The BAföG reform 2022 brings various improvements for students. We give you a first overview - without claiming to be complete. If you want to delve deeper into facts and figures, you can find official sources in our FAQ.
Before you dive into the details, here are the two most important messages:
State: 03.08.2022
New: On average, the BAföG-Freibeträge will increase by 5.75 %. The maximum funding amount is now 934,00 € per month. For comparison: Previously, it was 861,00 € per month.
Background: For BAföG, it is not the costs that you actually incur that are decisive. It is not possible to determine this individually for all BAföG applicants.
Instead, amounts have been determined that students estimate they need for their living expenses. These amounts are called "Bedarfssätze". They are lump-sum amounts intended to cover the average need for money for living expenses such as food and clothing, but also for educational costs such as textbooks and travel expenses.
New: The reform raises the age limit: Students now also benefit from a grant if they are under 45 years old at the start of the eligible studies.
Exceptions to this rule, such as raising or caring for children, continue to apply.
Background: You will also be supported with BAföG if you decide to study later. In comparison: Previously, students had to be under 30 when they started their Bachelor's degree and under 35 when they started their Master's degree.
New: The Elternfreibeträge – parental income allowance – for BAföG recipients will be increased by 20,75 percent.
This means that your parents can earn more without reducing your monthly BAföG amount. In addition, more students will be able to benefit from the support.
Background: Your parents' income will not be fully counted towards BAföG. There are so-called allowances – Freibeträge – that are deducted from the income.
New: A 520 € mini-job will not be taken into account for BAföG. This means: A 520 € mini-job does not affect how much BAföG you receive. There are no deductions.
Background: Your income is not completely counted towards BAföG. There are so-called "Freibeträge" that are deducted from your income.
Due to the increase in the legal minimum (from 01.10.2022), the mini-job earnings limit will also increase. A 450 € mini-job will become a 520 € mini-job. The tax-free amount will be adjusted to this.
New: The BAföG reform 2022 significantly increases the Vermögensfreibetrag - differentiated according to two age groups:
Students
Case 1: Up to 30th birthday: 15.000.00 €
Case 2: From 30th birthday: 45.000,00 €
Unchanged: Allowance for partnership and children
For students who are married or in a registered partnership, as well as for students with children, the tax-free amount increases by € 2,300.00 for each of the aforementioned persons. The reform does not change this.
Background: Before you are paid BAföG, you must use your own assets for your education. However, this only applies above a certain amount. The asset allowance describes the limit up to which your savings are not taken into account by the BAföG office. This sum remains untouched.
Before the reform, 8.200,00 € of assets were not taken into account for BAföG funding. If there were more assets, the difference had to be used in full to finance the education. It was therefore counted towards the subsidy.
New: The reform increases the Kinderbetreuungszuschlag from 150,00 to 160,00 € per child per month.
Background: BAföG recipients who care for one or more of their own children (under the age of 14) benefit from the Kinderbetreuungszuschlag. This is calculated per child.
New: As a result of the reform, funding is now also available for one-year courses of study that take place entirely abroad. For example, master's degree programs in non-EU countries as well.
New: Handwritten signatures are no longer required for BAföG applications. It is sufficient to enter your name as applicant at the end of the application.
And: Thanks to the reform, only a "normal" user account is required to submit an online application digitally on BAföG Digital.
Background:
BAföG applications in general: Officially, this is the elimination of the so-called "Schriftformerfordernis". It is replaced by the "Textformerfordernis" . The mention of the name replaces the signature.
BAföG Digital: You can submit your BAföG application analog (fill out forms) and digital. For the digital version, you must visit the BAföG Digital portal. Until now, a BAföG application submitted digitally from start to finish was only possible for students who used the eID function of their ID card. Without the eID function, students had to print out what was actually a digital application, sign it, and submit it by mail to the relevant office for educational grants. With the reform, this hurdle has been removed.
Important: This change only affects you if you already received BAföG before August 2019. It relates to the repayment of the loan taken out.
New: Students who had not requested a change in repayment modalities in 2020 will now automatically benefit from the new conditions.
Background: Former BAföG recipients who received BAföG before August 2019 were given the choice in 2020 whether to use a new or the old repayment mode. Part of the new mode is the cancellation of the remaining loan debt after 20 years. Provided your payment and cooperation obligations as a debtor are substantially met.
For more information on the two repayment models (old and new), please visit our umbrella organization: https://www.studentenwerke.de/de/content/baf%C3%B6g-r%C3%BCckzahlung-konditionen-%C3%A4ndern-sich
For new BAföG approvals, the changed conditions will apply from August or September 2022. Uniformly, they will apply from October 2022.
This means; For all those whose approval period began before August but extends beyond October, the new conditions will apply for October and all subsequent months.
Nothing! The BAföG reform will come into force in the winter semester 2022/2023 and will automatically be taken into account for everyone.
Everything remains the same, which means: You submit your follow-up application as usual. There is nothing more to consider. The new funding will be calculated automatically.
Our advice: Submit your initial or follow-up application as early as possible. In addition to the regular high workload at the beginning of the winter semester, our BAföG office still has to cope with the changeover. The more time there is for processing, the better.
Absolutely! Several allowances are increasing and age limits are being raised. This will also increase your chances of being eligible for BAföG.
One thing is certain: The changes are important and long overdue. However, the adjustments do not go far enough for us and all other student unions in Germany. They are merely a first step that must be followed quickly by further and greater ones.
This is how our umbrella organization, the Deutsches Studentenwerk, views the reform.
Statement by Matthias Anbuhl: https://www.studentenwerke.de/de/content/baf%C3%B6g-nach-der-novelle-ist-vor-der-reform
The reform is officially known as the „Siebenundzwanzigstes Gesetz zur Änderung des Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetzes“ or 27. BAföGÄndG. The officially promulgated version of this law can be found in the Federal Law Gazette of July 21, 2022 (Bundesgesetzblatt).
You can also read everything about BAföG on the portal of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
You don't understand everything that is changing? We can help you. If you have any questions, our BAföG team will be happy to help you! Just get in touch with us: Office hours and appointments
Most recently, there was a reform in 2019. You can find all the info about it at: BAföG reform 2019.
