Following the funds for workers and pensioners to support against energy costs, the German government is now offering a one-off payment of 200 euros to students: the Energiepreispauschale or Einmalzahlung. This support comes as a response to the energy price spikes and should support you with your bills. Here’s what you need to know and how to apply!

Can I apply for the student energy relief bonus?

You can apply for the student energy relief bonus if you are a student in Germany or were enrolled as a student in Germany in December 2022. You’ll also need to be a resident registered here. If you are studying a vocational degree, it will need to be a course that runs for at least two years for you to be eligible. If you are studying abroad and not matriculated in Germany you are not eligible.

What do I need to apply for the student energy relief bonus?

You need to submit your application on the Einmalzahlung200 website and will need to create a BundID account for this. To create this account, you will need to prove your identity which you can do in one of two ways:

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• ‍ID card with Smartphone: If you have a German ID or a visa card, this could be the fastest way. Such cards have a chip to use with the Ausweisapp2 app where you can scan your card with your phone to prove it’s really you (“Smartphone als Kartenlesegerät”). That also means you’ll need a phone that has nfc function—if you can use your phone to pay at stores, you have this.

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• ‍Elster Personal Certificate: If you don’t have this set up or don’t have a scannable ID card, you’ll need your personal certificate downloaded from the Elster website. If you’ve done this already, such as for tax purposes, great. This will save you time and hassle.

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Elster is Germany’s central website for all things tax. If you do not have a personal Elster certificate you can sign up for one here. It will take a little longer since they send you log in details via email and post. You will need your federal tax number to this.

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Using one of these methods, you can create an account on BundID which you will use to prove your identity when logging into the Einmalzahlung200 website.

How do I apply for the Student energy relief bonus?

1. You should receive an access code from your school/institution
2. When you have it, head to the Einmalzahlung200 website
3. Enter your access code and state where you’re a resident
4. Log in using your bund.id account
5. Enter your details (some should be pre-filled) and your IBAN
6. Submit! Once submitted you should receive a confirmation message and you can always check the status in your account

Useful Information Points

‍It seems a lot! But if you take the time, that’s 200 euros in your pocket! Some students, we have heard, received their payment within a matter of days! We hope we’ve helped you with these steps. Here are a few useful information points, too.

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• Einmalzahlung200 FAQs
• About the Energiepreispauschale
• Elster website (the “Hilfe, FAQs” button in the footer can help)
• Application Guide Einmalzahlung
• Government info hotline: 0049 800 2623 003
• Your school or educational institution: talk to your info points here, the should have more information

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Are you with Ostrom yet?

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