The Chancenkarte's Money Requirement Just Went Up — Here's the 2026 Number

If you're planning to apply for Germany's Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) this year, one number in the requirements list has quietly moved since you last checked it. The financial self-sufficiency amount — the money you have to prove you can access every month while you job-hunt — is now €1,091 per month, according to both the Bundesagentur für Arbeit and German missions abroad. (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Auswärtiges Amt) It's not a huge jump from where it stood a year or two ago, but it's exactly the kind of quiet, easy-to-miss update that trips people up mid-application — you budget for last year's figure, open the account, and find out at submission that it's short.

Here's what the current number actually is, where it comes from, and how to prove it without over- or under-funding your account.

The number, in full

For 2026, applicants for the Chancenkarte must show:

• €1,091 per month available to them
• €13,092 total, if applying for the full 12-month validity the card allows
• Proportionally less for a shorter stay — the card's minimum validity of 91 days works out to roughly €3,309

That total isn't a one-time deposit you can spend down; it has to remain demonstrably available for the period the card covers, whether that's sitting in a blocked account or backed by a formal declaration of support. (Auswärtiges Amt)

Where this figure actually comes from

This isn't a number German immigration officials picked and will leave alone. Since September 2024, blocked-account minimums for both student visas and the Chancenkarte have been tied to the funding rate set under §13 BAföG — Germany's student financial aid law — rather than a fixed immigration-specific figure. When that BAföG rate moves, the blocked-account requirement moves with it, on both the student and Chancenkarte tracks. That's the mechanism behind the jump from €1,027/month in 2024 to €1,091/month now: nothing about the Chancenkarte itself changed, the underlying reference rate did.

Practically, that means this number is worth re-checking close to when you actually apply, not months in advance. If you fund a blocked account today for a visa appointment in six months, confirm the current rate again before you finalize the amount — a shortfall discovered at the embassy counter is a slower fix than checking a webpage twice.

How you're allowed to prove it

The blocked account (Sperrkonto) is the route most applicants use, and it's the most literal way to satisfy the requirement — a German bank confirms in writing both the total deposited and the amount released to you each month, capped so you can't withdraw more than the monthly allowance at once. But it isn't the only accepted method. Missions also accept:

• A Verpflichtungserklärung — a formal, legally binding declaration from someone (often a relative or friend already in Germany) agreeing to cover your living costs and any related public expenses for the stay
• A valid employment contract or firm job offer that itself demonstrates sufficient income
• Other verified income or assets, at the discretion of the reviewing mission

Which of these your specific embassy or consulate will accept — and how flexible they are about combining sources — varies somewhat by location, so it's worth confirming with your specific mission before committing to one path. (Auswärtiges Amt)

Why it's higher than the student rate — and what that tells you

If you've also looked into Germany's student blocked-account requirement, you may have noticed it sits lower: €992/month, €11,904/year for a full year — a figure Ankommo's own Blocked Account guide covers in detail for prospective students. Both numbers derive from the same BAföG-based table, just at different points on it, which is also why they've both moved in lockstep rather than one changing while the other stays flat. If you're weighing a Chancenkarte application against a student visa route — some applicants genuinely qualify for either — budget for the higher Chancenkarte figure if job-hunting is the real goal, since applying under the wrong category to save €99/month rarely makes sense once other differences (work-hour limits, permitted activities) are factored in.

The rest of the Chancenkarte, briefly

The financial requirement is one line item in a longer checklist. In short: applicants either qualify automatically with a professional qualification Germany fully recognizes, or need at least 6 points on a scale that credits things like partial qualification recognition, B2-level German or English, five-plus years of professional experience, being under 35, and existing ties to Germany. Once granted, the card is valid up to 12 months, allows part-time work of up to 20 hours a week plus unlimited two-week trial positions with prospective employers, and can convert into a longer "Folge-Chancenkarte" if you land qualifying work before the initial period runs out. (Bundesagentur für Arbeit)

If you're not sure whether you clear the points threshold in the first place, Ankommo's Chancenkarte Calculator walks through the same criteria and tells you where you stand before you get anywhere near a bank appointment.

The bottom line

The Chancenkarte's money requirement isn't dramatically different from a year ago, but €1,091/month is the figure to fund against right now — not the €1,027 that circulates on older blog posts and forum threads. Because it's indexed to a BAföG rate rather than fixed by law, expect it to keep drifting upward gradually rather than staying put, and re-verify the current amount close to your actual application date rather than trusting a number you saw months back.

Related on Ankommo

• Chancenkarte Calculator
• Germany Visa Checker
• Blocked Account Germany: Amount, Providers & Exemptions

Figures verified against the Bundesagentur für Arbeit and Auswärtiges Amt sources below as of July 2026.