Dear All,

First i thanks to this forum for giving lot of information about german visa

1. My wife has applied to chennai consulate for spouse visa on 14th Feb 2013. When can i expect her application will come to ABH? When ABH will call me approx. What are the documents i should i show them?

2. I have submitted the TamilNadu Marriage Certificate, with the Memorandum (around 5pages) including DOB, PASSPORT NO and witness signatures, address of both of us, our photographs etc, and also i have added my name in my wife passport. 

Under this condition whether this marriage certificate will go for verification or not?

3. Can i apply for blue card in this time? I have asked ABH for BC, they were ask to bring the marriage certificate with translation and also my passport, degree certificate, salary statement for blue card. So if i submit this marriage certificate now, will it be more authenticated ? to avoid marriage verification.

4. And also when i am getting my blue card will it be company independent or not? I am here in germany from Nov 2011.

Experts and Experienced peoples advise are highly appreciated.

1) They have received the online application on 14th Feb itself. It will take 5-10 days for the paper application to reach ABH.

2) It depends on the ABH.

3) your BC does not depend on spouse visa process.

Hi,

Thanks for your answer. What will be the answer for No.4 question..? Any idea...

Can one anyone have an answer for my above questions? Urgent please!!!!!!!!!!!

@moonmal

if it is so urgent then, use the search function. This topic has been discussed by many experts before in this forum.

Company dependent will be issued after 2 yrs, unless you have studied here. So if the ABH accepts your time before BC, then also you will be eligible only after NOV2013. Try your luck in the ABH.

-coolguy

Hello,

Thanks for your comments.

I have made a search in this forum a lot. After tat only i have raised my question by a new thread.

Now ABH asking for doc for Blue card. So when i get this blue card whether i vl get Independent visa or not? I have not studied in Germany. 

Looking for your reply

Visa for first two years is always attached to company in case of normal work permit and also blue card.

Thank u deepZ

Now for my spouse visa, what are the documents will be asked by ABH from me for verification?

How can i exempt from the marriage verification?

When i submit this marriage certificate with translation for blue card applcn, vl they consider to avoid marriage verification or not?

What is your opinion for the above questions?

@moonmal
if you had uesd the search fucntion you could have found the answer to your query
"company independent visa will issued after 2yrs of BC". this is the basic BC rule and was discussed many a times.

The documents asked by the ABH will different form case to case. The general documents are:

• Anmeldungsbescheinigung (City Registration)
• House contract with minimum areas (12m2 per person)
• Salary slips (last 3 months)
• Health Insurance

The ABH will send the letter and will tell you in detail what all documents they need from your side.

There is no procedure to exempt from marraige verification. If so,everybody will be happy to get the exempt instead of going  through the lengthy process of marriage verification.  If there is any procedure for exempt like applying from specific embassy(BLR,Chennai,Kolkatta,delhi)  in circualtion, its just a rumour. Its upto the ABH and the Embassy discretion to ask for marraige verification.

You applied on Feb 14th, so just relax and wait with crossed fingers for verification. You might be luckyone not to get the verification.

Hmm, So let me wait as you said. Thanks for your writings for me and your time.

Hello coolguy,

you seem to be bit logical in your last reply. have you been through this process of marriage verification thing as it seems to be a quite lengthy process to me. it's been more than three months and i haven't got the confirmation about the same. my wife tried to contact ABH but they said they are still waiting for the information from german embassy in delhi. i have wrote a mail to the embassy about 3 weeks back but haven't got any reply yet. calling them too doesn't seem to be a good option as they never connect us to the visa office and the one who initially picks up the call provides the basic information in general and not related to my case. it's been the 15th week going on but with no success so far about the marriage verification report........investigation has aleardy been taken place in the 4th week of november........so what's next and when. seems this wait is never ending. anyone who got the visa quite late probably can suggest how much maximum time they take. my spouse is a german nation and i applied in delhi embassy.

thanks

hi

Today i went to ABH office and just checked for my wife visa. They said, they have recieved an request and made separate file for visa, but the application and documents have not reached them still.

I asked her about the documents i need to submit,

She is asking the following documents

1. Marriage certificate original and copy with legalisation (What does that mean? Any apostilisation required)

2. Translated marriage certificate

3. Health insurance

4. No objection from my house owner

5. House agreement...

1. So when my wife visa documents will reach now?

2. Marriage certificate legalisation means what? I have endorsed my name in her passport, will this not be sufficient? or German Translation legalisation copy. They could not tell clearly in this matter. But chennai embassy does not require any apostilisation for marriage certificate.

Kindly give your experiences....

Awaiting for the reply. Its urgent!!!!!!!!

You seem to have very little patience. It has not even been a week since you applied for your wifes visa.
Coming to your questions, i think the ausländeramt was very direct with you. They told you what you need to bring. Where is the problem??? I know i might invite the wrath of others who dont see it the same way, but i have also gone through this process and know what it means to wait.

How does anyone know when your wifes documents will reach?
If they ask you  get it translated and verified by an authorized person, then that is what you have to do isnt it? It is difficult to write in much simpler terms.

Generally if they ask you to get it legalized, then it means that you should get the permission
of the Ministry of external affiars in India!!!
Best

Thanks to your reply

The problem is the chennai consulate said they dont want any MEA attestation after askg several times. Now the ABH office is insisting to make it. Now the original marriage certificate has reached me just before 2 days from india. 

I need to send this document again to India to get it MEA attestation. By this time, If ABH office call me for an interview with all my original documents, then i am stuck. Thats y i want to share your expreriences in  this matter.

Anyways let me know any other feed back from the experienced guys.

well said strangerules

@moonmal

This is how people create thier own problems. You wife applied on feb14th and you expect by 1 week the ABH should give you the reply.

1. Marriage certificate original and copy with legalisation (What does that mean? Any apostilisation required)

4. No objection from my house owner

The above two are not needed. As you interfered in your spouse visa process with ABH, you got these two Brownies as bonus. Enjoy your bonus brownies.

As said by strangerules now you have to go and get the marraige legalised by Ministry of external affiars in India!!! All the best     or else

Prepare yourself to pay 20.000 rupees for the marraige verification.

Impatient people like you create problems for the people in future who apply for the spouse visa.

Dude, if they ask for a translated marriage certificate, then they will NOT process your application unless you give them that. As far as i know, marriage certificate is issued in two copies- one for husband and one for the wife. If you have your copy, ask your wife to get it attested or anyother relative. Atbest you will be safe because i know of cases where they DID ask for it at later point in time.

Anyways wish you luck

They said they need no objection from house owner before applying for visa itself. This has been submitted already. 

Only the marriage certificate legalisation is required, but this also not a problem, if i get interview from ABH after 3 weeks. since im going to india for abt 2 weeks for vacation, and get this attestation. 

It is not creating problem, it just to be cautious about their requirement. This requirements vary from ABH to ABH. Let me face this. I want the people to share their experience not to make any unwanted comments. 

people replying to ur quries are also sharing thier experience and not making any comments.

by the way ABH has asked for legalisation fo marriage certificate, not any general attestation. it can be done only by Ministry of External Affairs...

If you could get the legalisation of marraige certiface done in 2 weeks in India, pls share ur experience here. Will be useful for others who are going to apply for spouse visa.

Definitely, i vl make it and vl share it to you all. Thanks for your answer for my questions. 

Hi Moonmal,

Seems like you are a man in a hurry....

Anyways will  suggest you to just wait and do nothing becoz in actual when the case comes to concerned officer you may not need any of these or may need something different. The reply you received from ABH was a generic answer without any specific awareness about ur case. When ur case will come to case officer he or she will decide the requirements and contact you. All your efforts can go waste.

Its good to be pro active with your case knowing that it is long process but starting follow up after one week for a process of 3 months does not help in anyway. this will not help you in any way from escaping the verification process which sometimes otherwise (rarely) is not asked by ABH.

wait for some time and this will certainly reduce your efforts. Just a suggestion and best of luck.

Hi DeepZ,

Thanks for your suggestion. Even i m also thinking of waiting. May be the concerned officer may ask different things as you said. 

 For Blue card, the ABH person asked me to bring the marriage certificate with original and also the translated and also other documents. May be at this time, will they accept my marriage certificate or not , let me know..

Hi Moonmal,

Which City are you living?

Is it that, they ask for the documents for BC holders also?

For spouse visa for my wife, she had submitted on 7th February, but still there is no information from the ABH.

Do you have any idea about how many days it will take for the ABH to call for the documents?

6 weeks is the noraml processing time for spouse visa. Any quries from the applicant side to ABH will make the case complicated with eventually leads to marraige verification.

If ABH wants anything, they will contact you. If your spouse has submitted all the papers in the embassy, the ABH will not need to call you for papers.

MyCase:  submitted all the papers (house contract, salary slips, health insurance..) directly in India. So did not get a call from ABH and visa is issued in 4 weeks. No calling to ABH or embassy. It's that simple. Don't know why people make things complicated by calling embaasy and ABH right from the day one of application.

Tipp to live in Germany: Have Patience while dealing with any officer (ABH, Renteamt, Bank, car registarion...)and plan in advance. It's different than in India and USA.

Hi,

Thank u so much for your valuable points. Let me wait as you all said, for the call from ABH.

Thanks a lot for the information!

I too have learnt how patience is important in Germany, and thats why i am still waiting without any actions from my side like calling or visiting some officer.

My spouse has not submitted the health insurance during her submission,.
Will that be asked by the ABH or is it only on a Need only basis?

If they find it necessary, they vl call you and ask.

Hi coolguyinwuppertal

Since that you have been through the process. Can you share your experience of the different statuses given by VFS in the online tracking.. I mean, what are the sequence of statuses?

Also if the Visa process is over, the request for submission of passport in the consulate for stamping....will it be informed over phone or we have to check status with VFS.

It will be gr8 if you could share this information

I live in Essen. From which city you are from?

I dont know about BC holder. Because i am yet to apply for BC.

All my frds saying it takes atleast 2 to 3 weeks.

Healtinsurance - I menat my health insurance (TK) in germany. That enough as ABH people know that the wife is automatically covered under public insurance.

Truly, I never bothered to check the status on the VFS website. They are just an outsourcing company employed by German Embassy.They will create thier own set of rules and documents.

You will be called over phone to submit the passport for stamping.

I am from Fuerth. I too am waiting eagerly on one side and on the other side, compelled to be patient

Thanks for the information

From which part of india your wife has applied?

You got your marriage certificate apostile ? or you have did your translation of your marriage certificate here?

My wife applied from Chennai consulate

I did not get the apostile of Marriage Certificate.
I got the translation done in Chennai from indo german chamber of commerce

But never worry about the things given in these forums. because every process is a separate case
They wont ask everything from everyone. Translations and Apostile are not mandatory at all.
Only in rare cases this happens. In such a case, you can think about those thing only if asked by consulate or ABH. Otherwise, sit relax and be patient. will keep you updated about the process if i get any intimation. the same process should be happening on your side 7 days later (1 or 2 days front and back) because we applied 7 days earlier to you.. so just keep calm..

Regarding legalisation or apostille
there are two steps

a. It has to be authenticated by the generral admin/home dept of the state it was issued from . The difficult and time taking part

b. MEA puts a sticker . very simple process takes two days in delhi and Rs. 72 only. 

If your marriage certificate is issued by SDM Delhi then process (a) is not required. 

Finally today my wife visa got stamped...here are the timelines

16:01:2013 Contacted VFS for appointment and submitted documents for verification (got appointment on 19th Feb)
22.01.2013 Contacted VFS for getting the verified documents and changed the appoinment to 07th Feb since there was a vacant slot
07.02.2013 Personal interview at Chennai consulate and submission of documents
14.02.2013 Received the  passport from VFS after preliminary check
28.02.2013 Approved by ABH in Germany (this information I got by calling ABH on 04.03.2013)
06.03.2013 Called Chennai consulate (since we did not get any calls) in hotline and checked whether passport can be submitted and they told to submit passport and itinerary. So submitted on the same day to VFS
08.03.2013 Visa stamped and received from VFS

My wife submitted only the documents specified in the chennai consulate for family reunion visa. Along with that a german translated marriage certificate was also submitted. There was no verification and also no more documents were asked from consulate or ABH.

Thanks a lot for the people in this forum who helped me in giving information at different points of time. The member with nickname 'moonmal' really supported me a lot mentally and i wish and pray for him and also everyone here waiting to start living with their spouse in germany. if you want to know what i could advice everyone is 'Be Patient and things will go on fine and at the same time keep track of things happening in consulate and ABH' very trickyy..

Dear All,

Now i got a letter from ABH, to come and show the original document of Marriage certificate, arbeitvertrag and salary statememnt for last 3 months and also Health insurance.

In case of Health insurance, they mentioned like below,

Nachweis Ihrer abgeschlossenen Krankenversicherung und den zu zahlenden Beitrag

so as i understand, they want the proof for the completed health insurance and payment contract. Such kind of document have been not given my TK anytime. 

Does any one got an experience? How to get such documents.

Please reply.

Hi Moonmal,

Good morning ,

Well I am not that expert but you may get in touch with TK and they will be able to issue you the required document. However, please take a look in your salary statement it should mention the contribution I suppose.

P.S- I was required to submit one document stating that the insurance for my spouse will be covered by TK and they helped me with the same.

Regards,

Thank you for your reply.

May i know what did they ask you during the visit to ABH? 

Any useful tips will be appreciated ? In this situation, vl they ask for any marriage verification or not?

Hi Moonmal,

Sorry for the confusion, the document I mentioned was asked by the embassy people in India only and I sent it vide e-mail.

Regarding marriage verification as people have mentioned earlier it depends on ABH and varies from case to case and you can't be sure, it may or may not be initiated by ABH. However , I think you are already aware that if initiated the same will be carried by embassy in India.

If you are married recently I may suggest you to keep the invitation card,some pics showing the rituals,bills for the marriage hall or food e.t.c ready, and also they speak to witnesses who have signed your marriage certificate and its lot easier if you are married in metropolis e.g Mumbai,Delhi,Chennai e.t.c.

Regards,

Hello,

I had applied for a Family reunion Visa at the Mumbai consulate on 14th February 2013. They sent me an email on 19th February 2013, asking me to pay Rs45,000/- for Marriage verification. We were shocked to know that they have asked for such a huge amount. 

We, however paid the amount, on 22nd February 2013. After that there has been no response from the Consulate. They sent us a receipt acknowledging the payment but then no other intimation.

Today I called the consulate to know the status. They said to call back tmrw. 

I felt it was a very strange response. 

Can someone tell me if they had a similar experience. 

Mairali

The amount for verification varies depends on the distance of your house from the consulate. But 45K i am hearing first time quite high.

Better ask them the status and let me know.

I live in Ahmedabad. Which is maximum a 20000/- Rs expense from Mumbai. As far as travelling is concerned, one can easily "fly" to ahmedabad in Rs. 10000/-. 

So I don't think Distance is such a great issue in my case. 

I am supposed to be calling them today. Lets see what they have to say

Hi Maira,

Good morning,

Well the verification covers a lot of things , its not only about the distance. As you may be aware embassy outsource these kinda verification and then the responsible agency will be traveling to at least two to three places. 1) your residence- to verify marriage related queries,documents and may be asking some neighbours and all. 2) The residence of your spouse- To again check the authencity and may be some witnesses. 3) Finally to the court from where your certificate has been issued to get an endorsement.

Sometimes one of the places may be in remote locations or there may be a problem to access docs or info.So, it depends on case to case basis.. how much they wanna pursue and I read somewhere in the embassy website the verification fee varies from 10k to 50k. So I believe, the amount is ok perhaps. Although I am no expert !

Regards,

Hello hope2shine, 

Thanks for your input. I agree with what you say. However in my case, we have done court marriage and not traditional marriage. So they just have to verify with court and witnesses. Witnesses to our marriage are (3), 2 are my parents (who live in the same house, that too 5 kms away from the court) and my sister in law, everyone lives in ahmedabad. 

Anyway, doesnt matter. As long as the process is going on, I dont mind waiting.

While I called them yesterday, as per their instructions. they said it is still in process. 
 So again waiting!

Mairali

After showing all the original certificates to ABH.

they r not in the position to give approval. They told, they will send email to chennai consulate. So this chennai consulate will be giving the approval.

And also ABH added that the marriage certificate legalisation is not there, whether this would be ok for the chennai consulate or not, she needs to confirm. So in this situation, what we can expect from Chennai consulate? Either they go for verification or not? though i have my original marriage certificate here in germany.

Any experts advice please.. I am in a state of restless. Neither the ABH is saying ok nor saying not ok.

Finally My wife visa got approved today. thanks for all who is giving their ideas and advice.

And also great thanks to this forum who is guiding some people in a right way. 


Last but not least Thanks to almighty God.

Congrats Moonmal,

I feel people applying from Banglore,Mumbai or chennai consulate are getting the visa quickly. But as already someone said it depends on case to case.

I think..my patience is over now..its been 20 days ABH has forwarded their approval.. 14 days since the marriage verification officer visited us...and till now I am waiting for the final call..Hopefully they will complete the stipulated time period as written in their website and then only call us.

Please help!!!
My husband again inquired at the abh hamburg they told my husband that ur wifes application is in process and it will be forwarded to landesamt who will give the approval n then u will get the good news.now what is landesamy? Has anyone come
Acrooss such situation please help!!!!

Landesamt is the central visa processing centre. Once ABH finished their check, they vl inform this office and then the central office will send the approval.

So you can call consulate from pakistan and ask tomrow.

They have recieved all the documents from
Pakistan even the verification report cz when I enquired at consualte general last month they told me they have forwarded my verification report in the beginning of march so must have reached there by now hopefully.when my husband called abh l3 weeks back they tols him
That ur approval will take maximum month... Bt when he again called yesterday they told him this

Halo Guys,

I am in a fix..the people taking the call in embassy in India tells you we can'T reply on call ,write a mail...and once you have written a mail they won'T respond.

Inspite of clearance from ABH and the verification its been 3 weeks..but I am still waiting..Frustrating.

Hey it is Standesamt not landesamt.but as u said if we have submitted our marriage certificate in german translation den this check is usually not done.please help

Please can any one help me!!! What is the role
Of standesamt in approval of spouse visa application??? Please reply guys

Finally its approved.

The events are listed hereby for applicants applying thru consulate in eastern region.
 
1)  Docs submitted to consulate-mid-Feb

2) Approval from foreigners office in Munich-mid-Mar
 
2) Interview attended by my wife in consulate- begining of third week-Mar
 
3) Verification officer's visit completed to my place as well as my inlaws place -end of third week of-Mar

4) Final approval mail from consulate in india-mid-Apr

Total time taken- approx.8 weeks

Just evrything in one word for future applicants - Have patience,wait but ofcourse keep a watch. Get in touch with ABH may be after 4 weeks and track.

Oh yes just to remove some of the queries I encountered. Our marriage certificate is in english. we didnt submitted the german translation and also we were not required to get it appostilled by MEA/State.
One thing ,watever your queries are write an e-mail to consulate or call and get it clarified. It will save your time.

Hi,

could you share your number/email id at bikashbit@gmail.com

Hi,

I have applied for Family reunion visa at Bangalore consulate for my wife and 2 kids. Submitted all the documents and my wife finger print was also taken. Kids they didnt take finger prints. But have 2 questions.

1) My wife have a A1 level certificate but not from Max mueller but from another institute. So the visa consulate informed that only from Max Mueller is valid but since I have Blue card there is a chance they dont need A1 certificate for spouse. They were not 100% sure for Blue card spouse, A1 is not needed. 

Did anyone face this issue.

2) My son Birth Certificate is from Chennai, India. They only give computerized printout which has web site information and a unique number for the kid to verify. This information is mentioned in the BC. Consulate wanted original BC but i explained them the above statement. They informed it will be written in the application but if German consulate (i believe person checking in German) needs original i should produce it. 

Did anyone from chennai applying for visa has this issue.

Please give your feedback - waiting period is as usual 8-10weeks 

Thanks
Mani.

Hi Mani,

I haven't faced the situation as mentioned by you. However, I thought of sharing some information which may help you perhaps:

1) http://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Publikationen/Flyer/blaue-karte.html?nn=3029896

There is a flyer available for blaue karte. Please download, it states clearly  'The EU Blue Card has further advantages for family members .According to Section 30, sub-section 1, sentence 1, no. 3g and sentence 3, no. 5 of the German Residence Act, spouses have the right to be granted a residence permit even if they do not possess any knowledge of the German language prior to entering the country. '

2) These cases depends on the visa officer. I think if the need arise you may get in touch with the local ABH and clarify.

Best wishes for the family visa.

Regards,

P.S- not a legal advice

Thanks for this information.

Just curious to know. Waiting period is 8-10weeks. How to track the status of the application. 
Is it only calling the consulate after 8wks time frame or any online option available.

Dear Mani,

Yes u hav to wait. Trackingis not possible. Anyways after 3 or 4 weeks ask your ABH the status. Then u vl know something abt it.

Until then u have to be patience with cross finger.

Hi Mani,

I agree with Moonmal, However I heard some of myfriends speaking about some tracking facility on the website of VFS for chennai. Althouh I have no experience of chennai embassy. But,I believe it's better in processing the applications.

Anyways if you wish to enjoy your waiting time' .. read the the previous posts and you will know about the wonderful ordeal we have been through .. (Pun included).

Regards,

Tracking with VFS is not useful. Because normally embassy vl inform you about ur approval over the phone and but the VFS vl take time to update even this. 

Seems like chennai consulate have some different paper work done. Like pay slip and marriage photograph is mentioned in chennai family reunion visa requirement.

But in Bangalore, they didnt ask for Pay slip. Marriage photo is mentioned but when i gave them, they said it is not required. Not sure why they told that. 

[hope2shine] from which consulate you applied. 

If anything is not asked in the embassy never mind. the ABH will ask you for the required papers if it is really missing. Dont worry.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my case, i again submitted all the documents one more set to ABH and also i have to show all my original documents too. In this way they have verified my documents.

So everything depends on ABH.

Best of luck

I dont get it. What you mean i need to show all the original again to ABH?
Because original document like wife BC, degree certificate are all in India with her. I cannot carry with me as she might need it any time.

If it is only documents related to me - Rental agreement, pay slip, contract, Blue card, marriage certificate - Then i have all these documents.
Please let me know what document you showed.

as it happend in my case i said.

I got to show all the original documents Rental agreement, pay slip, contract, Blue card, marriage certificate etc., in my local ABH. 

All Bureacuracy..

Hi Mani,

I applied from eastern region, and yes (just an info)- my wife submitted all the listed docs along with my docs so ABH didn't gave me a call to show them again .

Marrriage photos-might be required if verification is inititated.

Check with ABH after 4 weeks and follow up with the local embassy. In my case they took another 4 weeks although the approval from ABH was cleared in a month and it was only when I wrote a follow up mail they asked my wife to submit itinerary and passport.

Regards,

ok - Will check after 4 wks with ABH.

My case - my wife and kids passport is already submitted and I have give a copy of itinerary also along with the documents

In the document I submitted - have given my wife number and email id. But if ABH wants to contact they will be sending mail to my postal address in Germany - Is that correct?

Halo Mani,

Well , to your query that whether ABH will send communication to your adress in Germany?- 'Logically yes'.
But don't worry they will get in touch with you.

However, I think moonmal will be in a better position to answer this as because he had already experienced this stuff.

Ciao,

Ya ABH will send u letter for any correspondence. They dont prefer calling. As i have experienced several times.

Sounds good - tks for the info 

Hi all,

This is a very active n informational thread. Am also one of you guys, dealing with the process. My wife is pursuing her Phd in Germany since Jan,13. My details are as follows :

Dt of Application - 18th Feb, 2013 at Bangalore consul

Documents submitted - All as mentioned for the German National Visa. Additional documents - Wife's research and employment contract and Hosting agreement from her university. 

I was born in Haryana. My birth certificate is in Hindi and submitted an affidavit in english for the same. Am exempt from A1 certi as i have university qualification and wife is a researcher. 

Unlike some of the members experience here, I have not got any call for interview till date. The only call i got, they asked me to submit my graduation n post grad certis with additional fee of Rs 4,000 for the verification. Did the needful on 26th april.

Still awaiting any revert from them on my visa status. All the documents i submitted are per their checklist, nt sure if that is delaying the process. Its already been more thn 3 months since i made the application.

Any thoughts? 

Regards

Visited ABH today after 2 weeks application submission in Bangalore. 
No Expectation - Just a check to make sure things are OK.

But to my surprise, the status says "In Progress" and the lady mentioned they havent received any document from Bangalore. 

Does it take more that 2 wks to send the document or it is a normal timeline?

It takes minm. 3 weeks to 6 weeks.

So u need to have patience. in my case it came in 5th week.

ok. So, Patience is the key  

I’ve also faced similar problem. But I did great experience with India Coaching & Consulting. They solved my problem within two weeks. I would like to suggest u people to contact them.

Can you tell exactly how they can help?
1st time am hearing a 3rd party can help in family reunion visa - Did you go thro them?

Thanks

The lawyers of India Coaching & Consulting deal directly with embassy or Ausländerbehöde (in Germany). It means they force ausländerbehöde/embassy to accelerate the pending process and help you to make necessary documents if necessary.

Hi Moonmal,

 You have been really fortunate in your case. Can you please let me know what I or my wife can do to ensure the visa is processed at the earliest. 

 Its been 3.5 months for me since i made the application. I was told that the process will take 8 weeks atleast its been a lot more than that now.  Appreciate any idea or thoughts!!

Regards

Hi Arun,

The only thing we need to do is remain patience. But you have waited a lot i believe. Now the best thing is ask ABH about ur wife visa status. But take a german guy (preferably your company employee) with you, so that their response will be good rather going alone.

Get to know the status from their mouth. If they said, the process got over and sent, then check with your indian german consulate after 2 days. If not, ask them what they need more. Try to show that you are eagerly waiting for long days.

All the best and wish you soon you should get your visa.

Hi Arun,

I know you are doing all the necessary steps. However if I may suggest, try to drop an e-mail asking  about the status of visal to ABH as well as embassy. It's better if you can somehow retrieve the id of the visa officer.

When you have the response from any side forward the same to other and ask to verify.

My case - I got e-mail confirmation from ABH upon asking the status and I forwarded the same along with some necessary points. The embassy reverted within a day to submit the itinerary and passport.

Regards,

Hi Moonmal & Hope,

I will be doing as suggested by you. Today, i called up the Consul in Bangalore & was firm in my call. Initially, i was told the regular version that it is under process and we are waiting to hear the status from the German office. 

 After informing them that my wife has inquired the same in Germany and they are awaiting Indian embassy revert. Post that i requested to speak to the officer in charge of my application. Was informed that the officer does not speaks to the applications. Fair enuf, then i requested her if i could speak to a some senior person. She transferred my call and another lady asked me about my query. 

She also gave the same version and after hearing her out, I told her my side. He then suggested that she will put in word of my case of the Visa officer here in bangalore and requested me to wait for some more days. If i dont hear from her, then she asked me to ask my wife to request for the status from the German office. I will be waiting for couple of days before i check with them again. 

There seems to be a communication gap in the German and Indian offices. My wife is planning to a friend of her's to talk to the officials, both in Germany and India cosul. 

Thanks for all your suggestions, really appreciate it. 

Regards

Hi arun, 

this is exactly the same status that i went through. German office said they were waiting for Indian office to revert and Indian office said it was in process. 

We were also in the same mental condition what you are going through. Considering and agreeing to what hope2shine says, I too suggest to retrieve the email id of the person in charge in the German office. Indian office never will give any information other than saying it is in process. In our case, we straight forward asked the officer in charge in German office to give their email id and she readily gave it. We then called Mumbai office and after lot of efforts told them to contact the concerned officer on that email id. They took it. 

After 2 days, i got an approval. Till now, I don't understand how it happened in 2 days, when according to one lady in Mumbai office, my verification report had not even gone to Germany!!! There is for sure a lack in communication and transperancy. And I am so sad to know that such a reputed organisation lacks responsibility and transperancy.

As I always suggest, please make a rigorous follow up.

Mairali

Hi Mairali,

 The Bangalore consul keeps informing me that thy are waiting for the German office to revert. What is surprising is that the bangalore consul cnt even tell if the verification for my application has been completed or not. 

 If the verification is pending, nothing would have been sent to the German office. Then, what revert is the bangalore office waiting for? They are just ensuring that the applicants keep going around in circles, when they themselves dont know anything. Their ignorance and vague communication just keeps adding to the applicant's woes. I am personallly visiting the bangalore consul today. Will keep the forum posted. 

 Regards

Exactly arun!

I am unaware of the administration system in Bangalore. However in Mumbai this is they system. 

There are in all 4 parties involved.

1. Visa Section- This is the place where one has to submit the visa application. As explained by an officer in ABH in Germany, Visa section directly communicates with ABH in Germany. It is the authority to grant the final visa.

2. Consulate General- This is the place in Mumbai which is responsible for carrying out the verification of documents. So once the applicant submits the documents, if the Visa Section and ABH think that verification is required then they assign such task to the Consulate General office. Consulate General in turn asks for verification fees from the applicant and carries out the verification through an external agency. After verification, consulate general office sends the report to the visa section and visa section sends the report to the ABH. After verification is over, the role of Consulate General office gets over. 

3.Verification agency- This is an external agency that carries out the verification and sends the report to the consulate general. It has nothing to do with the visa section.

4. ABH- ABH is the office in Germany, which communicates only with Visa section.

Surprisingly in my case, 2 days before I received a call for approval, the Visa section said it is still in process. The consulate general office said the verification report has not yet been sent to the Visa Section. It shall be sent in this week. Now if the verification report had not been sent to the Visa Section, then how come the report reached the ABH through the Visa Section and that too within 2 days and came back too with the approval on ABH.???!!! AND, further, I received an approval on Wednesday, which is a holiday in ABH in Germany for our city. On tuesday when we called, they said report will be sent tomorrow!

I am still baffled and unable to understand what exactly happened!

 

Hi Mairali, 

 WoW!! hats off to you for having and sharing all those details. Frankly, i dont have any idea of all these offices are invlolved, let alone know what each office is supposed to do!!!!

 Being a normal person, wht i cn gather from all this info is that since so many agenices are involved and all are standalone, its no wonder that the is a total breakdown in the communcation. As an applicant, its frustrating.  I have no idea of what or how the Bangalore consul works, but my visit to them yesterday was totally futile.  I have elaborated the same on another thread. 

 All i am gonna do now is patiently wait and keep following up with them (got an email id where i can write to and check my application status). Not sure when any result is gonna come. 

Regards

Hi arun, 

I would suggest to make best use of that email id. In my opinion, you should ask your wife to give it to the concerned officer in ABH, and request them to write an email on that id. Probably that could accelerate. But yes, it would be really difficult convincing the concerned officer in Germany, so ask your wife to be very tactful. 

Mairali

Hi Mirali,

 I have sent a mail to the email that i got from the Bangalore Consul, on thursday (30th May,13). Still awaiting the reply from their end, though not too optimistic about it. Have shared the same with my wife in Germany, the officer in charge was on leave till 31st May,13. 

 My wife will be telling the officer the email id and requesting her to write to the Bangalore Consul. Lets see what turns up. Though my experience with the whole process has been pathetic and really frustrating.

Regards

Hi Mirali,

As you have stated 4 stages, Once the application is sent to ABH and then only step 2 and 3 are done or visa section in India decides if verification (step 2 and 3) is needed.

Because, I was checking with a person who already went thro family reunion visa and he mentioned, visa section in india has to send the files to ABH asap to start the process. 4 weeks for them to send the document is a long time. Any idea about it ?

Thanks
Mani.

Hi arun,

Yes, wait till one week from the date of last communication, i.e. till thursday


Mairali

Hi Mani

ABH decides if verification is needed or not. Generally documents are sent to ABH in a day or two after the date of interview.

Mairali

Not sure what you mean by interview.
My wife applied from Bangalore consulate and all the documents and passport has been submitted to them during our visit to consulate (wife and 2 kids).

Never they mentioned anything about interview. So little bit confused with Bangalore consulate working compared to Mumbai/chennai.

Applied on May 10th, Bangalore.
Only two days back Bangalore consulate informed, we have sent the application to ABH. 

checked with KVR.

yesterday - June 3rd they have recevied the application.

One month to send the application from Bangalore to German ??

Hi Mani95348,

We have also applied in Bangalore consultae on 23rd May. When did they gave you back the passport?
Thanks for your updates. Please keep updating so that others can have an idea what to expect in what timeframe.
Because as you mentioned it took 1 month to send application from bangalore to germany!!!!

Thanks

They didnt give the passport yet. 
As i mentioned it took 1 month for the application to shift from Bangalore to Germany.

Here they will check the paper and inform via email or post if any thing is required.
So planning to visit KVR after a week to know the status. 

In Bangalore consulate they take the passport and documents when you submit. So not sure if there will be a interview after that or what steps involved. 

Hi Parkin,

 The Bangalore consul will keep all the required documents in original and the passport till they finalise the decision on the application. They might also call up and ask for additional documents too. 

 An update on my case for the forum, no reply for the mail i sent on 30th May,13. To get thru on the call is next to impossible on their 2-4pm timeline, lucky are those who can. Wrote to the concerned person in Germany and got a revert from her that she is awaiting the verification details of my marriage certificate from India...... this is really interesting since the marriage certi was submitted with my original application on 18th Feb,2013. 

 Will keep following up and writing mails, let see when do i get lucky to hear from them. 

Regards

Hi Arun,

Most probably you have already done it. But then to, just thought of sharing.

If I understood correctly, u have now got a reply from ABH, please forward this e-mail to banglare embassy quoting your points..like reference to earlier e-mail as well as the time frame. (e.g In my earlier e-mails dated 31.05.13 , 20.05.13..applied on 18.02.13..all documents submitted on ..xy date and so on.). Make it short but quantify and yes generate chain mails for follow up. mark it to the visa officer id as well as the general info id.

Regards,

Hi Hope,

 Thanks for your inputs and suggestions. As soon as i got the mail from ABH, I forwarded the same to the Bangalore Consul office. Also, specifically mentioned the fact tht ABH is still awaiting the verficiation report of my marriage certi which was submitted on 18th Feb,13. 

 Highlighted the dates and from whom the communication is. The frustrating part is that though Germany officer will reply to the mail, Bangalore Consul seems to totally ignore any communication from the applicants. They dont seem to have any protocol to monitor the applications which have exceeded a certain time limit. They should atleast inform me where my application is, if there is any issue wih the documents or if they require any additional documents from my end. I am in the dark as to where my documents are or if they have even moved from the Bangalore Consul office at all.

 Another fear that i have now is that the Bangalore Consul doesnt provides a receipt of the original documents that they have kept. Since, they have had my marriage certi, grad n post grad certi for quite sometime, i fear if they have actually managed to loose them!! 

Not sure when i will see the end of this, but still following up and will keep the forum updated.

Regards

Can anyone tell me whats the email id from the german consulate ends like - For example once i confirm my appointment got a mail *******.@diplo.de 

Hope any mail from German conulate will be ending with the above one. Is it correct ???

Helps to check if mail doesnt go in Spam folder  

 Still awaiting the revert from the German Consulate in Bangalore. God knows when they will give an update or any info on my application. I

 Just out of curiosity - I will complete 4 months of application processing time on 18th June,13. Any one on the forum who can better my record?? 


 Regards

Hi all, 

Seems like ppl are really getting lucky and getting good replies for the visa offices on their application. The forum has been totally quiet for sometime now. 

Update on my application - Completes exactly 4 months today, still no update. Officials from my wife's insti in Germany have also written to the Germany embassy in both Germany and Bangalore n surprise surprise, still hv not heard anything from them. The officials from insti also mentioned how they can help to quicken the process & assist any other ways, but nthing from the visa offices at all. Its all a game of patience n follow up for me since the time i made the application. 

Pls keep sharing your inputs and any other suggestions that led to a successful conculsion of your applications!!!!

 Regards

@ Arun,

Hope it happens soon for you. My family got there visa stamped last week. Managed somehow in one month span of time. Just got lucky I can say....

Thanks
Mani.

Hi Arun,

   I got my visa approval today morning. It took 7 months. I attened interview on 21-05-2012 in germany consulate chennai. Then 15-02-2013 I received mail from consulate reg my marriage certificate verification i submitted rmy original marriage certificate with  with 20000/- DD and other documents on 30-02-2013. After that i called german consulate customer care on 20th April 2013 they said its in process it will take totally 3 months to finish the verification. Again i called customer care on 25th May 2013. They said my verfication process is done, all documents sent to germany for approval.  Then i informed my wife, she checked in foregin office in germany. They said they sent approval on 29th may 2013 to chennai consulate. But i didnt get any information from consulate. Today morning(17-06-2013) i called chennai consulate customer care they told to submit my passport to VFS. Every time i took follow up and it took 7 months to get visa approval. So wait and take follow up. Best of luck


Thanks,
Haril.K

Hi Mani,

 Great news, congrats to your family n you!! M still waiting n hanging on. Thanks for your best wishes.

 Regards

Hi Haril,

 Thanks for sharing your experience. You have provided me relief that it might take sometime, but will happen. All i need to do is keep faith n keep following up religiously. 

Your tenure seems like a really really long time for this kind of process. Also, there seems to be different process at all the consulates. My passport is with them since the time i made the application i.e. 18th Feb,13, alongwith my Marriage certificate. I paid the mentioned fees of Rs 4,400. This is paid in DD.

 After that they requested for the education certifiates, n additional fee of Rs 4,000. This they took in cash. Reading tht u paid abt Rs 20,000, i fail to understand the logic on which they charge the candidates. Will keep following up n hoping!!

 Regards

Hi All,

I have applied for family reunion visa on 27th may 2013 from bangalore consulate.Apart from visa fees i have submitted 2000 rs for marriage verification and original marriage certificate and passport.

I have few queries regarding the process-

1) my company wants to send me for short term onsite opputunity in US for which stamping is yet to happen.Is it possible that i can get my passport and get the stamping done and go to onsite and come back once family reunion visa is approved.

2) If possible then once visa is approved we have to submit passport and itinerary.What is time limit after approval within which we have to submit and should date of travel fall within that time period or it can be any future date.

Please suggest and reply.

Thanks,
Jatinder

 Hi all,

 Update on my application for the German National Visa - The German consulate could not confirm the authenticity of my marriage certificate and hence, my visa application has been rejected. 

 Any suggestions on the options available to me now from the fellow members on this blog.


 Regards

Hi Arun,

I am really feeling v sad for your situation.

Anyway you can apply immediately for the reason. Now it is necessary for the German Consulate to tell the reason for rejection and you vl know exactly the situation and u can reapply.

All the best

Arun,

Was your marriage certificate apostilled through MEA. If not, you can try to get it first and then approach the Embassy once again.