JMA,

I’m looking at the German consular services website: http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/consular_services/visa/tourist.html and it says the following about applying for a tourist visa:

“Except for rare instances, you have to submit your application in person.”

Looks like you need to take your friend on a road trip to Atlanta.  Since she has a residency permit for the USA, I doubt she’ll have problems getting a tourist visa for Germany/Schengen.

Also, you may need to schedule an appointment with the consular services ahead of time.  So, take a good look at the website, give them a call, and see what you need to do before arriving at the consulate in Atlanta.

Also, just to avoid confusion:

An embassy is a country’s political representation to another country or multinational body.  A consulate, however, is a country’s adminstrative offices abroad.  The German consulate(s) in the USA is where someone in the USA (American or not) goes to apply for a German visa; it’s also where a German living or staying in the USA goes to renew his/her German passport if it expires or to get a new one if he/she loses his/her German passport, or needs legal assistance from his/her home country for whatever reason.  Some embassies have a consulate within the same building.  Don’t let that confuse you.  You’re looking for the German consulate, not the embassy. []

Let us know how it goes, and if you have any additional questions. 

LTB’s posts are too long to read, sorry if I’m repeating. Schengen states have instituted (about a year ago I believe) a new ridiculuos rule that a visa application must be signed in view of a consular officer. So much for the interview. The person making decision may actually never see you.

The only way around that I know of is that, in theory, if there is a German honorory consulate in Birmingham, you can have the honorary consul vitness your friend’s signature and then submit application by mail.

You don’t have to worry about the interview. Just make sure your friend have all the paperwork in order. Think of this as being a good excuse to ride to Alabama. Trust me, driving two hours to get a visa is nothing.

I timed it, and my post only takes 45 seconds to read.
 
But thanks for repeating in a very confusing way the good advice I already gave.

Thanks for your replies.
 
So it seems like we will have to go to Atlanta. First i thought we could do eveything by mail. But i guess not. I just hope everything is done before we leave. Because we leave on March 2nd and have already bought plane tickets, hotel reservations etc. If we dont get visa before atleast March 1st, i dont know what we gonna do.
 
we will call them on Tuesday and make an appointment for interview.
 
I have a small question since i dont myself know much about these visas. I just wanna make sure that we are appling for the right visa..
 
so our trip is from March 2nd- March 17th. And we are in Germany for 7 days and Czech for 5 days and Austria for 3 days. Because we are longest in Germany, and are flying in and out from Germany, we have to apply for Schengen visa at German Embassy/consulate? right?
 
 
thanks guys you are the best
 
Ana

[][]
 
Yes, you’ll apply for a visa at the German consulate in Atlanta.
 
Now, there’s different types of visas: work visas, study visas, transit visas, short-term or tourist visas, and so on and so forth.  Don’t let this confuse you: the name of each visa is pretty much self-explanatory.  A work visa, for example, is permission to live and work there for a specified amount of time.  A study visa permits you only to go to school there, but not necessarily to work.  A transit visa permits you to travel through the country on your way to an onward destination. 
 
Now…a short, 2-week trip to Germany will only require a type of visa usually called short-term visa or tourist visa.  [The German consular website simply calles it tourist visa].  This is the type of visa you want.  It allows you to visit the country as a tourist, for a short period of time [depending on the nationality of the passport holder], usually around 1-3 months.  For such short stays, Americans are exempt of this requirement.  Americans can stay in Germany as a tourist for up to 90-days visa-free.  But your friend, as an Indian national, will need a tourist visa for Germany.  Once she gets one, it may last like 5 years or ten years.  What this means is, she can visit Germany as many times as she wants within that 5 or 10 years, provided she doesn’t spend more than 90 days&nbsper visit per year [or it might be 60 or 30 days…depends on what the rules are for Indian nationals specifically].  So, once she gets the visa, she has the same freedom to visit Germany as you do, at least until that visa expires. 
 
Now: a tourist visa issued by a Schengen country, is also a Schengen visa.  With that visa, you can visit any Schengen country.  However, it is best advised to get that visa from the country that will serve as your “main destination”.  In your case, since Germany is the first and last Schengen country you’ll be visiting, then consider Germany your “main destination country”.  Once you get to Germany, you’ll have the freedom to move around the Schengen area.  There will be no passport control between Germany and Austria, for example.  In fact there’s no passport control anywhere within the Schengen group of countries.  There might be a spot check however, but your friend will be covered with her Schengen visa.
 
There’s only one quirk to keep in mind: the newer Schengen countries that joined in 2007 (Czech Republic being one of them) abolished passport controls for land crossings (as well as ferry entry) in December 2007, but passport controls at airports may remain in place until 30 March 2008.  So, while you’re already able to take the train or bus or drive from Germany/Austria into Czech Republic with no passport control, you might come run into passport control if you fly to Czech Republic (like a Munich-Prague flight, for example) before that date.  Just something to keep in mind, but I doubt it should be a problem, especially since your friend will have a German entry stamp in her passport.
 
And make sure you’re fully prepared with everything you need before heading for Atlanta.  The German consular website lists everything you need to have in check, so make sure you’re covered.  Seva also mentioned something about having to sign your application in front of the consular staff: give the consulate a call, and confirm this with them, because it may very well be the case.
 
Let us know if you have additional questions.  Hope this isn’t confusing!

Thanks LTB for all that info. I really appreciate it.
So her Short term Visa is good for about 5 to 10 years? They did not say that anywhere in application. But it does say that visa is valid for Maximum of 90 days.   May be I would ask them once we get there
 Its too much work appling for these visas . I told my friend she should go ahead and become american citizen already.
Thanks again LTB. Thanks for all your help
Ana

 
It might be good for 5 years or 10 years or 2 years…I don’t really know what they’ll give her.  Often times short-term/tourist visas are good for a long period of time (several years, even), provided that the person does not stay longer than a specified amount of time&nbsper visit per year…pretty much the same lenient restrictions that an American passport-holder has.  The 90 days you’re talking about: you’re probably referring to the maximum amount of time a tourist visa-holder is allowed to stay in Germany per visit per year.  So, with a ten-year visa, she’s allowed say a maximum of one 90-day visit every year, for ten years.
 
If this sounds confusing: just know that she may get a five-year or ten-year short-term visa, which will practically allow her to make an unlimited amount of short-term trips to Germany for the next five or ten years.  Let’s say you and your friend decide to take another 2-week trip to the Schengen area later this year, or next year, she won’t have to apply for a tourist visa again (although, you should probably enter the Schengen zone through Germany on each trip).  It’s pretty cool, but I’m not positive they’ll give her a visa that’s good for such a long time. 
 
Anyways, I’m sure she’ll get the tourist visa.
 
I’m curious how this goes.  Keep us updated.

 

Quote:

ORIGINAL: jma20  
 Its too much work appling for these visas . I told my friend she should go ahead and become american citizen already.

If she’s planning on spending the rest of her life in the US, she’ll might as well do that.  [] 

beach-lunch-siesta-beach-shower-dinner-nightlife-repeat

I’m not sure where this information comes from. Unfortunately I’m afraid it is not quite accurate.

I need to go to one or more of the Schengen states almost every year (sometimes twice during the same year) and practically every time I need to apply for a new visa. Ordinary Schengen visa has a validity period that does not exceed 180 days. Additionally it specifies how many days (no more then 90) one may actually spend in the area. For example, let’s say your friend will get a visa valid from March 1st till May 31st valid for 60 days. That is to say she can enter anytime on or after March 1st, must leave on or before May 31st and may not stay for more then 60 days. [By the way, this is very different from how US visas are issued.] As far as I know there is no special provision for nationals of India (or any other particular state) although I’ve never tried to research that matter.

The most useful part of LTB’s advice is to make sure all the documents are in order. Usually the more documents the better. Even though your friend is a US resident consular officer must check certain items (or risk his/her job), of which the most critical are:
– medical insurance (make sure whatever proof you have explicitly states max covered)
– return trip date (ticket reservation is usually OK, even though website may say they need actual ticket)
– you have made reasonable accommodation arrangements.

Thanks Seva for you reply.
 
I am getting nervous before going to Atlanta. Just making sure we have everything before we go to consulate.
 
so here are the main things that they need..
 
1) Filling out the application ………..which we already did
2) Sign a declaration ……………..she already did
3) Valid Passport and copy…………………….she has one and also made copy
4) Green Card………………………she got that
5) Insurance that covers her trip……….she did not have that but she just bought it from http://www.imglobal.com/ . she bought it for whole month of march i think.
6) Reference letter from employer…………she got that.
7) Tickets………………We bought our tickets online…they emailed us our airline reservations and said once we get to the airport we will get our tickets. So i guess she will just print her emails .
8) Hotel reservations………we have those
9) Her current bank statement  …….she said by next week she will have $2000 in her account. But when she gets paid in end of Feb, she should have $3000 by then. BUT since we are going to consulate, in few days..her current statement would be for $2000. IS this enough? or it looks too little? May be i should put some money in her account and then print the statement and take money out
 
anyway…i hope we have eveything ready before we go. Its just..its our first time going europe so i am kinda nervous. especially dealing with that visa stuff. I am so glad US citizens dont have to deal with it. []
 
thanks guys ..you are the best  []
 
 

Don’t be nervous, you’ll do just fine. After all, since your friend is already a US resident, German consulate workers won’t really be looking for reasons to decline her application. It’s more like “license to go to Germany”: pay the money and get one.

Her document list looks just fine, I could not really think of anything else. You’ve never mentioned what your friend does, but if she happens to be a student bring something to confirm that. Make copies of every original document, like employer’s letter and the green card, and have her submit the copies, while keeping originals ready. Check that your friend’s photos conform to the German standard. (Technically they should not take US-style passport photos, although two years ago they certainly did.) $2000 is probably enough already, but just in case bring a copy of YOUR bank statement and explain that you’ll be paying for the hotels together.

dont let gipsi full u tho
 
ok bye

This information comes from common knowledge (for those of us who are experienced travelers, including both you and me). 

Sometimes tourist visas are good for several years.  It depends on the issuing country, and the nationality of the visa applicant, among other conditions. 

Nowhere in my posts did I say with certainty that JMA’s friend will get a tourist visa that lasts several years.  I said there’s a possibility she might get such a tourist visa, but I made it clear that I don’t know for sure:



Work with me here, dude.  Not against me. 
 
You have excellent advice to give; but you haven’t corrected me on anything.  You’ve only complemented my advice.

Thanks.

[]

Hey dude, calm down! First of all, when did I ever work against you? The only grudge I have against you is, IMHO, excessive length of some of your posts. In my line of work I know pretty well that shorter messages come across much better then long ones. That is, for someone who is not an experienced traveler like yourself distilling useful information from your posts may actually pose a challenge.

Second, I see no shame admitting that you are more experienced traveler then me. However since you (afaikt) are a US citizen I do not expect you to have first hand knowledge about getting Schengen visas. On the the other hand I have to apply for visas all the time (wish I did not have to) and therefore was surprised to read information that very much contradicted what I knew from experience. Note that I have politely questioned your information and asked for source(s). Moreover, I have pointed out that even though I did not know about any special provisions for nationals of specific countries, I couldn’t be sure that no such rules existed.

What’s wrong with that? Or do you have to be 100% right 100% of the time?

You never asked for sources.  The only thing you did was refute a claim that I never made.  I never claimed to be experienced in getting Schengen visas, nor did I claim to know the duration of the Schengen visa to be issued.  The only thing I did was provide someone with broad common knowledge that experienced travelers like you and me, know very well.  You pretty much repeated the same advice I gave, but in a confusing way on your first post, and with more detail in your second post.  You have valuable advice to add to this topic.  And yes, I have US citizenship, as well as EU citizenship, so I will never need a Schengen visa.  However, nothing in my posts contradicts your experience, and you haven’t corrected me on anything.  You’ve only provided more detail to my advice, which you’re more than welcome to do.  But had you taken a minute to read my “long posts”, then you wouldn’t be making false accusations against the validity of my travel advice in these forums.  I’m sorry for being a little testy…but I just don’t appreciate that.

Water under the bridge now.  You’re still one of my favorite posters.  You’ve always been.

All right, no need to argue, really. (Or to decide who is who’s favorite.) In fact I thought that perhaps there was indeed a rule I did not know about.

As far as the post length goes, I’m absolutely serious. Whenever you care to type up 200 lines in one post on a subject that’s of interest to me I care to read all the 200 lines because I know that you are a well informed person. But I also feel that an average reader would never do that. So if you want your responses to cater to everybody you may want to make them more concise. That’s is just my opinion and you need not to agree.

 

hey guys.

so we are back from Atlanta. It was one of the worst experience ever.  German visa guy who interviewed my friend, was not happy with amount of money my friend had in her bank. She had $1900. So he kept saying its not enough, its not enough. She explained how she works in hospital and gets paid every two weeks and will have $2500 by Monday. But he said he cares what she has now. blah blah. He was very rude to her about money. And he was so loud on microphone, sitting on the other side of window. Eveybody else who was there could hear him. So the whole room knew she was poor. Anyway..so he said she can fax her new statement on Monday.


I had my statement with me. BUT i my self had $2100 in my account. So i dont think it would have made any difference.

To me this whole thing is silly. I mean she is student with $1900 in her account. I think its already too much for students. PLUS she has paid her air tickets and hostels. So $1900 is not enough for food and bus tickets??? i mean come on..our whole budget for this trip is about $1500 for each. Including plane+hostels+food. and He thinks $1900 is not enough for food???

So do only rich old people suppose to travel??? Student with low budget have no right to travel??

Anyway so she gonna fax new statement on Monday. She got paid on friday evening + she got $600 from her credit card. So on Monday she will have about  $3100.

If thats  now enough for him…then i guess i dont even wanna go to germany. I am already so pissed.

Welcome to the real world. Unfortunately US citizens are so used to being entitled to everything that, IMHO, it is instructive for them to see how not so fortunate people get treated.

Anyway, it looks like despite your not so nice experience with the consulate guy, you’ve archived what you wanted. It’s important that he has accepted her application and had (presumably) requested clearance through the database. Once he gets to see the new statement and the response from the database he’ll go ahead and issue a visa.

By the way, don’t worry, all the Germans I know are very nice people.

i feel so stupid— is there a way i can a blank form? 
 
thanks
joymrops

see im so nervous i cant even express what i want to say anyway.. how can i print a blank form?

I am an indian citizen on an H1B. I am travelling to London for work. From there i want to go see France and possibly Belgium. Where do i get my Schenegen Visa? Reading the thread here – sounds like it needs to France where i get my visa. Couple of yrs back i needed a transit visa for France and i had to fly to SFO for one day to get it. Does Seattle still not have a consulate where i can get a visa?
I am guessing i need to first get my England visa even before trying for the Schengen visa?

Thanks guys!