Legitimation is the process of identifying an account holder in compliance with the German anti-money landering (GwG) laws. Until the customer is "legitimated", money cannot be transferred from the blocked account to the current account. This ensures that the person who deposited the blocked amount is the same as the person who will access it after arriving in Germany.
Fintiba offers a quick and convenient legitimation process, for which you simply need to:
- Have the passport that you opened your Blocked Account with
- Upload your visa as described in this process chart - How do I get access to my money when I'm in Germany?
Based on your nationality and passport, your Fintiba account automatically presents the option(s) available to you for completing your legitimation, guiding you through every step of the processes under those options. Here's how it goes -
- If you are eligible for "Easy Legitimation" via Onfido, you can simply complete your legitimation by providing your selfie and passport.
- In other cases, you can do "video legitimation" via WebID. Read this article for complete details: I have been asked to go through the video legitimation. How does it work?
- If due to regulatory restrictions in your home country, the option for video legitimation is not available, you can opt for legitimation via PostIdent or Manual legitimation. Read this article for complete details: I have been asked to go through the manual / PostIdent legitimation. How does it work?
Note: German regulations require individuals from countries that are classified as high-risk for money-laundering to complete an additional legitimation step, known as "Source of Funds" verification. This may also apply to individuals from other countries depending on their profile. If applicable to you, the Fintiba app will seamlessly guide you through the Source of Funds verification process.