Nobody can give you one exact monthly cost for Germany, because rent and living costs depend mostly on the city. What official sources do give are the amounts you must show for your visa, the share of your pay that goes to health insurance, and what an average German household spends.
This guide collects those figures from official German sources. Each point links to its source so you can check it yourself. This is general guidance, not legal or immigration advice, and amounts change, so confirm them on the official pages.
Money you must show for your visa
- Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte): financial proof of EUR 1,091 a month, EUR 13,092 for a standard 12-month stay (2026, Federal Foreign Office). See our Opportunity Card guide.
- Vocational training (Ausbildung), first year: at least EUR 959 a month for school-based training, or EUR 822 net (EUR 1,048 gross) a month for company-based training, for example with a blocked account. See our Ausbildung guide.
- Studying: the German Embassy in Manila listed a blocked account releasing EUR 992 a month, EUR 11,904 a year, when we checked. The Opportunity Card figure above is higher, so confirm the current study amount on the embassy page before you apply. See our study guide.
- Skilled-worker visa: the law sets no minimum salary of its own; pay must be comparable to a German employee in the same role. Some routes have salary thresholds that change every year with the pension ceiling, for example EUR 45,630 a year in 2026 for the experienced-worker route and EUR 50,700 for the EU Blue Card. See our work guide.
Health insurance takes a share of your pay
Health insurance is compulsory in Germany. In the statutory system the general contribution rate is 14.6 percent of pay, plus a supplementary contribution that averages 2.9 percent in 2026. Employees and employers each pay half, so your share is roughly 8.75 percent of your gross pay on average. Your own insurer’s supplementary rate can differ from the average, and care insurance is charged on top, so check your payslip figures and your insurer’s page for your exact amount.
Rent and everyday costs
Official statistics give an average, not a promise for your city. In 2023 an average German household spent EUR 3,030 a month on consumption, and housing took about 38 percent of it and food about 14 percent. Households with a monthly net income under EUR 1,300 spent about 64 percent of their spending, EUR 780, on housing and food together. Large cities such as Munich, Frankfurt or Stuttgart are usually more expensive than smaller towns, so look at real listings in the town where you plan to live.
A simple way to plan
Take the net pay from the job you are offered, subtract the health insurance share, then compare what is left with the rent in your town and with the amount you must show for your visa. If the job offer is in a small town, the same pay usually stretches further.
Where do I start?
- Find the visa route you plan to use and note the amount it asks you to show.
- Ask the employer or training company for the exact gross pay in writing.
- Look up rents in the town where you will live.
- Read our roadmap to see your route step by step.
Want to know exactly where you stand? Answer a few questions and get a free roadmap that shows what you already meet, what is missing and your next steps.
More guides: German visa types for Filipinos and the Philippine requirements (OEC, PEOS, CFO).
Official sources
- German Federal Foreign Office: Opportunity Card visa information
- Make it in Germany: visa for vocational training
- German embassy information sheet: national visa for vocational training
- German Embassy Manila: visa requirements
- Federal Employment Agency: experienced workers
- Federal Employment Agency: EU Blue Card
- Federal Ministry of Health: statutory health insurance contributions (German)
- Federal Statistical Office: living costs 2023 (German)
Last checked: September 20, 2026. This is general guidance, not legal or immigration advice. Figures change, so confirm them on the official pages.