Help with German Visa
 

Hello,

I need help from anyone with experience in applying for a German Visa.

I am going to Germany(Munich) in late October for a scientific conference (I'm a grad student). My department is paying for the expenses.
The conference is for 1 week, and I plan to travel on my own afterwards for about 5-6 days.

- Which type of visa should I apply for? I read from somewhere that you should apply for tourist visa for a scientific conference.
- I have hotel reservations for the conference part, but I am planning to backpack and stay at hostels after the conference. How do I provide the reservations for those days if I don't have definite plans? Do I really need to reserve hotels for the whole trip?
- Is there anything else I should be aware of to not get the application rejected?

Thank you for all the help,
If I get the Visa approved then I can finally plan the actual trip!

You don't get visa/immigration advice on a travel website -- you get it from the German Embassy/consulate in you home country (which you didn't include in your post)

If you get a visa, it'll cover more than one week and nobody cares for you switching hotels or providing anything but the address of your first stay. You don't need to specify all plans you have.

Tourist visa sounds sensible for a scientific conference but maybe you can ask the organizers.

And as janisj said, your nationality would be helpful to answer your questions.

Embassy/consulate is often the worst place to get immigration advice, because a) it's not their job to give advice but they are there to issue visas on application provided the applicant meets all the requirements; b) as situation is often complicated, they don't want to give an erroneous or partial reply because they misunderstand your circumstances; c) either you get no response or a standard one telling you to consult the government website on immigration (often after paying for premium-line calls).

Direct your queries to specific immigration or expat forums.

If you tell us your nationality it might be a help - if someone with the same nationality can provide info on their experiences/regulations they encountered.

I am a US permanent resident.

Thank you for all your replies.
I will look somewhere else.

Permanent US resident does not say what <u>nationality</u> you are . . .

Alec,

Sorry but you are wrong. Expat/immigration sites, apart from official sites set up by the German government, are second-hand information at best and often not applicable to an individual's situation. Yes, you can get a sense of what is needed from expat sites but not the up to date information.

Renz, quit fishing about and request the forms required from the German consulate closest to your US residence. Visas and visa waviers applicable to US citizens do not apply to you, as janisj has stated. Make an appointment if needed.

I've been in your situation, don't waste any more time.

American citizens don't need any sort of visa to visit Germany - they get 90 days as a tourist with no visa.

However, I believe you need to apply based on your nationality - not having a US green card.

<I>Sorry but you are wrong. Expat/immigration sites, apart from official sites set up by the German government, are second-hand information at best and often not applicable to an individual's situation. Yes, you can get a sense of what is needed from expat sites but not the up to date information.</I>

I disagree. Reputable ones are run or moderated by people with vast amount of real-life experience, often professional advisor, lawyer or former immigration officer, who can give an inside tip on how best to apply for a particular visa, with required documents etc.
For example, UK Border Agency site says something to the effect that applicants should enclose documents that will satisfy the requirements and reflect their particular personal circumstances. Furthermore they say they do not give advice, and they will consider each application on its merit. If you are an applicant, that's not much help at all, but good sites will have people with personal and professional experience of a successful application and can give you more practical and concrete suggestions.

I did say you could get a sense of what is needed but in my case, France changed a policy within days of when I was scheduled to depart the U.S. which could have tripped me up.

Fortunately, the change applied to non-EU citizens married to French citizens, not those married to EU citizens. The wording was obscure, at first, and required a careful read of the French Embassy website. None of the usual expat sites picked it up quickly.