| Hello,
So I finally got my visa on 18th May and here's the full timeline and my experience with the process:
17th March : I arrived from London to Kolkata. My husband already had his visa granted by the time I was in Kolkata. He was offered an EU Blue Card.
18th March : I had booked my appointment before my arrival and I had in possession the documents needed to apply for the visa. I had checked the visa amount a week before and had got my draft ready based on the amount mentioned a week earlier. However, the visa cost was updated / changed on Monday and therefore the draft that i had in possession was no more valid. I was asked to retun from the security itself and was asked to book a new appointment.
I called up the helpdesk and they advised that I must wait for 24 hours before booking a new appointment as their system prohibited them. However, I spoke to the embassy and they said that they would release my appointment in a short while and I should be able to book an appointment for 19th. Thanks to their advise I was able to do so. Important: Make sure you check the visa cost just 2 days in advance and get the draft done accordingly.
19th March : Armed with my new draft I walked in to the embassy. I had with me all the documents listed on their website. However, they needed very few of the ones I had printed. For example, they did not need a photocopy of all pages of my passport but just the first and last page however they needed several copies of my marriage certificate and first and last page of my passport - which wasn't listed on their website. Anyways, it wasn't a major concern as there was a photocopier in the nearby court premises. I submitted my documents and was informed that it would take atleast take 2 months to process my visa. In special cases, it may get done within 6 weeks. At the end, I was handed over a receipt of all my payments (12000 for verification + 4100 for visa). Make sure you retain the receipt as it is required during the next stages.
14th April : On Ambedkar Jayanti (public holiday), I got a phone call from the security at my residence that a lawyer had arrived. The lawyer was quite a polite and humble being and gave us all the time we needed to get the photocopies / printouts done from a nearby shop. He sat and spoke to me in great length about the schooling options to colleges in Calcutta and rest of India. After collecting all the necessary documents he told me that he would do his best to send my verification report to the embassy at the earliest. Important: I did not get a call from the lawyer. He told me that my phone number was never shared with him. Furthermore, he informed me that it was rather convenient for him to visit on public holiday as the courts were shut. As an applicant, you can therefore expect the lawyer to arrive on Sunday. He also advised me not to handover any document for which I did not possess a copy as any document submitted to the lawyer is never handed back to the applicant.
13th May : I received a call from the embassy asking me to visit the embassy on the next day with my insurance, itinerary and passport for an interview.
14th May : I arrived at the embassy at the allotted time and handed over to them the necessary documents. Since I had an intinerary mentioning my travel date as 22nd May, the authorities suggested that I collect my passport on the 18th between 1:30 - 3 PM Important: There was NO interview. Just document collection and gathering information pertaining to my husband's employment, my intentions of gaining an employment in germany etc. Do remember to carry the receipt that was handed over to you by the embassy at the time of visa application. You need the receipt to enter the embassy premises and also for submitting your passport.
18th May : I arrived at the embassy at 1:30 and handed over my receipt to the authorities. I was asked to wait for some time. However, the wait was a bit longer than I had expected as I was handed over my passport only by 3 PM. The authorities asked me to check if everything was in order before I left.
While this is the entire process I went through, let me now share my experience regarding the need for follow-ups and reminders as it is often discussed in this forum.
Like everyone else, I was a nervous wreck when I first applied for my visa. Not only did I had to quit my job and return prematurely, I also had some travel plans booked which were non-refundable. Like everybody else in this forum, I must admit I did send a lot of emails to enquire about the process. I got satisfactory response from the authorities in India as they explained to me in detail about each and every step. However, beyond a point I realised that there isn't much that they can share as I was getting a standard response - 'Your visa is in process'. At that moment, I decided not to email any authorities in India as it was just futile.
Back in Germany, we had a company assigned to us to help us with visa processing, relocation etc. They were however in contact with the authorities in Germany and were regularly updating me about my visa stauts. For example, if my verification was still pending, if my visa application was still in India, if my visa was processed and sent back to India etc. At no point I felt they were in any position to influence the authorities as they were only sharing the visa status. Once my visa application was processed in Germany, I was informed by my agent that I would get a call after a week from the authorities in India. It did follow the exact timelines and I did receive a call from the Indian side.
As someone who has gone through the process, I feel that the authorities follow the process by the book and they are not influenced by any number of mails that you as an applicant send to them. At the time of application I was told that if my documents were in order it would take them 2 months to process my visa and in fact it did take them exactly 60 days! The authorities are very helpful but they can only tell you so much as the data they deal with is confidential in nature. |