Getting a German National Visa
Germany is member of the Schengen Area, which means that Americans can visit Germany without additional visas for 90 out of the last 180 consecutive days. In other words, Americans can tour Germany on a hypothetical tourist visa for a maximum of three months out of every six.
Prepping for my journey in 2015, I visited the German Consulate in San Francisco to get a better understanding of what I could do to extend my time in Europe beyond the three month limit. The process, I was told, is fairly straightforward.
National Visa (Aufenthaltstitel) Criteria
In order to qualify for a National Visa (Visa Type D), which is also called a Permanent Residence Visa, you need to meet four criteria:
- You need to have a clear reason for being in Germany.
- You need to have proof that you can speak German.
- You need to have health insurance valid for Germany.
- You need to have proof of solvency (i.e., you need money).
A Clear Reason
If your reason for staying in Germany longer than three months is one of the following, then my process doesn’t apply to you: employment, study, au pair, language course, or family reunion. Each of these reasons has a very specific process and different requirements. Note that employment also includes freelancers and artistic visas, both of which I also investigated in order to earn some income during my time here – also know that the requirements were stricter, and I am consequently not working in Germany.
The reason for my stay is to learn from local trades people their processes for making delicious fermented foods. I also provided the Foreigner’s Office my plans of how I was planning on using this information upon my return. I believe that the discussion of my eventual return also helped the process along.
Write up your reason as a formal letter addressed to the head of your local Foreigners’ Office. Present this during your meeting as it will allow the official to take fewer notes or rely on memory.
I provided a full page, detail story of how I came to decide to come to Germany, what my plans were for my stay here, and what I plan to do with my knowledge upon returning.
German Fluency
If you do not know German, then you may come to Germany with the intention to learn the language. This is the same visa, but not the path I was looking to go. You would have to sign up for classes, but I understand that you may not need to attend them.
As prepartion in 2016, I sat for a B1 fluency exam at the Goethe Institute in San Francisco. I passed three of the four modules and was presented with certificates proving my fluency.
Additionally,“All discussions with employees at the Foreigners’ Office must be in German.” all discussions with employees at the Foreigners’ Office must be in German. If you are uncomfortable with your skill set, bring a German along with you to interpret. From experience, it is better if you struggle on your own as I found myself being ignored in the discussions; when I tried to insert myself, the official said that my friend would explain it to me later.
I provided the German fluency certificates as well as copies of my university transcripts showing my German courses.
Health Insurance
This ended up being a bit harder than I anticipated. If you go to a local agent, they will likely not be able to provide help as you don’t fit into any of the neat boxes available to them. I spent many hours searching for insurance online and was finally able to grab something for €50 per month. Mawista also advised me to buy the longest plan possible as it is free to cancel early, but really difficult (e.g., medical exams) to extend it.
I provided the health insurance declaration page as proof.
Proof of Solvency
This is a tricky part. For students, I am told that the rule of thumb is €7,000 per year that they intend to stay. However, this is not official and each Foreigners’ Office may have different expectations. The German Consulate suggested having €10,000 per year and also a thorough budget prepared.
I provided the last three months of bank statements showing my savings, proving I would not be a burden on the government.
Application and Fees
When it came to the official application, I ran into a lot of difficulty as I did not fit the checkboxes available; there was not a box for “learning by doing.” As such, I was turned away the first two times. Know that the staff at the Foreigners’ Office were desperately trying to help me stay longer, suggesting that I start applying for universities or find some language course, but could not grant me a visa for my proposed reason. (It was even suggested that I marry.)
Luckily, I retained the contact information of who I talked with at the consulate and was able to ask for help. They pointed me to § 7 Absatz 1 Satz 3 AufenthG, which states, “In begründeten Fällen kann eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis auch für einen von diesem Gesetz nicht vorgesehenen Aufenthaltszweck erteilt werden.” Translation: if there is a good reason, but doesn’t fit in the boxes, the local office may still issue a visa. So, I presented this sentence and was completely at their mercy.
The Gotha Foreigners’ Office vouched for my time here. I received the Aufenthaltstitel (Type D) about a week after my three months were up, and I paid my €100 fee. The visa is good for one year. I must prove each year that I still have valid insurance and money in the bank, but I am allowed to continue renewing it.
I did not end up filling out any forms. I provided copies of documentation mentioned above, a biometric photo, my passport, and paid the fee. The office folks seemed as relieved as I was when we found this solution. As I am planning on moving to Erfurt in a couple weeks, I am disappointed that I will have to work with a new office.
