What's the most stressful? Definitely, applying for a German Schengen visa!
This is a glimpse of my experience applying for a German Schengen visa. Every Schengen visa applicant is required to apply in person by making an appointment, and requests are made online through a third party called VFS Global.
Because I am located in Bandar Lampung, I visited the nearest VFS Global office to my city, which is in Jakarta. Other representative offices are in Surabaya and Bali, which certainly are very far away.
I applied for a visitor visa with a declaration of commitment or "Verpflichtungserklärung" from J because honestly my savings were not much left after I bought a round-trip ticket, bought travel insurance, paid the appointment fee, paid for travel expenses to Jakarta and paid for the visa. There are so many costs to be incurred, right?
TLDR. This is the document that needs to be prepared to apply visitor visa:
1. Application form (Original)
Fully completed in German, English, or Indonesian language version through the e-application VIDEX, printed out and signed by the applicant.
2. Contact Consent Form (Original)
3. Passport ( Original + 1 Copy)
• Validity minimum three months from the date of expiry of the requested visa
• Signed by bearer or stamped by authority (unable to sign)
• Passport not older than 10 years
• At least 2 empty pages for visas
4. Recent biometric photograph (Original)
Photograph requirements are as follows:
• White or light grey background
• Size 3.5 x 4.5 cm
• The face should cover at least 80% of the picture
• Not older than 6 months
5. Cover Letter (Original)
(in English/ German or along with English/ German translation)
• Explaining the detailed purpose of travel and
• Describing travel itinerary (e.g. inter-city and long-distance trains, inter-city buses, domestic flights, or flights inside the Schengen Area) planned for the entire duration of your stay; along with proof wherever applicable.
6. Travel health insurance (Copy)
• Valid for the entire duration of the requested visa and for all Schengen countries
• Minimum coverage of 30,000 €, covering also evacuation and repatriation
List of companies in Indonesia providing travel insurances that comply with the
Schengen Visa Code requirements.
• Coverage for potential COVID-19 treatment has to be confirmed or mentioned in the
T&C
7. Travel Itinerary including (Copy)
• Valid (existing) hotel/ accommodation booking/ reservation with full address (name,
street, city, zip code, contact information, booking ref.)/ confirmation from private host
• Flight reservation
8. Purpose of travel (Copy)
• Invitation letter from Germany explaining the purpose of the visit
• Passport copy and if non-German host, copy of residence permit
9. Proof of the current employment situation of the applicant in Indonesia (Original)
• For employed or self-employed applicants:
➢ Signed cover letter/ No-objection-certificate from the company in Indonesia on
company letterhead including details of:
- Name of traveler and
- passport number of the traveler and
- duration of approved leave and
- postal address of the company in Indonesia and
- telephone number of the company in Indonesia and
- details about the applicant's working position and
- starting date of employment and
- net salary
• Self-employed (copy):
➢ Proof of Company Registration (SIUP)
➢ Company`s recent tax bill
• For Freelancers (copy):
➢ Short summary of the portfolio (one-page incl. social media/ online sales sites)
➢ Proof of the last three assignments (contracts, payment slips, etc.)
10. Proof of financial means of the applicant in Indonesia: e.g. personal bank or savings
account statements of at least the past 3 months, personal property, other assets, etc.
(Original)
Also required, if the trip is sponsored –
• If you are employed (Original):
➢ Pay slips for the last 3 months and
➢ Employment contract and
➢ Employers’ confirmation on approval for absence (Leave sanction letter from
applicant’s employer) and
➢ Applicant’s personal bank statements for the last 3 months stamped by the bank
(passbook copies are not accepted)
• If you are a company owner or self-employed (Original):
- Applicant’s personal bank statements for the last 3 months stamped by the bank
(passbook copies are not accepted)
11. Funding for the trip
(only required, if costs aren’t born solely by the applicant)
• Funds provided by parents/ family members (Original):
➢ Bank account statements of the last three months or savings account and
➢ written declaration of sponsorship and proof of kinship (for example birth
certificate or family card).
OR
• Original ( + 1 Copy ) Formal obligation (Verpflichtungserklärung) of the host according
to the terms of §§ 66-68 of the German Immigration Act. The formal obligation has to
be declared at the local immigration office in Germany.
12. Proof of marital status/ family status (Original to be shown at VFS + 1 copy)
• Up-to-date family card (kartu keluarga), not older than 6 months
INFORMATION FOR THE APPLICANT ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE VISA
PROCESS
• The German Embassy might ask for additional documents and/ or call the applicant
for an interview.
• Documents, forms, and declarations which are in Bahasa-Indonesia have to be submitted with a German translation. Only official translations are accepted. You can find a list of recognized translators in Indonesia on our website. The translation can be carried out by a recognized translator in Germany as well. English translations are only accepted along with proof of the translator being officially recognized as an English translator in Indonesia or Germany. Failing to provide proper translation will result in the document, form, or declaration being considered “missing”.
• Only complete applications can be accepted. Submission of incomplete documentation will result in the application’s refusal.
• Processing time at the German Embassy is 15 days for applications submitted in Jakarta and 21 days for applications submitted in Bali and Surabaya, in general. In individual cases, it might take up to 45 days. Applicants are requested to apply well in advance, but not more than 180 days before the intended date of journey. Status updates are available on the VFS Global website. The German Embassy does not entertain status queries.
• During the application, the passport remains at the German Embassy. Requesting a passport return during the processing will require a cancellation/ withdrawal of the application.
Starting from November 19, 2024, the visa fee for Short-Stay purposes is Rp.1,510,000 or around $94. In addition to the visa fee, applicants are charged a logistics/service fee of Rp. 340,000 or around $22 Including 11% tax (for VFS Global Jakarta) and Rp. 670,000 or around $42 Including 11% tax (for VFS Global Surabaya and Bali).
Many people suggest buying a dummy ticket because at worst if the visa is refused, there is not too much loss. However, I didn't do it, besides proving that I submitted valid documents, I hope that my visa application is approved. Absolutely, who wants to be rejected?
After preparing all the required files and documents, I made an appointment with VFS Global on January 3, 2025, at 08.30 AM. Early in the morning, when the VFS office just opened at 8 AM, I was already in front of the office door since 06.30 AM. At the appointment time, I was already in the room, redoing the biometric photograph as suggested because the photos I had provided might not meet the embassy's standards.
I spent more money on biometric photographs, printed the back page of my passport, printed photos proving my relationship with J, and also paid rent leaving my laptop behind which wasn't allowed to be taken into the waiting room.
I queued up like the others and not long after, my queue number was called. The interview itself didn't last long, not even 10 minutes because all my documents were complete. It's just that the officer asked for additional proof of my relationship with J because usually the embassy will ask or check this concerning a visitor visa application.
Then I returned to queue for fingerprints and biometrics which may be less than 3 minutes and I was allowed to go home. In the afternoon I had already left Jakarta for Bandar Lampung.
After that day, I didn't stop worrying. I found it difficult to eat and sleep regularly because I was anxious about my visa application. J always strengthens me by saying:
"From now on be happy about your trip to Europe. It will work with the visa."
For some reason, I can't be calm. I can always be calm in any situation if I have a good feeling about something.
On January 13, 2025, I received an automatic email from VFS Global.
"Dear R,
Processed application reference number DEU/CGK/XXXXXX/XXXX/XX is ready for collection from the Jakarta Operation Center, Indonesia during working hours."
The next day, January 14, 2025, I received again a notification email.
"Dear R,
Processed application reference number DEU/CGK/XXXXXX/XXXX/XX has been dispatched via courier on 14/01/2025."
Which means that my passport is on the way by courier. Certainly, here I paid an additional courier fee to VFS Global to send back my passport.
No one will ever know whether the visa application is refused or granted before opening the envelope containing the returned passport. Various scenarios started playing in my head, from me being so happy seeing the visa sticker attached to my passport, to me looking very disappointed because I felt the thickness of the envelope because of the refusal letter. That's what I read a lot. Many stories of rejection of a German Schengen visa have broken many people's hearts.
I could hardly swallow my food for a few days. The passport delivery was supposed to arrive at my place on January 15, 2025, but because it rained heavily all day, the courier did not deliver it to me that day, so I had to wait one more night. It's so frustrating.
I was even more frustrated the next day. Yes, the result was predictable. I became one of the many people who were heartbroken by the rejection of a Schengen visa to Germany. The reason?
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| ABLEHNUNGSBESCHEID |
„Es bestehen begründete Zweifel an Ihrer Absicht, vor Ablauf des Visums aus dem Hoheitsgebiet der Mitgliedstaaten auszureisen.“
"There are reasonable doubts about your intention to leave the territory of the Member State before the expiry of the visa."
Oh-oh.
The hardest thing is to tell and explain it to J. By all means, J has done a lot and helped me with this visa application. But look at the result? In fact, J himself can hardly believe it.
"Were you able to show a ticket for the return flight? If not, I can understand that as a reason. Otherwise, I don't understand the reasoning. I find it unbelievable what's happening here. Germany is letting millions of people into the country without ID and it's not possible for tourists to enter. Even though I've vouched for it with 3,000 Euros. I'm at a loss."
As a matter of fact, I have included a round-trip ticket, even the receipt is also included. No one knows the real reason except the embassy itself. If there were any incomplete or missing documents, the embassy should have asked and contacted me, but no phone calls or emails were asking me to complete the documents. Yes, because all my documents were complete. Surely, that's also not a guarantee that the visa will be granted.
So what did I do? Without a doubt, appeal! Because it's stated in the refusal letter, that I as a visa applicant, and of course the sponsor, in this case, J, also have the right to appeal. The appeal must be done and addressed correctly. At first, I wanted to appeal directly to the Berlin Administrative Court, but I read a story that the appeal could be submitted by email to the German Embassy in Jakarta.
Then, I sent an appeal letter by email to the German Embassy in Jakarta and immediately got a response. They asked me to reread the visa rejection letter and directed me to appeal to the Berlin Administrative Court. What documents need to be prepared? The embassy will not say or suggest to the applicant. It all depends on the contents of the visa refusal letter. Because this post is already very long, I will update it in the next post.
I will not give up until I meet J again.
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