Schengen visa to Germany - 2020: how I got the annual multi

Tourist visa on your own: without registration, SMS and banknotes to intermediaries.

Few words about myself:

✓ Alena, 24 years old

✓ I work in a visa center and help with documents 5 days a week

✓ There was already a Schengen for six months (Spanish) + Greek Schengen for a year

✓ I applied for a Schengen visa to Germany in Kazan before the New Year holidays 2020

Surely you understand that the collection, execution and submission of documents are more than feasible tasks. The main mystery is the validity period of the future visa. To get a German visa for 1 year +, you need to take into account the smallest nuances and apply "little tricks", which I will share with you.

And I will also dilute the text with photos from my trip so that this case does not turn into a boring sheet 🙂

How to get a visa to Germany on your own? Registration for Russians in 2020

My German visa for a year and Regensburg, central square with the remains of the fair 🙂

Now about the visa. The Germans are not famous for their hospitality in terms of visa approvals: they often issue Schengen only for the dates of the trip, and in order not to get a refusal, you need to provide a solid package of documents confirming your prosperous life at home.

In theory, you can apply for a visa through another, more loyal, Schengen country. But be prepared that if you do not first go to that very country, at the border you may be annoyed with questions like "Why are you flying to Germany with someone else's visa?" The Germans practice such greetings.

Editor's note: about two years ago I entered Germany (Munich) on a Finnish visa and at that time I was not in Finland itself. They interrogated me for 20 minutes and after they made sure that I was here for a couple of days and I was going further, they let me go. But there are also cases of deportation.

My first acquaintance with obtaining a Schengen visa to Germany was independently crowned with success for a period of 1 year. "Little trick" was in a cover letter in which I convinced the consul that I really needed a visa to Germany for 2020 (all).

A short wild boar plan for the seizure of the Schengen territory:

• fill out the application for a visa to Germany online (great, huh? :))
• collect the necessary documents, incl. and print the completed form
• submit documents to the visa center (in the regions and Moscow) / embassy (only in Moscow)

By the way, Germany is one of those countries that allow a third party to submit documents for you if you have already submitted your fingerprints (fingerprinting) after 09/14/2015.

What kind of visa do you need to go to Germany? general information

Spoiler: for tourism - ordinary tourist.

The website of the service partner of the German representative office - VisaMetric (replaced the former VFS.Global in February 2019) will help you decide which visa to apply for and what documents you need.

The types of visas depend on the length of stay in the country: a German tourist visa belongs to type C - a short-term visa, you can stay on it for no longer than 90 days. Otherwise, a long-term national Schengen visa to Germany is required (this type includes a work visa).

The cost of a visa to Germany in 2020

Regensburg, entrance to the historic city center

Schengen visa to Germany for citizens of the Russian Federation:

The price of an urgent visa in 2020 is 70 euros + service fee (depending on the place of application).

The following are exempt from consular fees:

• children under 6 years old
• close relatives of EU citizens (children, parents, spouses)
• incapacitated persons

The service fee has been reduced for people with disabilities and children under 6 years old - for them the amount is set at € 4.70.

Document requirements for a Schengen visa to Germany in 2020

Regensburg Cathedral and a bicycle, of which there are a lot

Important: a visa to Germany for citizens of the Russian Federation in 2020 is issued no earlier than 6 months before the trip (the “3 months” rule will be canceled from February 2, 2020). It is desirable and not later than 15 days before the date X. The terms of consideration are from 7 to 9 days.

German Schengen will not happen without a set of documents, which is not difficult to draw up yourself. And I advise you to do just that, on your own.

So, on the air step-by-step instructions "Collect documents for a visa to Germany" *. List:

1. Consent to the processing of personal data is available at the visa center.
2. Germany visa application form (completed online and printed).
3. 2 photos.
   Photo requirements in 2020: no older than 6 months; size 45 mm x 35 mm, white background. Usually, any photo center knows these requirements.
4. Hotel reservation / invitation.
5. Flights or travel plan (if by bus or car)
6. Insurance.
   You can get it cheaply online, just below I will indicate where I buy it for 500-800 rubles for 10-14 days.
7. Certificate from work / study / documents on individual entrepreneurship or bank statement / sponsorship letter.
   Any one document is allowed, but both will be a plus in your favor.
8. Additional documents (for real estate or vehicle).
9. Passport and a copy of the 1st page + of the previous Schengen.
10. A copy of the Russian Federation passport (required: 1 page, registration, pages 14-15 and pages 18-19) and the original with you.

* lay out the documents in the same order.

Germany visa insurance

Insurance for a visa to Germany does not provide for any specific requirements. She must act for all Schengen countries, cover the whole period of stay, and the coverage should be not less than € 30,000.

It is inexpensive to insure yourself against the "indignation of the consul" (unfortunately, many applicants interpret this obligation in a similar sense, since it will not be possible to get a visa to Germany without insurance) on the sites:

• Cherehapa
• Compare.ru
• Strahovkaru.ru

If you have an annual insurance policy, it is enough to print a page with your details and the amount of coverage.

Hotel reservation

Residential part of Regensburg and another unattached bike + central part of the city

A visa to Germany for Russians is often issued for the dates of travel and not a day more. Especially if this is your first visa. Therefore, it is best to make reservations for the period when you actually plan to leave. And it is worth taking the hotels / hostels / apartments in which you really plan to stay!

I book accommodation on Airbnb (← by the link $ 54 as a gift, and here >> our review) - I just really like living in local apartments :) The printout from the service is suitable for a Schengen visa. For lovers of hotel gloss, there is RoomGuru and Booking (here who is more familiar with that). Note that Rumguru searches for dozens of services, including Booking.

Keep in mind that when booking on the Booking, you must indicate the booking number in the application form! Please be sure to check that all first and last names are included in the booking confirmation, as well as the telephone number of the accommodation.

Don't be scared to apply for unpaid or free cancellation bookings. It's really scary to cancel them after obtaining a visa (okay, the probability of cancellation is small, but it is).

Chip flights

A visa to Germany will not happen without air tickets. For 2020, the coolest search engines I think are:

• Skyscanner
• Aviasales

Why? The editor described here in this article. These aggregators are useful for those willing to buy a ticket.

If you have not yet decided on the exact dates of your trip to Germany, you can make a temporary reservation of air tickets at maxavia.ru. The pleasure lasts for a day, but, as practice shows, the Germans do not check this matter. After you receive a confirmation email, follow the link at the very end of the letter on checkmytrip, from where you can print your fake :( ticket.

Another way out is to buy tickets with a refundable value. This is practiced, for example, by Aeroflot.You can cancel your ticket within 165 days, the money is refunded within 10 days.

Help from work for a visa to Germany

Before you start applying for a Schengen visa to Germany, keep in mind that the validity of all certificates is 1 month, including the period for consideration of your documents by the consul.

Help from work should look like this >>

It is not necessary to indicate the salary, but if you indicate it, it is better that it be above 25,000 rubles.

Bank reference

The embassy mentions a three-month statement of the movement of funds, but does not insist. Therefore, the usual balance statement suitable 100%, and not necessarily in English. Color printouts from Tinkoff's personal account are accepted.

But a copy of the card and a check from an ATM will absolutely not work.

Sponsorship letter for a German visa

Pedantic Germans decided to get confused and create a form for a sponsorship letter, which, in my opinion, is more convenient than a free-format letter - see the sample >>. Any third party can be a sponsor.

Attach the following documents to the letter:

• copy of sponsor's passport
• if applicable: birth / marriage certificate
• financial document from the sponsor (certificate from work / documents for individual entrepreneurs / bank statement)

Application form for Schengen to Germany

The German consistency facilitated the procedure for filling out the questionnaire so much that in instructions on filling out an online questionnaire on VisaMetric, it is even prescribed where and in what place you can put a full stop, and in which it is better not to do it.

Following this pattern, the process of filling out the questionnaire does not seem like a dark forest, and when submitting documents, you can always refer to the instructions, thus avoiding unreasonable attacks from employees and saving on re-filling, which very often happens with inexperienced tourists.

Don't forget to print out all 8 questionnaires.

Registration of a Schengen visa to Germany

Neuschwanstein, went there for 1 day

To the question "How long does a visa to Germany take out?" the visa center directly responds - 14 calendar days. However, you can get it in 7-9 days.

If the application takes place at the visa center of the regions of the Russian Federation, keep in mind that from there your documents are taken to Moscow and, of course, back. The need for an urgent visa can be satisfied only at the visa center in Moscow or at the consulate. The processing time for such a visa is 3 working days.

A national visa can be obtained at the German embassy, ​​by appointment only.

Visa to Germany for a child (minors)

Schengen visa for a child requires a package of documents identical to an adult, plus to which you need to attach:

• sponsorship letter
• notarized consent to travel from parents / guardian. If one of the parents is not alive - death certificate
• copy of accompanying visa
• hotel reservation and air tickets for an accompanying person (if you do not have joint reservations)
• and of course insurance

If the child is under 12 years old, there is no need to take prints, respectively, and the presence is not required. There are nuances in the consent to the processing of personal data, which is filled in according to the child's birth certificate until he turns 18.

In the questionnaire, in the section “covering expenses” we write “the applicant himself”. In the German questionnaire, this is always indicated, and there are no exceptions. But even despite the fact that this rule is described in the instructions, there are (and very often) those who, apparently, cannot believe it.

Address of the German Embassy in Moscow

Like other countries, Germany only allows you to visit the embassy by appointment. Embassy address: Moscow, st. Mosfilmovskaya, 56. Phone: + 7-495-937 95 00.

Germany approves an urgent visa at the consulate, where it is also necessary to make a preliminary registration. German Consulate in Moscow: st. Leninsky prospect, 95A. Phone: + 7-495-933-43-11.

Germany Visa Application Center Addresses

In the regions, you can submit documents to the German Visa Center VisaMetric:

Basic questions about a visa to Germany

1. Do you often get a visa refusal to Germany?

Failures, oddly enough, are very rare. A more weighty question regarding this country: how much do they give a visa? Fears that they will give exactly on the dates of the trip may be relevant for: first entry into the territory of the Schengen countries, students, invited.

If the invitation is from relatives, plus it is that you can not be afraid to indicate a longer period of the planned stay in Germany.

2. I am unemployed.

Those who can provide a fairly good bank account (from 150,000 rubles), documents for real estate in property or a sponsorship letter can not be afraid not to work.

There are no special problems with pensioners, they only need a copy of the pension and an extract from the bank / sponsor.

3. Is it possible to make fake ticket reservations (not pay)?

Well, if you have not yet decided on the exact dates or you are not very sure that the visa will be approved ... In this case, the main thing is to make sure that the reservation is held. And it is better to book in popular tourist cities: Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Dresden, Dusseldorf.

4. Where to buy cheap insurance?

Definitely NOT at a visa center or agency. Although I work there, I take the insurance online at Cherekhap or Compare!

5. I am a freelancer.

So you write in the questionnaire. Freelance, profile and home address (as appropriate). A certificate from the bank will definitely not hurt here.

6. How much does a Schengen visa to Germany cost?

The cost of obtaining a German visa in the regions is 35 euros + 23.5 euros. The price of an urgent visa in 2020 at the consulate in Moscow is 70 euros.

7. Where to get a visa yourself?

Contact VisaMetric accredited centers if you are from regions / Moscow, and the embassy if you are from Moscow. If you have already submitted biometric data for the last 3 years, then the authorized person can submit the documents for you.

8. Are you already flying to Germany, and you want to culturally diversify your trip? Take a look at our domestic service Tripster - here are collected excursions around the world from Russian-speaking residents. Out of the ordinary and authentic.

If you did not find the answer to your question either in this block or in the text - welcome to the comments. Let's develop the article together!

Tips from the author

Munich and the observation deck in front of Neuschwanstein Castle

My main advice - do not be afraid to apply for a multivisa (multiple entry) for a long time. To do this, you need a cover letter explaining why you need a long-term visa, and a reservation for the intended next trip.

If this is your first trip to Europe, the maximum that you ask for is a visa to Germany for 1 year, which is very good. If you already had a German Schengen, turn on your imagination, because you have the right to request a visa for a maximum of 5 years. Immediately after the annual year, you should not be impudent, especially if you entered Germany with this visa only once - you can risk a 3-year "application" first.

Since the beginning of December 2018, based on feedback on forums and personal experience, there has been a trend towards willingly issuing visas for a period of 1 year. So go for it! And here is an example of my cover letter >>

How long does it take to get a German visa?

The official version says that the terms for consideration of documents are 14 calendar days.At the Moscow Visa Application Center, you can make an urgent visa in 3 days. In fact, it is impossible to say 100% exactly how much a visa to Germany is made: it depends on both the set of documents and the type of visa. Most often, a type C visa has time to get out already in 7-9 calendar days.

Remember that it is not necessary to register for a visa at the Visa Application Centers. But if you wish, you can sign up on the site:
https://www.visametric.com/Russia/Germany/ru