Life in Germany- Applying for a study visa

Hey guys, 

In my previous post, I laid down the steps you need to concentrate on to get an admission letter from a German university. You can have a look at the post here. If you would like to add something please feel free to comment. 

This is the second post in series-Life in Germany-and today I am going to explain the procedure necessary for applying for a study visa to Germany. This step can be initiated once you get the admission letter from the German university.

So here goes...

Chapter 2: Applying for the Study Visa to Germany

Before I go into details, it's important to understand that the whole Visa procedure can take anywhere between a month to 3 months (some cases even more time) to initiate the process and get the Visa stamped. So keep that time scale in mind. 

Now, the documents you need to apply for study visa to Germany are following:

1)  A valid passport 

2)  Admission letter from the German university

3) Completed application form for applying for German student visa 

4) Three good quality passport size photographs with required specifications  -- (Don't bother too much about these specifications though, just tell the photo studio that you need these for visa process and they will give you high quality photographs themselves.)

5) Transcript of your academic records -- print outs of your bachelor, 12th and 10th mark sheets should be sufficient

6) Certificate of travel and health insurance for student -- You can get this very cheaply (approx. 1000 INR through any insurance company in India.)

7) Letter showing the proof of blocked account in Germany: It's mandatory to open a blocked account* in Deutsche Bank and transfer sufficient funds (~8400 euros) into that account. You will then get a confirmation mail from the Deutche bank branch in Germany that your blocked account has sufficient funds to cover your 1st year of studies. (Note: 8400 euros is for 1st year only). 

This can be done in two ways-

(i) open a bank account in one of the Deutsche bank branch available in India and then transfer funds into that. They will then open a blocked account in German branch and transfer the amount. In few weeks time (2-3 weeks) you get the confirmation mail. (I did this.)

(ii) Directly opening a blocked account in German branch can also be done. Simply download the application form from the Deutsche bank online. Fill the document leaving the date, place and signature. Get appointment from German consulate in India to get the attestation (Note: you have to fill the date, place and signature in front of the officer). Submit other necessary documents to the consulate and once your documents are verified and attested, you can transfer the funds into the Deutsche bank German branch directly. 

Complete information of this step can be found here.

8) A Demand draft (of ~4600 Rs-please double check) in favor of German embassy or respective consulate. This is non-refundable in case your visa application gets rejected.

9) A cover letter explaining the reason for your visit and the length of your stay in Germany.

11) German language proficiency certificate (if your course is in German; not needed for international courses!)

12) A declaration of authenticity of the submitted documents. 

When you have all these documents ready, book an appointment in the nearby German consulate or embassy through VFS Global according to the area of jurisdiction.  Present your documents there during Visa interview, answer few simple questions and you should get the mail for visa stamping within few weeks.

SUB-CHAPTER 2.1: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DO NO GET A VISA INTERVIEW APPOINTMENT IN TIME?

I have seen many students struggle to get a visa interview appointment slot in the German consulate of their of area of jurisdiction.  This is because of the high number of students applying for the interview slot. But what can be done in this situation?

A straight forward answer would be you hope that some one cancels their appointment and you are lucky enough to be first on the waiting list. However that is highly improbable. 

A more twisted but effective way can be by applying for a Visa interview in a consulate outside of the jurisdiction area of your stay. For example even though you stay in Mumbai or Bangalore, you can get a Visa appointment in German Embassy Delhi. Some consulates have more appointment slots as compared to others. 

It's possible I tell you! You just need to handle the situation smartly ;-)

SUB-CHAPTER 2.2: WHAT TO DO YOU IF YOU HAVE THE VISA INTERVIEW BUT STILL WAITING FOR THE BLOCKED ACCOUNT LETTER?

I suffered from this problem during my application process. I had the Visa interview in Mumbai consulate with all the documents ready except the blocked account confirmation letter from Deutsche bank Germany branch. I had the proof of transaction that the money has left from my Deutsche bank Indian branch few weeks ago. But still the Hamburg branch did not send me the confirmation that my blocked a/c has 8000 euros in it. I thought they will understand the situation.  But guess what, I was not even allowed to give my Visa interview! Mumbai consulate is very tough in that regard.

I tried getting another appointment but there were no available dates in Mumbai consulate anymore. So as a desperate measure, I called the German embassy in Delhi and asked for any available dates and luckily they had a few. I went to Delhi next time and process was very smooth. They even give time to submit the blocked a/c confirmation letter later. So in case you do not have a blocked a/c confirmation letter try to book an appointment in Delhi.

That's all folks! I think I have covered all the important points necessary to get a study visa for Germany. However, this process is dynamic and keeps changing. So you will have to update yourself with the exact amount necessary for Blocked a/c and demand draft. Also, if you have any suggestions, feedback or further questions you can leave a comment. 

Cheers!

*Blocked account: A blocked a/c is a student a/c where you put approx. 8000 euros for the whole year as a guarantee that you have sufficient funds, and you can take out only limited amount (approx. 750 euros) per month. Blocked a/c is only valid for the first year, i.e., the a/c becomes free in the second year of your studies and then there is no limit.

P.S.: I will continue this series-Life in Germany-with the next chapter explaining things that are important when you move to Germany as a student and few tips to handle the courses and exams in the university.