to open a blocked account, because the German embassy in Teheran can issue a student visa without this requirement.
HOWEVER, after your arrival in Germany, you must open a blocked account to apply for a residence permit. For this, you will need to provide a proof of your new current resident address in Germany.
If you are an Iranian living outside Iran, you have to open a blocked account BUT you will need to provide a proof of your address in the current country of residence.
If you are curious to find out more about the whole visa application process and get a step-by-step guidance to apply for the visa, check our dedicated video course: How To Get Your German Student Visa Application Done — Quickly and Stress-Free in the Fintiba Academy.
