Apply for educational grants and additional benefits for hardship cases

Are you receiving financial aid under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) and living in a boarding school during your studies? Here you can find out in which cases you may be eligible for additional financial support.

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BAföG Digital

Detailed description

You receive your student financial aid under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) as a fixed lump sum. In exceptional cases, known as hardship cases, you may be eligible for additional support. A hardship case exists when special personal or financial circumstances necessitate additional assistance. This could include, for example, accommodation in a boarding school. In this case, you may be granted additional benefits to cover your accommodation costs.

 

Information

Prerequisites

  • You are entitled to educational assistance under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG).
  • Your case is one of hardship, requiring additional support (for example, boarding school placement).

Documents required

If you wish to submit your application in writing:

  • Assumption of boarding school costs: "Form 02" on which the school confirms the costs incurred.

Please note

The office responsible for BAföG in Hamburg, within the Authority for Science, Research and Equality, can be reached via the functional mailbox bafoegfvfl@bwfg.hamburg.de

Deadlines

You must submit your application for additional benefits together with your BAföG application. You should submit the application 2 months before the start of your training.

Procedure

If you would like to submit your application online:

  • You access the online service.
  • You log in using the online ID function of your identity card, your electronic residence permit or your European eID.
  • You fill out the application online and upload any necessary documents.
  • The relevant authority will review your application.
  • If any documents are missing, the responsible authority will request them from you.
  • You will receive notification as to whether the additional benefits for your BAföG (Federal Training Assistance Act) have been approved.
  • If you receive a positive response, the payments will be transferred to your specified account.

If you wish to apply for BAföG in writing:

  • You visit the website of the responsible authority and download the necessary application forms and documents.
  • You fill out all the required documents and send them to the responsible authority.
  • All further steps are the same as for the online application.

Processing time

If your documents are complete, processing may take up to 6 weeks.

Fees

There are no costs involved.

Legal remedies

Contradiction

Legal basis

Section 14a of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG)


https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/baf_g/__14a.html

Links on the Internet

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Keywords: Hardship cases Education funding BAföG Federal Training Assistance Act Apply for additional BAföG benefits

Last updated: 11.10.2026