More than 500 pending lawsuits hinder BAföG processing - More than 500 pending lawsuits hinder BAföG processing
Students in Thuringia are facing severe delays in receiving BAföG funding, with some waiting over a year for payments. The backlog has worsened due to incomplete applications and a surge in pending lawsuits, forcing authorities to take urgent action.
More than 90% of BAföG applications in the region are initially submitted with missing documents. This high rate of incompleteness has caused significant processing delays, leaving around 1,000 students relying on provisional payments.
To tackle the issue, the Studierendenwerk Thüringen will bring in 32 extra staff from a third-party provider in January 2026. These workers will focus on checking applications for completeness and requesting missing paperwork. An additional 30 full-time positions will also be created to speed up processing. The situation has been made worse by over 500 ongoing lawsuits, which are further slowing down regular operations. Students affected by the delays retain the right to take legal action, potentially adding to the backlog.
The temporary staff increase aims to clear the existing backlog and reduce waiting times. Provisional payments will continue for eligible students while the new teams work through the pending cases. Authorities hope the measures will restore timely processing by early 2026.
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