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COST OF LIVING

What students in Germany should know about the €200 energy payout

Germany agreed to offer a €200 lump sum to support students and trainees with higher energy bills. Here's what we know.

Published: 18 November 2022 16:40 CET
Updated: 1 December 2022 15:00 CET
Students sit in a lecture at Hanover University.
Many federal states are planning to offer discounted tickets to students that will be valid for public transport across Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Julian Stratenschulte

What’s happening?

Students in Germany can look forward to a bit of extra cash in the near future: a €200 energy relief payout was agreed upon in Germany’s Bundestag on Wednesday. 

Details of the one-off payment for students were originally set out in the government’s third energy relief package, which included a range of measures to help the population with the rising cost of living.

Students are the third group to receive a lump sum for their energy bills. In September, employees in Germany received €300 on top of their usual wages, while pensioners are also set to get a €300 payout by December 15th.

Who’s eligible for the payment – and when can they get it? 

Around 3.4 million students enrolled in programmes at a university or technical college will be eligible for the payout, provided they have their main residence in Germany. Technical colleges, or Fachhochschulen, are specialised universities where teachers, engineers and business administrators are trained. 

Regardless of whether students are undertaking an academic or vocational programme, the main criterion for eligibility will be that they are enrolled at a higher education institute by December 1st this year. 

According to the Ministry of Education, students will receive the money in early 2023, although an exact date hasn’t been named.

READ ALSO: When will people in Germany get their December gas bill payout?

How do students and trainees get it?

Unlike the energy relief payments for employees and pensioners this year, students won’t receive their €200 payment automatically. 

Instead, the Education Ministry is working to create a digital platform where students can apply for the money. It is still a bit up in the air when students will be able to submit their claims or when the deadline will be. 

Germany is set to spend €680 million for around 2.95 million students and 450,000 pupils. The flat-rate energy allowance is not to be taxed or counted toward any social benefits.

Why are students receiving financial support?

With inflation soaring to record levels in recent months, many students – who often rely on minimum-wage jobs and so-called Bafög grants – have been struggling to make ends meet.

On Wednesday, data released by the Federal Office of Statistics revealed that 38 percent of students in Germany were at risk of falling below the poverty line last year.

People who earn less than 60 percent of the median income in Germany are considered to be at risk of poverty, according to the EU.

Since low-income households are disproportionately affected by the rising cost of living, the government has pledged to step in with additional financial support. 

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: 10 ways to save money on your groceries in Germany

What are people saying?

Speaking to Handelsblatt earlier in November, the German Student Union hit out at the government for dragging its feet on the payout since deciding on the measure in September. 

Many students need the money now because of exploding prices, secretary general Matthias Anbuhl explained. He said the Bundestag must now pass the one-off payment quickly and the money must be paid out as soon as possible.

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STUDYING IN GERMANY

Where can university students in Germany get a ‘Deutschlandticket’ for €29?

Originally launched year ago for €49 a month, the Deutschlandticket allows holders to take unlimited trips around Germany on regional and local transport. As of April it's been rolled out at universities across the country - with a big student discount. But not everyone is eligible.

Published: 3 April 2024 11:37 CEST
Where can university students in Germany get a 'Deutschlandticket' for €29?

The summer semester in Germany started in April, which means that many of the approximately three million students can take advantage of a discounted Deutschlandticket for €29.40. 

The popular transport ticket, launched on May 1st of last year, allows for unlimited nationwide travel on local and regional busses and trains.

However not all Unis are taking part, especially in cases where their previous ‘semester ticket’ is cheaper. Here’s an overview of where the tickets is available to students around the country.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in April 2024

Baden-Württemberg

In Ba-Wü, the “D-Ticket JugendBW” has been available since December for €365 per year. Like the Deutschlandticket, both tickets entitle the holder to use buses and trains on local transport throughout the Bundesrepublik.

Bavaria

Bavaria continues to go its own way with the €29 “Bavarian discount ticket” (Bayerische Ermäßigungsticket), which has been available to students, trainees and volunteers since September. It also allows for unlimited local and regional transport throughout the country, and for 40 cents cheaper per month than its nationwide competitor.

Berlin and Brandenburg

Of the 36 universities that already have semester ticket agreements with the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB), around 80 percent have opted for the Deutschlandticket at a monthly price of €29.40, according to the Berlin Senate Transport Administration. Students who opt for a semester ticket – which will also allow for use of regional and local trains nationwide – can expect to pay €32 in Berlin and €34 to €36 in Brandenburg.

READ ALSO: Working hours to visas: The new rules for international students in Germany

Hamburg and Hesse

The 120,000 students at 17 universities in Hesse and around 85,000 students at 25 universities in Hamburg have been able to use public transport throughout Germany with the new Deutschlandticket since the beginning of March or the beginning of April, depending on when their semester starts.

Rhineland-Palatinate

In neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate, the Deutschlandticket for students will initially be launched in Mainz and Trier in the summer semester, with Koblenz to follow suit in the winter semester.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Most universities in Germany’s most populous state have also switched from the previous semester ticket to the discounted Deutschlandticket at the start of the new semester. They include the universities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Münster, Bochum, Duisburg-Essen and Bonn, TU Dortmund University and the universities in Aachen and Bielefeld. Others are to follow in the winter semester. 

Unlike the Deutschlandticket, the previous semester ticket was only valid regionally.

Tram Leipzig

A tram drives through Leipzig. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jan Woitas

Saxony

Most students at universities in Saxony will be able to use the discounted Deutschlandticket from the summer semester – for example in Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau. An agreement with Chemnitz University of Technology is currently being finalised, according to the Central Saxony Transport Association. .

Saxony-Anhalt

In many places, the regional semester ticket is considerably cheaper than the nationwide Deutschlandticket – for example at the universities in Magdeburg, Wernigerode and Stendal. As surveys among students are still ongoing, the changeover can only take place there for the winter semester at the earliest, a spokeswoman for the Magdeburg Student Union told DPA.

In Halle and Merseburg, on the other hand, students have been able to use discounted Deutschlandticket nationwide from April 1st.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

In the northwestern state, only the University of Rostock is taking part. The University of Greifswald and the universities of Stralsund and Neubrandenburg have decided against the ticket.

Lower Saxony, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen

In Lower Saxony and Saarland, the Deutschlandticket for students will not be introduced until the winter semester. The same applies in the northern city-state of Bremen.

Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein is also aiming to offer the ticket for the 2024/25 winter semester. Planning is still ongoing, according to the University of Lübeck’s student association.

Thuringia

If at all, the Deutschlandticket for students will not be available until the winter semester, but likely only at major university locations such as Erfurt and Jena.

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