How I opened German Blocked Account - in 3 days
How I opened German Blocked Account
in 3 days
Hello Bharat,
I have received an admit for DDM course in Hochschule Esslingen starting September 2017.
And I’m a regular follower of your Youtube channel- Bharat in Germany! The kind of content and effort you put out there is really appreciable. And that is one good reason why I thought of reaching out to you.
As I began with the formalities for my German student visa application, one of the most important thing I realised to get sorted out was a blocked bank account (Sperrkonto) at a bank in Germany with at least 8640 Euro blocked in it. The German Missions in India suggests two options for getting it:
found that getting a Sperrkonto with Deutsche Bank is more common among student, as is widely accepted. So, I dived in for Deutsche Bank.
At first I looked out for a Deutsche Bank in my city and they had a branch. So, I contacted them and they said that they can help. But then I realized that they aren’t as helpful as they seemed. They said it will take around a month and half to get a Sperrkonto with a branch at Germany and for that- one needs to open up an account in India additionally, keep a fixed deposit of INR 50000 or higher with them for certain number of years and take a travel health insurance with HDFC Ergo for the entire duration of stay!!!
Fortunately, by then I had some idea and it took me no time to understand that all their terms are nothing but bogus investments from a student’s perspective. I then decided to get it done on my own.
I went through all the details on their website, especially the FAQs. Then I downloaded an applicable form for me available under the Forms tab. The form is self-explanatory and needs to be filled carefully. After that, I was required to schedule an appointment with the German Consulate for blocked account and get the following done:
get a copy of my passport and its data page attested by the German Consulate
get a copy of my admission letter attested by the German Consulate
carry the account opening form filled out, but only to be signed in the presence of a counselor at the German Consulate
arrange for a pickup from the German Consulate with a courier service provider (and share the details of the pickup with the German Consulate as the complete account opening documents, certified by the embassy, must be sent to Deutsche Bank by the German Consulate) to get the Sperrkonto account opening documents delivered to- Deutsche Bank, Privat und Geschäftskunden AG, Alter Wall 53, 20457 Hamburg, Germany. And for all that, the German consulate charged 20 Euro (payable in Indian currency) in cash. I tracked the courier online and waited for it to be delivered. And after that I thought of what everyone does- wait for an account opening email from Deutsche Bank, which takes time ranging from a week to a month and a half.
- Get a copy of my passport and its data page attested by the German Consulate
- Get a copy of my admission letter attested by the German Consulate
- Carry the account opening form filled out, but only to be signed in the presence of a counselor at the German Consulate
- Arrange for a pickup from the German Consulate with a courier service provider (and share the details of the pickup with the German Consulate as the complete account opening documents, certified by the embassy, must be sent to Deutsche Bank by the German Consulate) to get the Sperrkonto account opening documents delivered to- Deutsche Bank, Privat und Geschäftskunden AG, Alter Wall 53, 20457 Hamburg, Germany. And for all that, the German consulate charged 20 Euro (payable in Indian currency) in cash. I tracked the courier online and waited for it to be delivered. And after that I thought of what everyone does- wait for an account opening email from Deutsche Bank, which takes time ranging from a week to a month and a half.
But then I tried my luck and went to this link and using the ‘Contact Form’ link I filled in all the details as a ‘Non customer’, I received the account opening email within two days. Next, I had my funds ready to be transferred so I just went to the bank (can be any India based bank) where I had my funds and shared the details of my newly opened Deutsche Bank account for the fund transfer. After the transaction was done I again went for the ‘Contact Form’ and this time filled as a ‘Customer’ and filled in all the details and selected ‘Confirmation of money receipt not received’ under ‘Theme and Message’ and got the confirmation of money receipt within a day, which generally takes a week or two.
Since then, I have been trying to help and spread the word howsoever possible so that students can get this done in comparatively such a short span and also avoid making bogus investments which they shall regret later on for. And that’s when it also struck me to reach you.
From this document you must have also noticed that they have suggested another option to get a Deutsche Bank Sperrkonto, through Kotak Mahindra Bank. I was actually planning to go for that initially, but one of my friends had got it done through Kotak Mahindra Bank and she had such a tough time with it after reaching Germany that she suggested me to directly open a Sperrkonto with Deutsche Bank rather.
Also, as I mentioned in the beginning of my email there’s another option that is Fintiba. Thanks to Arko Bhattacharjee, as he shared some of his experience with me on going for a Sperrkonto through Fintiba. As he said, Fintiba is an agent and he got his Sperrkonto with Sutor (bank) through Fintiba. He also said that he went for Fintiba because it appeared to him simpler in terms of application as well as he could take care of most of the things online. And now that he has a Sperrkonto, he just needs to open an account at Germany (once he reaches there) and share its details with Fintiba. Fintiba will then transfer monthly pay-outs of 720 Euro every month to that account of his.
That’s all what I gathered from my personal experience and what I got to hear from other sources regarding a Sperkonto. Sorry for the length, but couldn’t be helped as the details are crucial.
I hope that helps.
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