The following institution is also an informative contact point with regard to questions on educational funding:
Bezirksregierung Köln
50606 Cologne
Tel.: 0221 / 147 4990
auslandsbafoeg@bezreg-koeln.nrw.de
The District Government of Cologne is responsible nationwide for the implementation of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) for all students studying in the Benelux countries. Information about the requirements: Bezirksregierung Köln website
[The District Government of Cologne website] Under certain circumstances, study funding granted by the Dutch side may also be possible for German citizens, provided they are younger than thirty years old. In principle, the following conditions must be met:
Either they must be employed in a job which subject to social security contributions of at least 56 hours a month – or one parent or partner of the student must have Dutch citizenship, or work in the Netherlands.
Student funding consists of three parts: a basic part, a parent-dependent part and a possible loan. More information on this and on possible partial tuition fee refunds / Collegegeldkrediet can be obtained from the IB-Groep / DUO, where the university registration formalities are also arranged: DUO
In the past, it was regularly not possible to claim German and Dutch student finance at the same time! In individual cases, it is necessary to check exactly which study financing is more advantageous. It should be added that, generally, the German child supplement can also be granted until the age limit of 25 is reached.
On the question of whether financial support for the costs of rented accommodation from the public sector may also be considered (“huurtoeslag”), see the following website: Toeslagen
Scholarships and educational loans
When looking for suitable financing options, scholarships should also be considered. The German Academic Exchange Service has a particularly helpful scholarship database:
This is a search engine for scholarships sorted by country and subject. Because of these combination options, it enables an individual, situation-related search: www.daad.de or http://www.stipendienlotse.de/
Information on scholarships and so-called education loans is available at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) or at StipendiumPlus. Here you will also find further links to the organisations for the promotion of gifted students supported by the above-mentioned Federal Ministry:
- Cusanuswerk
- Evangelisches Studienhilfswerk e.V. Villigst [Protestant Student Aid Organisation Villigst]
- Friedrich Ebert Foundation
- Friedrich Naumann Foundation
- Hanns Seidel Foundation
- Hans Böckler Foundation
- Heinrich Böll Foundation
- Konrad Adenauer Foundation
- Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
- Foundation of German Business
- German Academic Scholarship Foundation
For educational loans, the following homepage with further links provided by the German Academic Exchange Service and the Federal Office of Administration is also of particular interest: BVA Bund
Finally, reference should be made to a special “funding homepage” of the Federal Government, where there is also a reference to the BAföG hotline: 0800-22 36 341 and 0800-26 23 008: http://www.foerderinfo.bund.de/