Overview
- After budget talks resolved a funding dispute, the government said the Bafög overhaul is entering the regular legislative process.
- Leaders aim to pass the bill before the summer break, which could allow the law to take effect on August 1 and lift support from the coming winter semester.
- Bafög, Germany’s federal student aid, would raise the housing allowance for students living away from home from €380 to €440 starting in the winter term 2026/27.
- The basic need rate would then be adjusted in two steps in winter 2027/28 and 2028/29 to match the level of social basic security.
- The plan also promises less paperwork and more digital processing to speed payments, with both coalition and opposition figures backing the push for quicker decisions.