In 2016, Germany was the second most visited country and received up to 2 million applications for Schengen visa around the globe. Out of this, about 1700 applications came from Los Angeles alone.
It might sometimes be difficult to get a Schengen visa to Germany because of its high visa rejection rates (more than 6%).
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But this guide will help you understand the right way to apply for a Germany Schengen visa.
Steps to apply for Germany Schengen visa for 90 days.
- Confirm if you need a visa to visit Germany
- Find out if you need to make your visa application in the German embassy
- Book an appointment online with the German consulate in Los Angeles ( Get Schengen visa appointment for $ 10 )
- Ready all the necessary documents
- Start the visa application process by attending the interview
Read further to understand each of these steps in detail.
Do you need a short-stay Schengen visa to visit Germany?
Whether or not you need a Schengen visa to visit Germany depends entirely on your nationality. You will need to find out if your nationality mandates a short-stay Schengen visa. You can check whether your country falls in that list.
List of all the countries that need a valid Schengen visa
Should you apply for the Schengen visa in the German Embassy?
In case you are a permanent resident of any of these states in the United States, you can go to the German embassy in Los Angeles to get your visa.
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Illinois
- Nebraska
- Michigan
- North Dakota
- Kentucky
- Wisconsin
- South Dakota
- Missouri
Do you need a Schengen visa to Germany if you are a US permanent citizen?
Unfortunately, yes. If you are a former Green Card holder, you will need a visa to visit Germany. It is mandatory that your permanent residency permit has at least three months validity from the date of your departure from Germany. But don’t worry, this guide includes all the steps you need to follow.
What if you are a B1/B2 visa holder?
In this case, you cannot apply for a Schengen visa from the German consulate. You will need to apply for it from the consulate of your nationality.
Are you certain that you need to apply for your Schengen visa at the German Consulate?
If you’re only traveling to Germany, then you can get your Schengen visa from the German consulate. However, if Italy or France or any other Schengen country dominates most of your travel time, then you can only get your Schengen visa from that country’s consulate. The image below will make things clearer.
How to get an appointment with the German Consulate in Los Angeles?
Almost all German consulates in the United States don’t allow you to just walk in to get yourself a Schengen visa. You will need to book an appointment with them first. And this is the first step to getting your visa.
Also, you can’t apply for your Germany Schengen visa more than 90 days before your travel plans. However, this doesn’t mean that you delay applying for your visa to the last few days. Plan your travel well to ensure that you have the time of at least a month to your departure.
Visit the official website of the German consulate in the USA and pick Los Angeles from that list.
Once you click on your city, you will be redirected to the official German consulate website in Los Angeles. You can find the contact details and address to the consulate here.
You can schedule an online appointment by clicking on the link below.
Schedule an appointment for Germany Schengen visa in Los Angeles
Click on “Schedule Visa Appointment“. This link will take you to another page where you can understand how to fill in the form for your visa application.
Once you click on “Continue“, you can start filling in all your details in the form.
Choose the category “Schengen Visa“, and then read the page carefully. After this, click on “Continue” again. You will be taken to a page where you need to enter a captcha to continue.
Write in the captcha and then “Continue” again. The page will show you options to select the date. Pick the date you are available on and “Continue” again.
The next page will allow you to pick the time slot suitable for you.
You will be redirected to form where you need to fill in your details to get the appointment.
After this, print out the visa application form and fill it. You will need to take this to the consulate.
Germany Schengen visa application form
What are all the documents you need for your Germany Schengen visa?
The list of all the required documents is long, but ensure that you have them all in place before your appointment.
- Original passport
- The original and valid residence visa or US Alien Registration card (your Green Card)
- A recent passport sized photograph
- The filled visa application form
- A cover letter for your journey
- A proof of your travel health insurance
- Travel itinerary
- A hotel accommodation proof
- A proof of your financial sustenance in Germany
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Passport: Bring your original passport to the interview. The issue date cannot be more than 10 years before the present date. It should have at least two blank pages. The passport should also be valid for at least 3 months from the present date.
Residence permit: You will need your original permanent residence permit with a validity of at least 3 months from the date of your return from Germany.
Passport-sized photograph: Have a recent photograph of yourself. Your face should be clear and the background should be light. Paste this on your application form. Avoid stapling it.
Cover letter: You cover letter should clearly explain your purpose of visiting Germany. Include your travel itinerary in the form along with a list of all the documents you will be submitting.
Travel Health Insurance: This is a mandatory document. You need to show the consulate a proof that you are covered in case you have a medical emergency during your travel. And this insurance should be valid for all the Schengen countries and not just Germany. Get more details on this from the travel health insurance page.
Travel itinerary and hotel reservations: Show your round-trip flight details to get your visa approved. You will also need a document where your hotel reservations are mentioned.
Proof of sustenance: Show your credit cards, bank statements, and travel cards for this.
Along with all of these documents, you will also need to show another document depending on whether you’re employed, retired, or still studying.
If you are employed: If you are working in the US, bring your employment letter, a leave permission, and an IT return form.
If you are self-employed: Bring your business license, bank statements of your company, and an IT return form.
If you are studying: A letter from your university along with an I-20 form.
If you are retired: Bring the pension statements from the past 6 months.
What happens during the interview for your German Schengen visa?
Make sure that you are on time on the day of your interview. The German consulate will not process your visa if you are more than 10 minutes late. Once you reach the consulate, your appointment letter will be verified, after which, you will get a token.
Submit your application along with all your documents. Ensure that all your documents are present and in the required format.
Your application details will be entered into the consulate’s system and you will also get a printed version of the same. Read through this and confirm if all the details entered are correct. Make the payment required for your visa and collect the receipt given to you. Keep this receipt safely as you will need to show it when collecting your visa.
Next comes your biometrics, which will be documented in not more than 10 minutes. This completes your visa application.
Do NOT book your flight and hotel before you get your visa approved
It is mandatory that you provide your flight details and hotel accommodations to get your visa application approved. But making these bookings before you apply for your visa is not a good idea.
There are chances that the consulate might reject your visa application. This way, you will end up losing a lot of money.
Which is why you can opt for temporary flight and hotel bookings. You can use our services to make these bookings. You can also convert these bookings to your permanent ones after your visa is approved.
Of course, in fact, all the embassies mention the same. We have added links to the official visa pages which you can verify.
France Consulate
Your travel itinerary : you MUST BOOK your airline ticket but do not purchase until the visa has been approved.
We recommend that you do not purchase travel tickets until your visa has been approved. On the other hand, you may provide us with a reservation, a planned itinerary or an online printout of a roundtrip ticket.
Travel reservation to and from schengen area, not a ticket. Note: Make travel reservation which you can cancel
Flight (roundtrip)/travel reservations and full itinerary (if several Schengen States will be visited or if the trip covers several Schengen States and non-Schengen countries) with the name of passenger and one copy
Round trip ticket/reservation, originating in this jurisdiction to Europe (and ultimately to Italy) and back, including internal entry and exit points of travel i.e. EURORAIL tickets, car rental, internal flights. The names on reservations have to reflect the names on passports.
We can provide you with flight itineraries which are accepted by not only for Schengen visa but for all visas. We have customers using the same flight itinerary for Malaysia visa, Singapore visa, India visa, UK visa etc.
In fact, the European Union visa requirements for visa states the same.
As per the official document,
Round trip reservation or itinerary with dates and flight numbers specifying entry and exit from Schengen state.Schengen authorities accept the itinerary when applying for the visa but request the original air ticket when visa is collected.
That is why we have 100% visa acceptance rate although some of our customer have been requested to provide “additional documents”,none of their visa has been rejected for providing fake documents.
With 80% of our customers being return customers or companies which process visas for their employees/clients, our approach is the best approach if you want to ensure the safety of your visa.
This is our orders screen for this month. Most of the orders have been placed by repeat customers.
The best part about our service is along with getting a flight reservation without payment, you can also get confirmed hotel bookings, personal cover letter, leave/no objection letter for your visa consulates.
Want temporary flight, hotel or insurance for your Schengen visa appointment?
Benefits of getting flight and hotel bookings from us
Travel visa bookings have processed 100000+ orders within just 5 years. We also provide offers at low and affordable rates. You can not only get your cover letter and flight itinerary from us, but we can also improve the chances of your visa getting approved.
Fees you will need to pay for your German Schengen visa
Credit card payments will not be accepted by the German consulates. However, you can pay this fee by making a bank transfer.
But there are also other costs along with this, especially if you’re not keen on making advanced bookings on your flight tickets and hotel accommodations. Here is the full cost of getting a Germany Schengen visa from Travel Visa Bookings.
Can you apply for your German Schengen visa via Post?
If you’re wondering whether you can apply for the visa through the post, then, unfortunately, you can’t. You will have to go through the entire process of making an online appointment and attending the interview to get your visa.
Can you get a copy of your passport and permanent residence?
No, you will mandatorily need your original documents for your visa application to be approved. And they should be valid for at least 3 months from the date of your return.
What if you’re a 17-year old child traveling to Germany?
Minors traveling to Germany will need a consent letter signed by both their parents. This doesn’t hold true if you are traveling along with your parents though. You will need to submit a copy of your parents’ passport data pages as well.
If you are a parent traveling with your child, ensure that you carry his/her birth certificate. And if you are a single parent, you will also need a family court order.
What if a relative is sponsoring your trip and you don’t have a valid bank balance?
Your relative will need to sign an affidavit, which you will need to show to the consulate for the visa approval.
Where will my relative get the Official Affidavit of Support document?
Your relative can find this document in the local alien office in their city of residence in Germany.
When will your visa application get approved?
Your visa application will need at least 15 days to be processed.
What is the validity of my visa?
Your visa will only be valid for the number of days included in your travel itinerary. Which is why it is necessary that you add at least 5-10 days to your travel itinerary to remain on the safer side. This will give you ample time to explore all the places in Germany and you will not be in a rush.
Information of Germany consulate in Los Angeles
Tel:
+1-323-930-2703
Fax:
+1-323-930-2805
Postal Address:
The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
6222 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5193
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