If you are an expat living in Germany, you might have wondered about the procedure of how to get a (fast) bank loan in Germany. Whether it is the same as in the home country or completely different as an Expat in Germany. In this article, we will inform about the types of personal loans in Germany, how to apply, and the requirements of how to be granted for a loan. Especially what to consider as a foreigner in Germany when applying for a loan, and finally you will find a comparison of all loan providers. Let’s start with the differences between the various types and provider  like Maxda, Auxmoney, Creditolo where there is no Schufa required.

Types of loans for Expats in Germany

• Installment Loans: also known as Ratenkredit which is a personal loan.
• Personal credit loan: known as Rahmenkredit but with a difference that it has a fixed monthly payment compared to installment loans with a variable monthly payment.
• Car Loans: known as Autokredit
• Home Loan: known as Wohnungskredit which is a credit for buying a home/mortgage
• Instant Credit: known as Sofortkredit
• Overdraft facility: known as Dispokredit, a possibility to overdraw money up to a certain limit
• The usual credit card: Check out the comparison of all credit cards in English here.
• Securities Loan: by providing a security to the bank (securities account with funds and stocks)
• Self employment loan: for private persons for their businesses
• 30 day loan: Short term loan which can be obtained for 30 days for a regular period of time

How to get a loan

• A permanent residence permit or a permit which is valid for the entire period of loan
• Good Schufa score.  Know more about Schufa here
• Stable income – by providing salary slips for a certain period of time.

Bank Loan

Credit institutions

• Ferratum money (Mikrokredit, Ratenkredit, Autokredit)
• CrediMaxx is a credit intermediary headquartered in Switzerland.
• Barclays credit
• Easy credit

As a credit intermediary, CrediMaxx itself does not grant loans. The service searches for the most suitable lender on the basis of your credit request and arranges the loan for you.

The possible credit line is between 4,000 and 60,000 euros, the period between 12 and 120 months. Loans without Schufa are also possible if you can prove a regular monthly income of 1,150.00 euros or more.

Mini Loans for Expats in Germany

• cashper
• vexcash 

An alternative for a mini loan could also be a (free) credit card.

Peer-to-peer lending

• smava
• lendico

Tips for Expats applying for a loan

• As Expats, you might not have a creditworthiness history for a long time, so one of the options would be to go to your bank and consult with them directly for applying. Since your bank has details about your financial status, they might be willing to provide a loan even if you do not have a creditworthiness history.
• You can also get Dispokredit (overdraft credit) as explained above
• Intermediaries who have a good deal with loan providers, some of them are Maxda, Auxmoney, Creditolo (no Schufa required)
• Most important thing you must remember while checking for loan options is that, you must always make a conditional request (Konditionen Anfrage) rather than making a credit request (Kredit Anfrage). If you make a credit request, it will remain in your credit report which can be seen by others. But in conditional request, it is available only for you and this does not affect your Schufa score. 
• check you overview of Schufa score online for free here to get an idea before going to the bank

Tip: compare different loan provider directly here: free Loan calculator or use the quick loan calculator here.