Opening an account: Girokonto and Basiskonto
An Iranian consumer lawfully resident in the EU can fall within Germany’s Basiskonto entitlement. If you need a basic payment account, request the statutory application explicitly. Identity and anti-money-laundering checks still apply; approval is not automatic.
Step by step
- Ask for the correct applicationIf you need the statutory basic account, ask for the Basiskonto application rather than relying on an ordinary product enquiry.
- Submit complete informationComplete the form, disclose existing payment accounts and clarify the bank’s required identity checks; keep the receipt.
- Review refusalKeep the refusal and use the statutory BaFin procedure where its conditions apply.
The statutory basic-account route is distinct from applying for a bank’s ordinary Girokonto product. Section 31 ZKG also includes asylum seekers, people without a fixed address and specified people who cannot be removed. Iranian nationality alone does not exclude someone from the statutory definition.
Ask the bank for its Basiskonto form and provide the required information, including any existing usable payment account. Refusal is limited to statutory grounds; inability to satisfy legally required due-diligence checks is one such ground. Keep the application and receipt. If the bank refuses or fails to decide within the statutory period, § 48 provides a BaFin administrative route, subject to its conditions.
Sources
- ZKG § 31 · Bundesministerium der Justiz und Bundesamt für Justiz
- ZKG § 33 · Bundesministerium der Justiz und Bundesamt für Justiz
- ZKG § 34 · Bundesministerium der Justiz und Bundesamt für Justiz
- ZKG § 36 · Bundesministerium der Justiz und Bundesamt für Justiz
- ZKG § 48 · Bundesministerium der Justiz und Bundesamt für Justiz
