We all know that Germany offers tuition-free education to both local and international students. This tuition-free education does not include living expenses. It is a must for international students to bear all their living expenses during their stay in Germany.
They require to open a blocked account/Sperrkonto for this purpose with a fixed deposit of 11,208 euros. Students require to show proof of this blocked account to get a student visa for Germany. It is hard to get a student visa without a blocked account, funding, or sponsor letter.
Usually, four German banks are offering blocked account facilities to international students. These banks are Deutsche Bank, Fintiba, Coracle, and Expatrio. Two Indian banks are also offering a blocked account facility same as offering German banks. These Indian banks are Kotak Mahindra Bank and Cox & Kings Financial Service Limited (CKFSL).
A blocked account in Kotak Mahindra Bank is suitable for those students who do not want to transfer their funds to Germany before getting visa approval. If you open a blocked account in a German bank, you must transfer the required amount to that bank. But with Kotak Mahindra’s blocked account, your money will stay in India until you request to transfer the funds to a German bank. Kotak Mahindra blocked account is acceptable at German missions in India and fulfill all the requirement of a student visa.
Documents required to open Kotak Mahindra blocked account:
Indian students need the following documents to open a blocked account in Kotak Mahindra Bank.
- Saving account opening form.
- ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ document as per Bank’s KYC grid. You can use one of these:
- Passport
- Voter Identity Card
- Driving Licence
- Job Card
- Letter issued by the National Population Register holding details of name and address
- Copy of the Passport.
- Copy of the university admission letter.
- Request to convert customer status from Resident to Non-Resident and change Resident Account to NRO.
- Outward Remittance form: the section for a beneficiary account and bank details must leave blank.
- A Cheque with a value equivalent to 11,208 euros. This cheque must be signed by the person who will provide finances to the student.
- Student request letter: An undertaking from the applicant to authorize Kotak Mahindra Bank to Freeze deposited money in the blocked account. This deposited money will remain frozen until the student request to transfer this blocked amount to his German bank account.
- INR 1,000 worth of blank stamp paper (email indemnity) that you can get from the district collector’s office or a local court.
Procedure to open Kotak Mahindra Blocked Account:
- Once you arrange 11,208 euros and all the documents mentioned above then visit the nearest branch of Kotak Mahindra bank. Tell the receptionist or operations manager that you want to open a blocked account to apply for a German student visa. Also, ask them, if they have the experience to open this account. If their answer is no, you have to go to Kotak Mahindra bank’s main branch. It is necessary to ask because most bank employees don’t know about this account and can make mistakes. So, clarify first and then proceed.
- After that, get a bank account opening form and fill it out with a bank employee’s help.
- Give them blank stamp paper on which they will print your email identity on your behalf. You can get this email identity format from the bank in advance as well and take a print from the stamp paper seller. It’s entirely your own choice which option you choose. This email identity is a confirmation that your account is legal and that Kotak bank can handle your account during your stay in Germany. This stamp-paper is necessary for Kotak Mahindra Bank to transfer the blocked amount to a German bank account in your absence.
- After that, the bank will take all the documents and tell you to wait until the blocked account is ready. Once the account is ready, the bank will call you to pick up your blocked account details from the bank. These details you can submit these with the visa application.
Things to do after arrival in Germany:
Open a student account in Germany
Once you land in Germany, relax one day and then try to open a student account in the local German bank. You are free to choose any bank to open a student account. This German bank account is necessary to get all the blocked amounts from Kotak Mahindra bank. Before finalizing any bank account, you can review this comparison of all students’ accounts that German banks offer. This comparison will help to choose the best bank account.
Get money from Kotak Mahindra Bank
Share account details with Kotak Mahindra bank after opening a student account in the desired German bank. Also, request them to transfer all the money to your German bank account. In the next few days, the funds will arrive in your account, and you can enjoy your stay in Germany.
FAQs about Kotak Mahindra blocked account:
Kotak Mahindra bank takes up to one week to confirm the submission of all the documents and money. The preparation of documents depends on the applicant and can take one day to 1 week.
Kotak Mahindra Bank doesn’t charge for this account. It’s a savings account so that you will get some additional money according to the set interest rate.
Deutsche bank is best according to my personal experience. But most of the international students prefer Fintiba to open a blocked account.
Know Your Customer (KYC) is a procedure that banks use to acquire customer information such as a home address, biometric picture, and other identity details. This entire process helps to ensure that the customer will not abuse the bank account. The bank can get a copy of any of your official documents (passport, voter identity card, etc.) as a KYC document.
