Hello Team. I hope you are doing well. My name Is Ahsan. Basically, I am from Pakistan but currently living in Qatar. I want to ask a question, I have a German friend who wants to sponsor me to Germany. I want to know about the whole procedure and how it will be carried out.
What documents I should need?
How much money I will need for the whole process?
The time span for this process?
Rejection rate for this visa?
Who should I contact to start the process?
What documents he will send me to start my process?
I am waiting for your positive reply. Thanks in advance.
Hi Ahsan Shahzad thanks for the request, my colleague will reach out to you next week!
Here is some information about the declaration of commitment for a national visa: https://handbookgermany.de/en/declaration-of-commitment-national-visa
Hello Ahsan Shahzad thank you for your patience. It is very nice of your friend to support you!
Firstly, there are different types of visa you might be able to apply for, where you might not necessarily will need someone to vouch for you. For example a visa as a skilled worker, you won't need one. You can read more about the different visas and their requirements here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/immigration
Indeed, for some of the visa application you will need to prove enough financial resources to cover you stay. Mostly, those apply for Student visa, Vocational Training visa, Jobseekers visa, Marriage visa or a Visa for attending a language course/school. if you cannot prove that financial security by yourself, a third person can support you and provide a so-called "declaration of commitment". This means that a person vouches for you and guarantees to cover all costs during their stay. The declaration of commitment includes the costs of everyday life and possible medical treatment or deportation.
There are requirements the person who will vouch for you needs to match. The person
- needs be registered in Germany.
- has either the German citizenship or of the EU (or Liechtenstein, Iceland or Norway) or a valid residence permit for Germany
- the residence permit needs to be valid for longer than your intended stay.
- the person needs to prove enough income to cover all the costs for you, e.g. payslips or bank statements. The amount of income the person have to prove depends on the purpose of your visit (education, marriage, etc.). It also depends on whether the person is married and/or pay maintenance (for a spouse or children). It is best, if the person get in contact with the persons local foreigners department for the specific requirements. You can also find some calculation examples on Handbook Germany.
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To start that process, the person has to get an appointment at their local foreigners department and provide the following documents:
- the application form for the declaration of commitment. Most likely there are 3 documents: "Angaben zur Verpflichtungserklärung, Belehrung zur Speicherung und Nutzung der Antragsdaten im VIS and "Zusatzerklärung zur Verpflichtungserklärung". All of the documents you can find on the website of the local foreigners department.
- Proof of the persons income
- ID/Residence permit and passport
- Confirmation of the registration
- A copy of your passport
- Proof of the amount of the persons rent (rental contract or bank statement)
- Records of any other regular expenses the person may has. For example, the cost of a car or supplementary insurance.
- If the person is paying maintenance to other persons (e.g., a divorced spouse or children): proof of the amount of maintenance.
- bank statements from the last few months (mostly the last 6 months)
- As an employee: A confirmation of the persons employer that the person will keep the job and if the contract is temporarily or permanent.
Please note, that the foreigners department may ask you for further documents. The person should check in advance which documents are required because this differ in each city.
The foreigners department will charge a processing fee (about 29€).
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After a successful interview at the foreigners department and issuance of the declaration of commitment, you will need to apply for an appointment at your local German embassy/consulate for the according visa you wish you obtain. You will need to provide that official document along with the other requested documents to apply for the visa.
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Lastly, I cannot tell you how long the process will take because this depends on various factors, e.g. availability of appointments (foreigners department and German embassy), their processing times, the person who is willing to declare that for you and their time to prepare all the necessary documents, etc.
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If you want to share the city the person in Germany is living, I am happy to support you to find the local foreigners department and the necessary application forms. Additionally, if you let me know which visa you are planing to apply for, I can also look for the checklist in the German embassy in Doha.
Happy if you get back to me.