Apply for a National Visa to Marry in Germany during the Pandemic 2021

 Indonesian | English

Hello lovely readers ;)

In my post this time I would like to share my experience with applying for a national visa to get married in Germany. Here we applied for an appointment at the Embassy after the marriage certificate was approved by the court. For the steps and documents needed I write below.

1. Make an appointment via the website of the German Embassy

    After receiving notification that our documents were received, my partner and I checked the website for scheduling, but there was no schedule available, and my partner sent an email to the visa section of the German Embassy. We were chased by time because the deadline for holding a wedding is 6 months after the letter is issued, so the latest we can get married is early August 2021. If the deadline is missed, we will have to start all over again.

    My partner received an email in mid-March with a date. To get that appointment, my partner explained that we have the website open morning, noon, and night, but no appointments are available and we don't have much time left, so the embassy provides schedules via email. For an appointment on the embassy website, you can check here.

2. Preparing the documents

    Applying for the documents for this marriage visa is not as difficult as getting the marriage documents, in my opinion. I have compiled the documents below:

- Filling out the national visa application for marriage (family reunification)

    Here I have filled online in detail, as complete as I can and up to date. If you are not sure, you can save it and then automatically download the document to our device. Later, if you want to correct it, just open the form website and then import the documents we downloaded to our devices.

    Filling the forms is only possible in English and German. But don't worry, there is Launch Assistant that explains each column. You can read how to fill out the form here.

    We need 2 copies of this form signed by a visa applicant or a legal guardian.

- Fill in the residence's law declaration sheet

  This form requires 2 sheets. I printed and then filled it out and signed it manually. The form can be downloaded here.

- Collect the biometric photos

    I took a photo to the studio for this photo because my previous visit visa application my photo was not up to standard. For standard biometric photos themselves must be of white or light gray background with a size of 3.5cm x 4.5cm. For more details, you can check the biometric photo guide here.

    It needs 3 photos; 2 photos are pasted each application form and the rest is inserted with the required documents.

- Applicant's passport

    An original passport and 2 copies of the passport are required. For photocopying you need a photocopy of the front and back. For the provisions, passports are issued for a maximum of 10 years, there are at least 3 blank pages for visas and valid for a maximum of 1 year before expiration. 

- Health Insurance

    I used the travel insurance of HanseMerkur. The application is very simple and in the end the money is refunded. The cost of this insurance was 217.92 euros and when I arrived in Germany, I used the insurance because the flight schedule was postponed, so the money was refunded by 160 euros. I will discuss more information about travel insurance in another article.

- Marriage registration letter

 This letter must be officially issued by the registry office and contain the approximate date of the marriage. The application for a national visa for marriage requires only a photocopy of 2 sheets. Information about the procedure and its cost can be found here.

- Passport/ID card of the spouse with German citizenship

    From the passport or identity card, which contains the personal data of the couple, only a photocopy of 2 sheets is required.

- Proof of German language proficiency

    I already have a Goethe-Zertifikat A1 certificate that I got from taking the exam at Goethe Institut Surabaya in 2019. For the cost of Rp. 1,200,000,-. And the registration will be discussed later in another article. This certificate is required originally and photocopy 2 sheets.

- Declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung)

    This letter must be officially issued at the Official Immigration Office in Germany. You can read the procedure, the costs and the time needed here. This letter is needed in original and photocopy 1 sheet. My partner sent me this letter and it almost gone. You can read the whole story here.

3. Booking hotel and flight

    After my partner sent me the original guarantee letter, I booked a hotel and a flight from Bali to Jakarta. I use Booking.com because it is easy and reliable. To help you, below you can find hotels near the German Embassy in Jakarta.

Booking.com

4. Appointment

    For the appointment, we have to show up 15 minutes early and bring all the documents that have been specified. During a pandemic like this, the number of applicants present is limited, so we have to wait our turn outside. When it was my turn, I was led through the security post and checked, and we were asked to place any electronic or metal items in the security post locker. I only had the necessary documents and enough money with me.

    Upon entering the visa application room, we are asked to present the requested documents. After that, our names are called and we are interviewed in Indonesian about marriage. After that, we are asked to wait until the interviewer from Germany calls our name, and then we are questioned by the interviewer from Germany. The question is the same as the first interview in Indonesian, but this time in German. It is about when we met our partner, how we communicate, what language we speak and when we want to get married. Honestly, I was so nervous that I couldn't say anything because I didn't have any preparation to learn German because the last time I studied was before the Goethe exam in 2019, but the interviewer was so kind, he asked me to take a deep breath and then start again, and finally I was more relaxed and could answer all the questions.

    After the interview, I paid a visa fee of about 1,200,000 rupiahs or 70 euros according to the exchange rate at that time. After the procedure was completed, I received a full receipt with the application number, which I could use to take my visa or check my application. I was also asked if I wanted to take my visa in Jakarta or send it to Bali, thinking that it would be accepted as soon as possible I asked to be sent to Bali so my passport was left at the embassy. I was also told that I could not check my visa until 8 weeks after I applied, even though it passed my marriage date. After that I went home and waited for news about my visa.

5. Waiting period for the visa

    After waiting for a visa for eight weeks but receiving no news, I finally started writing emails to the German Embassy in Jakarta. However, the embassy said they had not received any message from German immigration. Almost every day my partner and I sent emails and the answer was still the same, finally the embassy gave information to contact the German immigration. Finally, my partner emailed the German immigration because we had to postpone our wedding as well. The next day the immigration replied to my partner's message and said they would send me my visa as soon as possible.

6. Visa accepted

    After two days I received an email from the embassy that the visa was accepted and the passport could be taken. Since my new wedding date was getting closer, I decided to take my passport in Jakarta before leaving for Germany. I immediately booked a plane ticket and the hotel through booking.com.

These are my experiences with applying for a national visa. Hopefully this can help and feel free to contact me if you want to ask me about things related to marriage in Germany. You can also visit my Instagram @vercnikqd directly for a quick reply. Your criticism and advice are very helpful too ;)