Do I need a visa to Germany?
So, let's start with the fact that Germany is one of the seven founding countries of the Schengen zone, which signed the agreement of the same name in 1995. The Schengen area implies the absence of border controls at the internal borders between these states, i.e. Once you enter the Schengen zone, you can move freely throughout the territory of all countries of the agreement, of which there are currently 26.
And, answering the question posed - “Do I need a visa to Germany”, the answer is unequivocal - YES, Russians, in order to visit the Federal Republic of Germany, like the rest of the Schengen Agreement participants, must first obtain an entry visa!
What visa do you need for Germany?
We have already talked about the need for a visa to Germany. Now it remains to find out what kind of visa is needed. It is immediately worth noting that German visas to foreigners are authorized to be issued only by a German mission abroad, in our case the embassy and consulates in the Russian Federation. You can submit documents through intermediaries, for example through an authorized partner - a visa service center. However, the decision to issue a visa is made only by the consular office! The visa center does not issue visas, but only accepts documents from applicants for their further transfer to the German mission (embassy or consulate).
German missions are authorized to issue two categories of German visas to applicants:
- Schengen short-term - for short-term trips, they provide for a stay in Schengen territory of no more than 90 days in a 180-day period.
- National long-term visas - for long-term travel, for example for work, study, family reunion. Long-term visas provide the possibility of staying in Germany for more than 90 days in a 180-day period, and in other Schengen countries - no more than 90 days in every 6 months.
Only the applicant himself decides which category of visa to request; depending on the requested visa category, the list of required documentation changes.
For our part, we will make a remark that to visit Germany for the purpose of tourism or other private visits, you should apply for a Schengen visa.
Validity periods
The validity of a Schengen visa is 90 days. It is issued for the following purposes:
- journey;
- visiting relatives or friends;
- business trip;
- language learning as part of a short-term course;
- visiting Germany on an exchange program;
- obtaining medical advice, examination (here you can apply for a medical visa).
In other cases, you need to issue a national entry document, valid for 180 days.
The Spree is a navigable river in eastern Germany that flows through Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin. The total length of the Spree is about 400 kilometers. Within Berlin, any lover of boat trips can take a ride on a small pleasure boat. You can board the boat at one of the piers evenly scattered along the river. Along the banks of the river there are many sights of Berlin, a city on the Spree River, and looking at them from an unusual point - from the water surface - is very interesting.
Required documents
To apply for a visa to Germany at a German consular office, you need to provide a strictly regulated package of documents. The list of required papers partially changes depending on the purpose of the visit. In this article we will talk about the documents for a German tourist visa.
Note! The German Mission reserves the right to request additional documents or information if necessary to process the application.
- Visa application . The application form is filled out online, then printed and signed by the applicant (for minors, the application is signed by a parent or guardian). You must sign in three places, be careful!
- International passport + copy of the page with personal data . The passport has a number of mandatory requirements: Issued no more than 10 years ago;
- The validity period expires no earlier than three months after the expiration of the requested visa;
- Has at least 2 blank pages for the visa sticker and corresponding stamps.
Attention! If you have taken fingerprints over the past five years, then you need to attach a copy of the visa for which you took biometrics to your documents.
- Copies of previous Schengen visas and stamps on their use . If the visas were in the canceled passport, then a copy of the page with personal data from the canceled passport is additionally provided.
- 1 color photograph (pasted into the application form).
- Visa fee , in case of submitting documents through a visa center, a service fee is also paid.
- A health insurance policy with a coverage amount starting from 30 thousand euros, covering the entire period of the upcoming trip.
- Original and copy of the internal passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (does not apply to children under 14 years of age): all pages containing personal data, information about the issued foreign passport, registration in Russia, as well as page 14 with or without marks.
- A document confirming the availability of a place of residence for the duration of the trip . A hotel room reservation will do. The consulate may also require the applicant to confirm that they have paid for the accommodation.
- A document confirming the travel program . Confirmed round-trip ticket bookings are acceptable. The consulate may also require the applicant to confirm that they have paid for the tickets.
- A document confirming the availability of funds for the trip . One of the following documents will be suitable here: Certificate from place of employment indicating salary;
- A bank account statement showing the movement of funds on it for the last three months;
- Sponsorship letter, as well as one of the financial documents listed above for the sponsor and a copy of the sponsor’s passport (pages with personal data);
- An obligation to return to their homeland and a document confirming that the applicant owns real estate in Russia.
Minor applicants (under 18 years of age), in addition to the package of documents listed above, must provide:
- A copy of the birth certificate.
- Consent for a minor to travel abroad (if the child is traveling accompanied by third parties, consent must be obtained from each parent). If the child is traveling with both parents, consent is not required.
- A copy of a valid Schengen visa of the parent(s) accompanying the minor, as well as proof of joint travel (for example, flight reservations, hotel reservations, etc.). If the child and parent(s) are receiving a visa together, skip this step.
How to write a formal invitation correctly
The invitation can be issued by a relative or friend. A prerequisite for writing such a letter is German citizenship or permanent residence permit. With an official letter, the chances of getting a visa are much higher.
To issue an invitation, the receiving party must contact the migration office at their place of residence in Germany. The list of required certificates for obtaining guest documents changes every year and depends on state policy. But there are also permanent documents that are required to verify the applicant and obtain warranty obligations.
In the invitation, the German citizen undertakes to ensure the foreigner’s stay in the country. This document is valid for six months from the date of its registration with the Office for Foreigners.
The invitation indicates the details of the person who invites you to “visit” him, the period of stay of the foreigner within the Republic, the exact address of his future residence during this entire period.
Required documents
To obtain a guest visa, the inviting party will need:
- passport or residence permit, international passport, registration at the place of residence;
- confirmation of solvency (certificate of income for the last three months, tax extract (in case of freelancing, individual entrepreneur) or certificate of pension amount. Another option is to open a blocked bank account for 600-700 euros);
- an apartment rental agreement or a certificate of ownership, if the inviting party provides accommodation to the guest;
- medical insurance (if issued for a guest, the amount of coverage is 30,000 euros);
- invitation form. A sample can be taken at the migration office when submitting documents. The letter indicates the personal details of the invitee: full name, date and place of birth, nationality, full address and passport details. You will need a copy of the page spread of his passport. If you are applying for a visa for a relative, you must provide a document confirming your family ties.
Lohnzettel – bank certificate
Timing and cost
The invitation is issued immediately at the migration office. You just need to submit all the documents. The cost may depend on the region. In Berlin, an official invitation costs 29 euros .
The inviter must send the original letter. The approximate cost of sending documents from Europe is 50 euros. If you choose express delivery, the invitation will arrive in 2-3 days.
Questionnaire: sample filling
One of the required documents to obtain a German visa is a visa application form. You must fill it out online through a special service. The service is Russian-language, the questions are general Schengen, so there shouldn’t be any problems filling it out. However, to be more confident, we have prepared a sample for you to fill out with a detailed description of each of the points of the questionnaire.
The system is designed in such a way that if there is no activity on the part of the user for 10 minutes, the previously entered data is automatically deleted. We recommend preparing all the necessary documents for filling out the application form in advance so that the necessary data is at hand. Corrections to an already printed application form are not allowed!
Sections marked * are required to be filled in; if * not, the column may not be filled in.
So, let's move on to filling out the questionnaire.
You will see a page consisting of five sections: Personal information, Contact information, Documents, Travel dates and Cost coverage. Let's move on to filling out each of them step by step.
Section 1 - Personal Information. Here you must indicate the applicant’s personal information and information about the profession.
You copy the applicant’s personal data from the international passport. For some reason, in the “Country of Birth” column, the German representation did not provide for the possibility of choosing the USSR, so you need to choose the country in which the place of birth is located today, for example, Minsk - Belarus, Kiev - Ukraine, Novosibirsk - Russian Federation, etc.
Attention! Residents of Crimea indicate Ukraine, and must contact the German representative office in Kyiv!
Those born in the USSR do not fill out the “Original citizenship” column; the rest indicate their previous citizenship.
In the “Information about profession” section, indicate your place of work (study), you need to select from the proposed list. And then indicate the address of the employer (educational institution).
Section 2 - Contact information. Here you must indicate the address of residence, optionally the telephone number and email address of the applicant. The phone number is simply indicated by a set of numbers with a country and city code.
Section 3 – Documents. Here you need to indicate your travel document and the presence of biometric information in the database.
Section 4 – Travel Timings.
Here difficulties may arise in a number of points. “Country of first entry” - here you indicate the Schengen country through which you will enter the Schengen zone. For example, if you are flying a direct flight from Russia to Germany, then indicate “Germany”. If you are traveling by car, say, through Belarus, then indicate “Poland”.
“Main destinations” - here you indicate all the countries in the Schengen area that you plan to visit during your upcoming trip.
“Number of entries requested” - in our example, a multiple entry visa is requested. The German consulate rarely issues multiple-entry tourist visas to those who have never been to Germany before. Rarely, but it still happens. Separately, it is worth noting that if the applicant’s passport contains German Schengen visas for the last three years, the Consulate approves multiple-entry visas (from 6 months to 5 years), even if a single-entry visa is requested.
This is only a possible outcome of events. Even if you have German Schengen visas, a multiple-entry visa may be refused; the visa will be issued strictly for the dates of your trip. There is no need to be upset, just take it for granted.
“Expected date of entry into the Schengen zone” - enter the date of entry in the format dd.mm.yyyy.
“Estimated date of departure from the Schengen zone” - here everything depends on the number of entries of the requested visa. For a single-entry visa, indicate strictly the dates of travel on tickets, and when requesting a multiple-entry visa, indicate the desired expiration date of the visa (entry date minus 1 day).
In our example, a multiple-entry visa for a year is requested, so we indicate the departure date as the entry date minus 1 day with a difference of one year: 06/11/2019 and 06/10/2020
“Duration of intended stay” - for a single-entry visa, indicate the exact number of days of stay in Schengen (including the day of entry and exit). If you are requesting a visa for 3 months, you must indicate 30 or 45. If you are requesting a visa for 6 months, 1 year or more, indicate 90 (you cannot indicate more than 90 for a Schengen visa).
The section “Permission to enter the last country of destination” is completed only by those who request a transit visa.
In the “Guarantor” section for a tourist visa, indicate “Hotel” and then its address.
Section 5 - Coverage of Expenses. Here you indicate who covers the costs of the trip. In the application form for children, you only need to indicate “third party” → “Others” and indicate the parent who is sponsoring the child’s trip.
When you finish filling out, click the “Save” button and the system will give you a message that you can download the form in PDF format. Next, print out the form (all 8 pages) and put three signatures (pages 4, 6 and 7). Sample of a completed application form.
How to get a private visa by invitation
After receiving an invitation for a private trip to Germany, you need to obtain a visa. A private visa can only be issued at the German consulate.
Documents required:
- international passport;
- A completed application form;
- 4 color photographs 3.5 * 4.5 cm;
- invitation;
- insurance, proof of solvency, hotel and ticket reservations (if they were not submitted by the inviting party).
Certificate from the bank for financial confirmation
To obtain permits for minors to enter and stay in Germany, the following documents are required:
- visa application;
- international passport (if the child is over 14 years old);
- certificate from the educational institution;
- document from the place of birth.
If a minor crosses the German border alone, it is necessary to obtain parental permission certified by a notary to travel independently or accompanied by a trusted person.
How much does a visa cost?
The cost of a German visa depends on its category. As mentioned above, the German mission is authorized to issue two categories of visas:
- Schengen (regardless of the purpose of the visit) – €35
- National – €75 (applicants 18+) and €37.50 (applicants under 18)
If you submit documents through an authorized representative - a visa center, then in addition to paying a service fee, the amount of which depends on the need to submit biometrics:
- Without biometrics – €18.85
- With biometrics – €20.35
All fees, both at the German foreign mission and at the visa center, are paid only in Russian rubles, converted at the exchange rate of the European Central Bank on the day of submission of the application. At the consular office, you can only pay the fee in cash, but some visa centers (note that only a few) accept payment by card.
You can find out whether the German visa center in your city accepts payment of fees by card on the official website of the representative office in your region.
Invitations for other purposes
An invitation visa is not always issued for trips to relatives or friends. It is needed for treatment, language courses, a business trip or a business meeting in Germany.
An invitation for treatment to Germany gives Russian citizens the opportunity to travel to this country during closed borders. Please contact the visa center 100viz.com for advice.
Invitation letter for business trips and business meetings
For a business trip to Germany for up to 3 months, the employer must write an official letter. It indicates exactly where the employee will work during this time and whether the company will cover the costs.
To conduct transactions or business meetings, you also need an invitation letter. The organization, place and time of the meeting must be indicated.
Short-term student visa
There are also invitations for language courses, summer schools at universities and seminars. To study in Germany for a total period of up to 3 months, the educational institution must send an acceptance letter. Typically, such courses are paid for for foreigners, so you will need a receipt of payment or a response from the school about acceptance of payment.
Invitation to courses from Goethe University
If foreigners send a child to Germany to a summer camp with accommodation, this document will replace a hotel reservation.
Features of obtaining a visa for treatment
To receive treatment in Germany, you must first sign a contract with the clinic and pay for its services. The invitation must indicate the hospital address, medical services, confirmation of payment (or receipt).
Registration deadlines
As a rule, it takes about 10 calendar days for the consular office to review documents. If you submit documents directly through the consulate, then the employee will give you a receipt with the exact date when your passport needs to be picked up. If you submit documents through a visa center, you need to take into account the delivery time of documents to the consulate and back, this means that you should add 2 days to the review period. In addition, you will have to track the stage of consideration of the application yourself, or you can pay extra and order an SMS notification service.
