Send Money from India to Germany 2026: SWIFT, Blocked Account

How to Send Money from India to Germany (with Blocked Account Guide) 2026

You send money from India to Germany by SWIFT wire through an RBI-authorised dealer into a 22-character German IBAN with the bank’s BIC. India is not in SEPA, so a SEPA transfer is not an option from an Indian account. Expect 1 to 3 working days, GST on the conversion and TCS based on the purpose.

Key facts

• A German IBAN is 22 characters: DE, two check digits, eight-digit Bankleitzahl, ten-digit account number.
• SEPA covers roughly 40 European countries and territories. India is not one, so transfers from India go by SWIFT.
• Blocked account (Sperrkonto) amount: EUR 11,904 for 12 months (EUR 992 per month), the figure in force since September 2024. Check the German mission website before you send.
• TCS from 1 April 2026: 2% above INR 10 lakh for self-funded education, 0% on loan-funded education, 20% above INR 10 lakh for family maintenance and gifts.
• LRS limit: USD 250,000 per resident individual per financial year, all purposes combined.
• EUR/INR was roughly 109 to 111 in early September 2026. Use the live rate on the day.

SEPA or SWIFT: which one applies from India

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is the scheme that lets a bank account in Germany pay a bank account in France or Spain as if it were a domestic transfer, usually free and within one working day. It works only between accounts inside the SEPA zone. The European Payments Council maintains the list, and India is not on it.

That means every transfer from an Indian bank account to a German one is a SWIFT wire. Your Indian authorised dealer sends a message through the SWIFT network, often via a correspondent bank in Frankfurt or New York, and the German bank credits the IBAN. It costs more than SEPA, takes one to three working days rather than hours, and a correspondent bank may deduct EUR 10 to 25 on the way unless the sender pays the charges upfront.

Do not let a German landlord tell you to “just do a SEPA transfer”. Once the student has a German account they can pay everything locally by SEPA; the leg from India is the part that needs care.

What a German bank needs from you

Three things: the IBAN, the BIC, and the account holder’s name exactly as registered.

The German IBAN structure is fixed by the Deutsche Bundesbank: DE, then two check digits, then the eight-digit Bankleitzahl (bank sort code), then a ten-digit account number padded with leading zeros. Written out, it looks like DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00. Count 22 characters. If you have 21 or 23, something was mistyped.

The BIC is the bank’s SWIFT code, 8 or 11 characters. Deutsche Bank’s head-office code is DEUTDEFF, Commerzbank’s is COBADEFF, and Sparkasse branches each have their own. Ask the recipient for the exact BIC printed on their account details rather than looking it up, because savings banks and cooperative banks vary by region.

Blocked account providers give you a specific IBAN and a reference number that must appear in the payment narrative. Fintiba and Expatrio both reject or delay crediting if the reference is missing, because they cannot match the money to your application. Copy the reference exactly.

Blocked account funding, step by step

The blocked account (Sperrkonto) is the proof of funds Germany requires for a student visa. You deposit a year’s living costs, currently EUR 11,904, and after arrival the account releases EUR 992 per month. Our blocked account explainer covers what it is; this section is about getting the money there.

The sequence is: open the provider account online (Expatrio and Fintiba are the two most used; Coracle paused new accounts; Deutsche Bank direct is slow), receive the IBAN, BIC and reference, transfer from India, receive the blocking confirmation (Sperrbestätigung), then attend the visa appointment with that confirmation.

Send slightly more than EUR 11,904. Providers charge a setup fee of roughly EUR 0 to 150 and some charge EUR 0 to 9.90 per month, and a correspondent bank may take EUR 10 to 25 in transit. A shortfall of even EUR 5 means the confirmation is not issued until you top up, which adds a week. Most families send EUR 12,000 to 12,100 in one go. The provider returns any surplus with the monthly payouts.

On Form A2 the purpose is education, S0305, which covers hostel and living expenses during study; the blocked account exists only because of the study visa, and the admission letter plus the provider’s instructions support it. From your own funds TCS is 2% above INR 10 lakh. With a Section 80E loan that covers living costs, upload the sanction letter and TCS is 0%. Sent as plain family maintenance (S1301) it would be 20% above INR 10 lakh, so get the code right.

Timing: a blocked account transfer typically takes two to four working days from payment in India to confirmation from the provider. Do it at least three weeks before your visa appointment.

Worked example: EUR 5,000 to a German account

Say the live EUR/INR rate is 110.00 when you book (it was roughly 109 to 111 in early September 2026).

Through a typical Indian bank at a 2.5% margin, the selling rate becomes 112.75. EUR 5,000 costs INR 5,63,750. Add INR 1,000 flat charge and GST on the conversion (INR 180 plus 0.09% of the amount above INR 1 lakh, about INR 597). A correspondent bank deducts roughly EUR 15, so the recipient receives EUR 4,985. Total outlay: INR 5,65,347.

Through Fairexpay at the live rate, EUR 5,000 costs INR 5,50,000. The fee at 0.4% is INR 2,200. GST on the conversion is INR 585, the same statutory slab. Total: INR 5,52,785, and the full EUR 5,000 lands.

The gap is INR 12,562, about 2.3% of the amount. For a blocked account of EUR 12,000 the same arithmetic produces a gap of roughly INR 30,000. That is a month’s living allowance in Germany.

TCS is additional to both. If this is a self-funded education transfer and you are still under INR 10 lakh for the financial year, TCS is nil. Past INR 10 lakh it is 2% of INR 5,50,000, which is INR 11,000, claimable back in your ITR. Sent as a gift past the threshold, it would be 20%, or INR 1,10,000.

The four ways to send euros from India

Method	Rate basis	Fee	Time	Notes
Indian bank branch or net banking	Card rate with a 2% to 3.5% margin	INR 500 to 1,500 plus GST, plus EUR 10 to 25 correspondent	1 to 3 working days	Branch paperwork; some banks cap online EUR transfers
Forex dealer (AD-II)	Negotiated, often 1% to 2% over interbank	INR 250 to 1,000	1 to 3 working days	Rate depends on the branch and your bargaining
Fintech app	Near mid-market plus disclosed fee	Roughly 0.5% to 1.5%	1 to 2 working days	Per-transfer caps; check the purpose is supported
Fairexpay	Live rate, zero markup	From 0.4%	T+1, then 1 to 2 days in SWIFT	Purpose-led flow, Form A2 done digitally

The comparison that matters is total rupees debited for a fixed euro amount. Providers that advertise “no fee” recover it in the rate. Ask for the INR figure for exactly EUR 5,000 and compare that.

Semesterbeitrag, Kaution and other payments students make

German public universities charge no tuition for most programmes, but every student pays a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag) of roughly EUR 150 to 400 per semester, covering the student union, administration and often a regional transport ticket. It is due before enrolment (Immatrikulation) and the university gives an IBAN and a reference that includes the applicant number. Send it under education (S0305) with the admission letter. Private universities and some master’s programmes in Baden-Württemberg charge tuition, which goes the same way.

The rent deposit (Kaution) is legally capped at three months’ cold rent (Kaltmiete, excluding utilities) and landlords ask for it before handover. For a EUR 450 room that is up to EUR 1,350, plus the first month. Paying a private landlord from India is a third-party payment, so the authorised dealer will ask for the signed rental contract (Mietvertrag). Student halls run by the Studentenwerk issue a contract that works for the same purpose. Our student accommodation page lists what to upload.

Health insurance for students (TK, AOK, Barmer and the like, about EUR 130 to 140 per month for public cover) is usually paid from the German account after arrival. If the insurer asks for a first payment before the visa, it goes under S0305 with the insurance confirmation.

Monthly living costs sent by parents after the student has arrived use S1301 (family maintenance) and are covered on our living expenses page. TCS on those is 20% above INR 10 lakh, which is why many families prefer to front-load the blocked account rather than send monthly under maintenance.

TCS and documents for this corridor

Rates from 1 April 2026 are in our post on the new TCS rates. For Germany the common cases are: self-funded education 2% above INR 10 lakh, education funded by a Section 80E loan 0%, maintenance and gifts 20% above INR 10 lakh. The threshold is per PAN per financial year across all dealers. TCS shows in Form 26AS, the collector issues Form 27D, and you claim the credit in your ITR.

Documents for any transfer: PAN, Aadhaar or passport, and a signed Form A2. For education: admission letter (Zulassungsbescheid) and the invoice or provider instructions. For a loan: the sanction letter. If a parent pays: relationship proof. For rent: the contract.

Rejections we see on this corridor: an IBAN with a digit dropped, a BIC for the wrong Sparkasse, a blocked account transfer without the provider reference, and a name typed in a different order from the account (German banks match on the surname). Copy, do not retype.

How to do this with Fairexpay

On our India to Germany page you choose the purpose (blocked account, semester fee, tuition, accommodation, living expenses), enter the euro amount and see the live rate with the fee broken out. No markup is added to the rate; the fee starts at 0.4%.

KYC is PAN and Aadhaar, done once. Form A2 is filled and signed digitally with the purpose code set for you. You enter the IBAN and BIC, paste the provider or university reference into the narrative, upload the admission letter or provider instructions, and pay by UPI or net banking. Upload an education loan sanction letter and TCS is set to 0% automatically; otherwise the applicable TCS is shown before you confirm.

Execution is through our RBI-authorised AD-I bank and AD-II partners on a T+1 basis, with tracking under “My Remittances” and SMS and email updates. For a blocked account, start at least three weeks before your visa appointment.

FAQs

Can I make a SEPA transfer from India to Germany?

No. SEPA works only between accounts inside the SEPA zone, and India is outside it. A transfer from an Indian bank to a German IBAN goes by SWIFT through an RBI-authorised dealer. Once the student has a German account, SEPA covers all their local payments.

How much should I send for the blocked account?

The required amount is EUR 11,904 for 12 months (check the German mission website for the current figure). Send about EUR 12,000 to 12,100 to cover the provider’s setup fee and any correspondent bank deduction, so the blocking confirmation is issued without a top-up.

What is the format of a German IBAN?

22 characters: DE, two check digits, an eight-digit Bankleitzahl and a ten-digit account number. Example: DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00. You also need the bank’s BIC (SWIFT code), such as DEUTDEFF for Deutsche Bank’s head office.

How long does money take to reach Germany from India?

One to three working days after the authorised dealer releases the SWIFT message. Fairexpay processes T+1. Blocked account providers add a day or two to issue the confirmation. Germany is 3.5 hours behind India in summer and 4.5 in winter, so morning payments in India land the same German day.

How much TCS applies on a transfer to Germany?

It follows purpose, not country. From 1 April 2026: self-funded education 2% above INR 10 lakh in the financial year, loan-funded education 0%, family maintenance and gifts 20% above INR 10 lakh. The threshold is per PAN across all dealers, and TCS is credited in your ITR.

Can I pay a German landlord’s deposit from India?

Yes, as a third-party payment with the signed rental contract as proof. The deposit is capped at three months’ cold rent. Enter the landlord’s IBAN and BIC and put the tenant’s name and address in the reference so the landlord can identify it.