According to 2016 statistics, Germany with almost 2 million visa applicants from all over the world, stands second as the most visited Schengen nation right after France. San Francisco, CA is considered to have issued around 2800 schengen visas alone.
Among all the Schengen countries, Germany holds the highest visa rejection rate of 6%. The below post will guide you through the entire process in attaining a Germany Schengen visa.
This guide will help answer all your queries if you are planning a 90 days visit to Germany. It will assist you in finding out whether you require a Germany Schengen visa and if yes, how do you get one.
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Attend to these basic steps in order to apply for a Germany Schengen visa
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Find out if you are in need of a visa to visit Germany
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Confirm if San Francisco is the place for you to apply for a Germany Schengen visa ( Get Schengen visa appointment for $ 10 )
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Arrange all the important documents to submit during the visa appointment
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Attend your visa interview and get your visa processed
Let me help you in understanding these four points in an elaborative manner.
Do I need to apply for a short-stay visa to visit Germany?
Whether you need a Germany Schengen visa or not, is fully dependent on your nationality. Click on the below link to find out if you require one.
Confirm on your Germany Schengen visa eligibility
Can I obtain my Germany Schengen visa from the San Francisco Consulate?
The Consulate General of Germany in San Francisco, CA welcomes visa applicants from the following states of Alaska, Northern California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, Wyoming and the American overseas territories of American Samoa, Baker, Johnston, Howland, Jarvis, Midway- and Palmyra Island.
Do US Permanent Resident card bearers need a Germany Schengen visa?
Yes, all the US Permanent Resident card bearers do need a Germany Schengen visa in order to visit Germany. Also, the US Permanent Resident card should carry three months validity from your Germany departure date.
Can a B1/B2 visa holder apply for a Germany Schengen visa from San Francisco Consulate?
Unfortunately no. You cannot apply for a Germany Schengen visa from the San Francisco Consulate if you are a B1/B2 visa holder. You can only apply from the country of your origin.
Is it necessary for me to apply at the Germany Consulate?
If your travel plan focuses Germany as the central spot, then yes, you have to apply at the Germany Consulate. But, for e.g., if you have France or other Schengen nation as your main travel destination, then you need to apply at the France consulate or at the other nation’s consulate.
Read the post below to have a clearer understanding.
The visa appointment at the Consulate General of San Francisco
You have to book an online visa appointment to complete the very first step of obtaining a Germany Schengen visa. The San Francisco Consulate don’t engage with any walk-in visa applicants.
Confirm your US departure date to Germany and schedule your visa appointment date accordingly, because you cannot apply for a Germany Schengen visa a week or three months prior to your departure from US.
Examine the official website of the German Consulate and choose San Francisco from the many given options.
Once you select San Francisco, you will be able to view the Consulate General of San Francisco official website.
Click on the below link to book yourself an appointment.
Book your online visa appointment at the San Francisco Consulate
You will be directed to the page shown below. After you enter the ‘Captcha Code’,click on continue.
Choose a date according to your availability on the page below to book yourself an appointment.
You will be required to enter another ‘Captcha Code’, after you select your preferred date for visa appointment.
Once you are done entering the ‘Captcha Code‘, you will be able to view the page that will help you in scheduling an appointment.
Select your Germany Schengen visa appointment date in order to access the calendar. Confirm your appointment date.
You can select your appropriate time slot and click the green-coloured arrow on your right. You will be redirected to the next page of ‘New Appointment’.
You need to fill in the details in the new appointment page.
All the details should be as per the data filled in your passport.
Once you enter the ‘Captcha Code’, click submit.
Keep a copy of your visa application form. Now, you are done with your online booking of your visa appointment.
What are the essential documents for Germany Schengen visa?
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Original passport
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Valid US Permanent Resident Card or US Resident visa
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Recent passport size photographs
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Travel Itinerary
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Travel Health Insurance
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Cover letter
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Hotel bookings
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Proof of Financial sustenance in Germany
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Copy of your filled and signed visa application form
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Passport: ensure that you carry it to your visa interview and has at least two blank pages. Your passport should at least have three months of validity from your confirmed departure date of Germany.
Photographs: You should carry at least three recent passport size photographs of yourself.
US Permanent Resident Card: It proves your legal stay in the US.
Cover letter: Your cover letter should state your purpose of visit to Germany. Also, make sure to mention the documents that you are submitting at the San Francisco Consulate.
Your Travel Itinerary helps in obtaining an instant visa approval.
Ensure to provide your Hotel accommodations too.
Your Travel Health Insurance assists in proving your ability to take care if you face any medical emergencies.
Your credit card, bank statements and travel cards can help prove your Financial sustenance in Germany.
Provide with your valid employment letter to prove if you are an employee.
If you are self-employed, then your company’s bank statement, business license and IT return documents will do the needful.
If you are in the US as a foreign student, you need to prove it with a letter from your university.
If retired, then the last 6 months of your pension statements.
The Germany Schengen visa interview at the San Francisco Consulate
Make sure that you reach the Consulate General of San Francisco before your appointment time. Once they verify your appointment letter, a token will be given and you will be asked to wait for your slot. Submit your application form with your arranged documents.
Your information will be entered online and you will receive a copy of that as well. Pay your visa fee. Finally, they will enter your bio-metrics data to complete your visa interview.
Should I wait for my Germany Schengen visa approval to book my flight and hotel?
If your visa gets rejected, then it is going to cost you a substantial amount to cancel your flight as well as hotel bookings.
Hence, it is advisable for you to book temporary flight and hotel accommodations since you will need to provide them for your visa approval.
Our travelvisabooking site offers you with the most affordable flight and hotel bookings.
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 is 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?
Why should I opt for your site to book my flight and hotel accommodations?
We have processed 100000+ bookings in just 5 years.
Our site also offers you a cover letter and a travel itinerary that will assist you in attaining an instant Germany Schengen visa approval.
The Germany visa fee
The Consulate General of Germany in San Francisco accepts visa fees only through bank transfer.
The below post will provide you with the Germany Schengen short visa costs if you wish to make no prior booking.
Can I apply my Germany Schengen visa through post?
No. You can apply only through online visa appointment.
Can I get my Germany Schengen visa by submitting a copy of my passport and US Permanent Resident card?
No. Only original documents are required and not copies of them.
What is required from a minor?
A consent letter from both the parents along with the copies of their passports.
If you are traveling with your child, then carry his/her birth certificate. A single parent needs to carry a proof of your family court order.
What if my Germany visit is sponsored by a relative?
An official affidavit with your relative’s signature needs to be provided stating the same. You must carry it during your visa interview.
Where can my relative access this document?
At his/her local residence office.
How long will my GermanySchengen visa take to process?
It will take up to 15 days.
What is the validity of my Germany Schengen visa?
It will be the number of days as provided on your travel itinerary. It is recommended that you add on a couple of days to enjoy a pleasant stay in Germany.
Germany Consulate in San Francisco
Address
1960 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA
Telephone
+1 415-775-1061
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