Frequently Asked Question 

As per the German VISA regulations, if you are applying or planning to apply for a student / job-seeker visa for Germany, every applicant who is not an EU citizen is required to provide proof of funds. By opening the Blocked account with ICICI Bank Germany, you can use the funds in the Blocked Account as proof of funds for your VISA application.

ICICI Bank UK PLC, Germany Branch is not accepting new registrations for Blocked Accounts, effective Jul 08, 2024. Once you complete the online application form, a blocked account number will be provided to you instantly. If you are funding your Blocked Account from a country outside European Union, you will have to Wire transfer from a bank account held solely or jointly in your name or from your parent's account. In case you hold a Bank Account in EU from where you wish to fund your Blocked Account, you may transfer using SEPA. Once your account is funded you will issued a Balance confirmation certificate and your debit card will be dispatched while in India. Once you reach Germany, you need to submit the activation form and complete the KYC, once you complete the KYC please ensure you click on submit button and submit the activation form as without it, the activation will not proceed further. Click here to start with the registration for ICICI Bank Blocked Account.

In case, you do not have a "Last Name" or "Surname", you can enter "." in the "Last Name" field and continue with your application. Kindly enter the details as mentioned in your Passport to avoid any delay with account opening.

Once your open your Blocked Account online and transfer the amount, a Balance Confirmation Certificate will be sent to you via secured mailbox. Along with this, a Visa Debit Card will be delivered to your address mentioned during your application.

Once you reach Germany, you will need to activate your account by visiting our portal, update a few details and complete KYC via a short video call. Again, this is a hassle free online process.

For the money transfer from India to your Blocked account, we would request you to kindly get in touch with your Relationship Manager with your Bank in India, as they can advise you regarding the most efficient way for transfer of funds. Our customers have used multiple money transfer services including ICICI Bank Money2World, Unimoney, Instarem, etc.

To apply, you will need to provide the following documents:

a. Copy of passport pages

(i) the page in your passport containing your photo, passport number, date of birth and other personal details,

and

(ii) the page in your passport with other information, e.g. your parent / guardian names and addresses. If the passport does not have a page that bears the name of your parents / guardian then please provide any other Government issued identification document that bears all your personal information alongside the details of your parent(s) / guardian. The passport must also show your current address, if the passport does not show your address then please provide any other Government issued identification document that bears your personal information alongside your present address

You can deposit funds into your Blocked Account at any time during the year. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that you apply for the account well in advance, so funds are deposited in your blocked account before you apply for a study permit. Normally, we need around 1-2 business days to open a Blocked Account and around 3 business days to credit the money into that account.

An application can only be submitted using our online account portal.

If you need to contact us before registering, please email us at blockedaccount@icicibank.com.
To contact us in India, please call                 : +91 4071403336/4069215431
If you are already in Germany, please call    : +49 61969239537/61967833000

You can communicate with us using the Secure Mailbox section or email us at “blockedaccount@icicibank.com or contact us by Phone.

To contact us in India, please call : +91 407140 3336/4069215431
If you are already in Germany, please call : +49 6196 9239537/61967833000

To help retrieve information efficiently, please keep all the information of your Blocked Account application form and the date of submission handy before the call.

The Current account is a fully functional transactional account being offered free of cost along with the Blocked Account. Your monthly amount will be auto deposited to this Current Account.

This account can be used for your daily banking needs while in Germany, e.g. for online payments, send and receive funds etc. A contactless Visa Debit Card linked to the Current Account provided to you can be used for Merchant payments, online transactions, ATM withdrawals across Europe etc

This current account will be active for 3 months after your Blocked account tenure completion. You will receive a mail after your tenure completion regarding the same.

Your accounts will be maintained at ICICI Bank UK PLC, Germany Branch which is a licensed Bank in Germany.

You only pay the initial fee of EUR 150 at the time of account opening, which should be transferred while funding your Blocked Account to receive Balance Confirmation certificate. Apart from that, there are no monthly or annual account management fees or charges.

The amount to be transferred depends on the duration of your course / stay in Germany. The amount is defined by the German VISA regulations. While completing the application, you will be informed about the total amount which you need to transfer, and the amount that you would like to be deposited to your current account on a monthly basis.

The set monthly amount will be auto debited from your Blocked account and credited to your Current account.

There is no minimum balance requirement for Current Account.

Yes, if you hold a bank account in Germany or the European Union (EU), you may transfer the funds in Euros to your Blocked Account through SEPA. If you hold a bank account overseas, you will need to do a wire transfer to your Blocked Account.

Yes, your money at ICICI Bank UK PLC, Germany Branch is secure.

Financial strength of the ICICI Group:
ICICI Bank Limited is the largest private bank in India and operates conventional deposit and lending business. In addition, major insurance and financial services companies belong to the ICICI Group.

No, ICICI Bank Germany will not pay any interest for the blocked account.

No. The Blocked Account can only be opened in the name of the applicant who is applying for a VISA permit.

Yes, you can use an existing Balance Confirmation certificate when re-applying for a Visa. The German consulate in India will validate the Balance Confirmation certificate with ICICI Bank Germany directly.

Yes, ICICI Bank Germany will refund your money under the following circumstances:

• Your visa/study/Job permit application was declined, or
• Your application for admission to a German educational institution was declined, or
• You have withdrawn enrolment from the German educational institution before your arrival in Germany.

Note: Customers can withdraw from the Blocked Account even after arriving in Germany. However, they would need to provide evidence that they have withdrawn enrolment from their German educational institution and returned back to India. The funds will only be refunded after verification of visa/study/Job permit cancellation with the German consulate.

No. Funds must be wire transferred from a bank in India where you hold an account exclusively in your name or a joint account with your parent(s), or the money will be returned. You will be responsible for covering all administrative/intermediary bank fees incurred as a result of the return of funds.

No, only you can deposit funds into your account, from your bank account in India. The bank account in India should be exclusively in your name or a joint account with your parent(s). In the event of a refund, the money will be returned to this bank account where the original remittance was made from.

For privacy reasons, ICICI Bank Germany will not be able to disclose any information to anyone other than you.

You need to login to the portal and provide a few details followed by an online KYC verification in order to immediately activate your account. A Germany local address proof in your name would be required.

Throughout the process, you need not visit any branch or post any document. The entire process is completely online.

Yes, you can have standing instructions to pay your monthly expenses like Rent, electricity bills, mobile bills and other expenses.

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number and is a number attached to all accounts in the EU countries plus Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Hungary. The IBAN is made up of a code that identifies the country the account belongs to, the account holder's bank and the account number itself. The IBAN makes it easier and faster to process cross-border payments.

You can find it on your "Confirmation page" post account application submission. Post account activation, you can find it in your Internet Banking logged in section.

Direct Debit is very common in Germany and required for most of the regular payments. The SEPA Direct Debit mandate form is provided by your service provider from whom who take a particular service. You have to fill the same and provide to your service provider to start the direct debits from your account. For e.g.: If you take a Vodafone mobile connection, Vodafone will provide you with a SEPA Direct Debit Mandate form, which you need to fill, duly sign and handover to Vodafone.

The amount that you specify during the application will be auto credited to your Current account on a monthly basis. The credit will start from the month you activate your account.

If you need to update your personal information, you must notify us through ICICI Bank Germany Secure Mail Service with supporting documentation (if applicable) by replying to the last message from us.

Visit the Blocked Account application Login page, click on "Forgot Password" and follow the onscreen instructions.

The applicant would need to apply for account closure and refund by sending the request to blockedaccount@icicibank.com . Any request for Blocked Account closure should be supported with relevant documents

• If your VISA is rejected and you cannot travel to Germany, then we would require the VISA rejection letter from the consulate to close the account.
• Similarly, if your APS is rejected, in that case you would be required to share the APS rejection letter.

We would only charge EUR 25 for the international money transfer. There will not be any further account closure charges.

ICICI Bank UK PLC, Germany Branch is not accepting requests for blocked account extensions

Visa for jobseekers cannot be extended beyond the 12 month period.

ICICI Germany is a regulated branch of BaFin, which is the local regulator. We understand that some of the latest version of the Indian passports are currently not accepted for KYC using videoident. This is due to lack of certain security features which cannot be verified during the video call. But to ensure that our customers don’t suffer because of this, we do we have an alternative for you. You may please download the POSTIDENT form from the activation portal and complete the KYC through offline mode. For offline KYC you need to carry the POSTIDENT form along with your ID card or Passport, and City registration document to the nearest Deutsche Post Office and present it at the counter. After completing your identification, Deutsche Post will send the confirmation document physically to ICICI Bank Germany. As soon as we have checked and verified your documents, we will activate your account.This process normally can take 3-4 days. Also, this service is free for the customers and you don’t have to pay anything at Deutsche Post. You will also receive a confirmation e-mail from us confirming the activation of your account.