ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN IN AACHEN (AISA)

STUDENTS

VISAProcessFAQs
HelloFriends, The information provided in this document is just for reference and guidelines. As the information is related to VISA applying process, naturally it is subject to changes from time to time. It also may vary from city to city so kindly make a note of that whenyoufollowthisdocument. YoursSincerely, AISATeam.
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

MyVISAexperienceattheDelhiEmbassy, ByMr.ArunMurali, FHAachen. 1. DoIneedtogototheGermanEmbassyorapplyattheVFS? You surely have to go to the embassy as you cannot apply for the long term visa at the VFS. Personal appearance at the German Embassy is mandatory for allapplicants. 2. DoIneedtoscheduleanappointmentfortheinterview? Yes.Withouttheappointmentyouwontbeallowedtoentertheembassy. 3. DoIneedtotakeanappointmentfortheattestationofthedocuments? No, you need not take an appointment for the attestation. Just inform the security at the gate that you need to get the documents attested. Also please remember that without your valid Passport you wont be allowed inside the Embassy.Nootheridentitydocumentsareaccepted. 4. WhattimeshouldIgofortheattestationofdocuments? The time for the attestation of the documents at the Embassy is MonFri from 0800hrsto1130hrs. 5. What are the charges for attestation of the documents and how can I pay for it? Thechargeskeep varying. KindlyenquireattheEmbassy beforegoing.Youcan paybycashandalsocard.Pleasenote:WhenIhadgoneformyattestation,the cardsystemwasnotworkingandhenceIwasaskedtowithdrawcashandpay. 6. IstheDeutscheBankformattestationalsocharged? Yes.Kindlyconfirmthelatestchargesattheembassy. 7. WhocanfilefortheVisaattheGermanEmbassy,NewDelhi? An application may only be filed at the German Embassy New Delhi under the provisionthattheapplicanthaspermanentresidenceintheareaofjurisdiction of the Embassy which includes the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, JammuandKashmir,Punjab,Rajasthan,Sikkim,UttarPradesh,Uttaranchaland Union Territories Chandigarh, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep,MinicoyandAmini.
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

8. WhereandhowcanIfixanappointmentfortheVisaInterview? Please call the VFSGermany at 02267866013 and fix an appointment. Please keepyourpassporthandyasyouwouldbeaskedforyourpassportdetails. 9. Whatistheamounttobepresentintheblockedaccount(Sperrkonto)? This is actually a tricky question asked by many to me. Even though the Embassywebsitesaysits7908Euros,Iwouldrecommendhaving8040Eurosin yourblockedaccounttobeonthesaferside. 10.Can I attend the interview without the confirmation of credit of money into theblockedaccount? TechnicallyNo.Butifthesituationisunavoidable,thenyoumaytakeachance. But, you must have the swift details and the proof of opening of blocked account. 11.DoIneedtoshowtheproofoffundingforthesecondyearalso? Yes. 12.HowcanIshowthefundingforthesecondyear? Youcanshowfundingforthesecondyearinthefollowingways: a. Byhaving16080Eurosinyourblockedaccount.(NotRecommended) b. Byshowingtheloansanctionletter. c. Asponsorletter.(fromyourparents.Inthiscaseyoualsoneedtoshowtheir bank details. Please take more info on this from the VFS as the conditions varyfrompersontoperson.) 13.Do I need to show the travel insurance during visa interview or during the stampingofVisa? During my time there was no need for this. But you have to have travel insurancewithyouduringtravelasitmightbeaskedduringimmigration. 14.HowlongdoesittakefortheVisatogetsanctioned? AccordingtotheEmbassy,thewaitingtimeis46weeks. 15.IhavemyVisanow.WhatdoIdonext? Book your tickets, pack your bags and come to Germany to experience one of thebestplacesonearth
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

MyVISAexperienceattheMumbaiEmbassy, ByMr.SagarShelke, FHAachen. A) BlockedAccountFAQs 1. Whatisastudentsblockedaccount? Itisabankaccountinwhichyouhavetoinitiallydepositaminimumamountof EURO 8040/ in a German bank. As per current rules as imposed by the German Consulate, every student must show a minimum amount of EURO 8040/ in order to get their VISA processed. (visit the respective German Embassywebsiteforfurtherdetails) Alsonote thatfromthisaccountyoucanonlywithdrawamaximumamount of EURO670/permonth. 2. Howtoproceed? Once you have received an admit letter from the university and you have decided to consider this admit, the first thing you need to do is get an applicationFormforopeningaSperrkontoinDeutscheBank. For me, I got a soft copy of the form with my admit confirmation email itself. However, in case you dont get any, you can get it from the Deutsche Bank website. 3. FillinguptheForm. Theformisquitestraightforward.However,therearesomefieldswhichmight needsomeclarifications. a. In the field that asks for the Study place in Germany, you have to writetheplaceyouruniversityislocatedin.InmycaseitwasAachen. b. In the field Account holder state your name or the name who will own this account. Details like the branch number and the customer masternumbercanbeignoredsinceyoudonthaveanycurrently. c. Supplementary Form: Again this form is self explanatory, you may change the amount to be blocked and monthly withdrawal amount from 8040 and 670 respectively. Leaving this fields blank take the abovementioneddefaultvalues. Please note, you need to sign this Form in front of the embassy official and thustakeanattestationonthesamefromthem.
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

4. AttestationoftheForm. After you have finished filling up the form, you need to get this form certified/attested form the German Embassy as per the instructions given in theform.Youhavetosignontheforminfrontoftheembassyofficialwhowill then verify and attest your application/form. You also need to get your passport attested from the German Embassy which is also to be sent with this form. Generally embassies have specific timings for the attestation related services. You should check the embassy website for these timings. Also check fortheattestationchargesonthewebsite.(Irecommendyoutocarrycash) 5. Wheretosendtheapplication/Form? Youcanfindthisaddressintheapplicationformitself. 6. Howmuchtimedoesittaketogetyouraccountopened? Generallyittakesaround12weeksforyourapplicationtogetprocessed. For me it took about a week. It is recommended that you apply for a blocked account well in advance as soon as you decide your university so that you will getenoughtimetogoaheadwiththeVISAprocedure. 7. Whatarethechargesforopeningtheblockedaccount? ThebankchargesareEURO50/. Thusyouneedtotransfertheminimumamounttobeblocked+50 Please note that you do not have to send any money to open an account initially. These 50 Euros will be deducted from the amount you transfer later when your account has been opened. You will get a bank statement once your amountgetsdeposited. 8. VISAProcedure 1. Importantthingtostartwith! Probably the most important thing is to open a blocked account in a German bank. I did it in Deutsche Bank, as most of us do.You need to fill in the applicationformforopeningastudentsblockedaccount(Sperrkonto).Youcan getthisformfromtheDeutschebankwebsite.Afterfillingtheformyouneed to get your signature on this form attested from the German Embassy, where you need to sign this form in front of an embassy officer after which you get theformcertified.Alsogetacopyofyourpassportattestedfromtheembassy. After following the above procedure I sent the attested Form and the copy of myattestedpassporttotheDeutscheBankofficeinHamburg(asmentionedin the form). In around one week I got a confirmation from the bank about the opening of my account. In short I got my Deutsche bank account details. (Betterrefertoabovedetailsfordetailedinformation)
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

2. DoIneedtotakeanappointmentattheembassyformyVISAinterview? Yes, after opening my blocked account I checked the website of Mumbai Consulate General of Germany and there was a portal to book dates for the VISA interview. After booking the date I had around 20 days to gather all the necessarydocumentsandtotransferthemoneyinmyblockedaccount. 3. Howmuchamounttotransferinyouraccount? YouneedtohaveaminimumofEURO8040/inyouraccount.Pleasenotethat Deutsche Bank deducts 50 as the charge to open the account so transfer the minimum required blocked account amount + 50. Also take care of the international transaction fees while transferring the money (depends on the bankyoutransferthemoneyfrom). A suggestion: VISA procedure may take more than 2 months, so it is better to startwellinadvanceconsideringthisconstraint... 4. WhatdocumentsdoIneed? I. Applicationform(canbeobtainedfromtheEmbassywebsite) II. Passport III. 2photographs IV. Demanddraftforvisafees(payableatMumbai) V. LetterofAdmission(Hardcopyofyouradmitletter) VI. Marksheets and certificates (take all marksheets and your degree certificate in caseyouhavereceiveditfromyouruniversity) VII. ProofofEnglishLanguageproficiency(IgavethemmyIELTScertificate) VIII. ProofofGermanLanguageproficiency,ifapplicable IX. Proof of financial means (Statement of your blocked account after transferring therequiredamount.Alsocheckwebsiteformoredetails) X. Declarationofauthenticityofdocumentssubmitted Apart form the ones mentioned above I was asked to submit my work experience letter. So in case you have an work experience, you should include it in your documentsets. And yes you need two sets of these documents, preferably arranged in the above mentionedsequence. Youalsoneedtoincludeacoverletterforyourapplication.
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

5. DoIneedtoshowtheproofoffundingforthesecondyearalso? Yes.Ishowedmyloansanctionletter. 6. HowcanIshowthefundingforthesecondyear? Youcanshowfundingforthesecondyearinthefollowingways: Byhaving16,080Eurosinyourblockedaccount.(NotRecommended) Byshowingtheloansanctionletter. 7. Whatquestionsdidtheyaskfortheinterview? Luckily the onlyquestionaskedto me waswhatare your semester fees?. As far asIhaveseen,MumbaiConsulatewillaskonlystraightforwardquestions.Ithink, thekeyistogetalltherequireddocumentsandinproperorder. 8. AfterhowmanydayscanIexpecttheVISA? Well, it depends. The consulate gives a timeline of around 612 weeks for VISA processing.LuckilymyVISAwasdonein3weeks.Igotanemailfromtheembassy tocomeforthestampingoftheVISA. At the time of stamping, they may ask you to get some documents which you failed to show during your VISA interview or some extra documents which might be of interest. Make sure you are ready in case they ask for any. (Generally they willtellyouinadvanceinyourVISAconfirmationmail).
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

MyVISAexperienceattheChennaiEmbassy, ByVeerappanLaxman, RWTHAachen. 1. BlockedAccount I set out to apply for a study Visa and there I came upon my first and biggest hurdle: the opening of the Sperrkonto (Blocked Account). The fact that the onlineDeutscheBanksiteandsupportservicerelatingtothisspecialaccounttype were not well setup in 2012, it led to a scarcity of current information on how to open the account and block the required amount of money. The solution to this problem came from a friend working in Deutsche Bank India. By his suggestion, I metwiththeManagerofthelocalbranchofDeutscheBankIndiaandtoldhimmy situation. He told me to open a local Savings account and transfer the blocked amount money to this account. Once I was done with that, within a few hours, I got a call to come and sign the account opening form after which the Manager signedasthenotary(noneedtogototheConsulate)andthedocumentwassent to Deutsche Bank, Hamburg. The whole process took 4 days (From opening the local account to sending the filled and signed form). Within 14 working days I got a mail from Deutsche Bank Hamburg confirming the opening of my account. A fewdaysafterthatwastheconfirmationoftheblockedamount. 2. Interview: With these two documents, it was a smooth ride all the way from scheduling the Visa interview to attending the Interview. The Interview in itself was pretty ordinary: What course are you studying? What do you plan to do once you graduate?etc. 3. AfterInterview: ChennaiConsulateisalwaysswampedwithapplicationsandthereforeittookme a whole 8 weeks to get the Visa. To make it worse, the Hotline at the Chennai Consulateisalwaysbusy(thelineisopenforonly1hour/day)soittakesamiracle togetthroughtosomeoneandgetsomerelevantanswers.WhenIfinallygotthe call to come and get my Visa stamped, I already had chewed my fingers to the bone. Except for the long processing time, Chennai Consulate is pretty good. Its easy to get appointments and the Interviewers are relaxed, so you dont get all tensed up. One suggestion:before applying for a Visa, check and recheck all the present conditions in the Embassy Website and always block an amount which atleast 50 Euros/month more than what is required so that when you get the blocked account confirmation, you dont find out that the blocked amount has changed (Happenedto a guy who wasattending the Interview before me). This is myexperience,hopeithelps!
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

MyVISAexperienceattheBangloreEmbassy, ByJasonFernandes, RWTHAachen. Perhaps the most smoothest procedure of them all. To start off with, it is highly recommended that you begin with the Deutsche bank formalities.Two options: 1). Contact deutsche bank, Germany directly through the link given on the bangaloreconsulatewebpage. 2). Have a fixed deposit of Rs.1,00,000/ in Deutsche bank, b'lore and they will takeyoubythehandthroughthebankprocedure.Iwouldrecommendthefirst option! Furthermore,simplegeneralrulesapply: 1).Doexactlyasperinstructionsonthebangaloreconsulatewebpage. 2). If the deutsche bank sperrkonto document is not present at the time of the interview,no issues! Its anyways better to carry along a copy of the document sentforaccountopeningtodeutschebankgermany. 3).Peoplewhohavenotgotthedegreecertificateyetalsoneedntworry..Take whatever latest document you can take frm your university. Transcripts/ provisionaldegreecertificateetc. 4). Take a separate appointment for attestation of the application form.Book bothappointmentsonline. Normalprocessingtime:11.5monthsfromdateofinterview
Association Indian Students in Aachen (AISA) [Typeof text] [Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]