How to Apply for a German visa from Bangladesh and requirements for different types of visas
By: Mahmuda Afreen / Read more about us.
People of Bangladesh have to apply for permission to enter many countries including Germany. That permission to enter Germany is called the German visa application. However, one will have to validate their purpose of traveling and find out which type of visa is matching their purpose.
They need to categorize their purpose and book an appointment online in that category. After that, the embassy will reach out to the applicant for further processing and document submission depending on the type. In case you want to know more, the information below will help.
Applying for a German visa from Bangladesh required a valid purpose and valid documents. Without any help from agents, anyone can apply for any type of visa by themselves. The online appointment system and document checklist mentioned on the website will be enough for that.
Apply for a German visa from Bangladesh
People seek visas to other countries for any purpose. Specifically, higher study, job, business, and travel. These are the most common criteria for seeking a visa from one country to another. As Bangladesh is seeking German visas, the ratio of student visas and job visas is at the highest position.
Every year, thousands of people take appointments for that and get their required gateway to enter Germany for different purposes. Today, I will enlighten the type, way, requirements, and every other detail regarding applying for German Visa as a Bangladeshi.
What is a German Visa?
Specifically, a visa is a validation of entering a region. We all know that every country has its boundaries, rules, and regulations entering for people in other countries. A visa served as proof that the specific person has the legality to enter that specific country.
A German Visa is the piece of proof or validation on one person’s identification documents that the person is authorized to enter Germany. Mostly, the passport travel page of the specific person seeking permission to stay for the long term will have the German Visa.
Who will need a German Visa?
Anyone outside EU nationality will need a Visa to stay in Germany for more than 90 days for any purpose. According to that rule, Bangladeshi will need Visa to enter Germany from the airport or any legalized immigration gate.
However, if the person already has a Visa from any EU country, he or she can enter Germany without the visa. But in case of staying more than 90 days, they will need to register with the immigration office and get the visa from there.
What is the types of German visa for Bangladeshi?
Every country has a separate zone and structure of visa specification. It is also true for every country in the European Union. Many think that since Germany is a member of the EU the type of Visa and other things will be the same as other countries of the EU.
Categorizing the Visa type of German for Bangladeshi is quite different from other countries including the EU countries. Specifically, there are two types of Visas for this country. Those are,
1. Short Term
People who intend to stay in any of the cities of this country for less than 90 days will need a short-term visa. It is for business, trade, tourism, medical, field research, and more. Mainly, government figures, businessmen, and many travel enthusiasts from Bangladesh apply for this type of Visa.
Many residing in Germany as students, permanently, and having dual citizenship apply for a short-term visa to invite their parents or other family members. Mainly, students like to bring their parents to attend their convocation or graduation days.
It is one of the best days of their life and they like to experience the proud face of their parents. That is why German Embassy opens this visa type for students to bring their father, mother, and other family members of the first line.
How to apply for a short-term visa for Germany from Bangladesh?
Applying for a short-term visa to Germany is easy as anything. Depending on the purpose of the travel one will need separate things. For example, if one is going for business, they will need sufficient documents to prove that while facing the Visa officer in the embassy during the interview.
Before that, one will have to apply for the appointment through an online portal of the German Embassy in Dhaka. After taking the appointment using the personal data of the person on will get a confirmation email.
In that email, there will be further information such as reference number, passport number, and name of registered data. One can confirm the important data they provided in the online application. If they somehow put in any wrong information, they can simply use the cancelation link in the email. Filling a captcha, they can cancel it and then take the appointment again.
After that, there will be a waiting period to get an appointment in the embassy, it can be 2 or 3 months or more. In the meantime, the embassy will give an email requesting to submit all the required documents. There will be a pdf attached of the checklist of the documents. Those are,
2. Applicantsunder 18 will need,
- A birth certificate or proof of guardianship
- A recent letter from the school signed
- passports of all guardians and an Irish residence permit
If the minor is traveling alone or without a guardian then written consent will be mandatory from the parents. It needed to be signed by all guardians and certified by a notary public or Garda. Moreover, one of the parents needed to be present while the interview.
3. A picture of passport size not older than six months.
4. Informal travel plan.
5. Proof of the family relationship, marriage certificate or birth certificate, original and one photocopy.
6. Passport of Irish/EU/EEA spouse or child.
7. Proof of address; a bill or bank statement.
8. Passport, original, and photocopy. At least 2 blank pages with validation of at least 1 year or 12 months.
After submitting all those documents via email, the authority will get back to the applicant with the interview details such as date and time. At that time, the applicant will have to present physically all the original documents and copies of them.
A Visa Officer or VO will take the interview to examine the authenticity of the application and the applicant. Based on the subject and the situation, it can be long as 2 minutes to 30 minutes or more. One will have to submit the main passport to the embassy and they will provide a receipt of collection. Moreover, a visa fee of 85 euros is needed to pay.
Based on the cities the visa processing can take one day to 3 to 4 weeks. Again, they will notify you to collect the passport via email. Once one gets the passport, one will know the decision of the VO.
How to apply for a business or trade Visa in Germany as a Bangladeshi?
For the business or trade visa, there is also an option to apply online first. After that, the authority will get back to the applicant with an email to submit all the required documents. It is a must to submit all the documents within time to get an interview date from the embassy. The required documents are,
1. Application form.
2. Declaration of Consent.
3. Passport (Validity minimum three months from the date of expiry of the
requested visa and at least two blank pages).
4. Previous passport(s) if applicable.
5. Two recent biometric passport-sized photographs (3.5×4.5cm), should not be older than 6 months.
6. Overseas medical insurance.
7. Flight and hotel reservations.
8. Personal cover letter explaining the purpose of the visit and who will bear the travel cost.
9. Valid Invitation letter from the company, organization, trade fair, and so on.
10. Proof of financial means of the applicant in Bangladesh. For example, personal bank statements of at least the last 6 months before application, personal property, assets, and others.
11. Documents related to civil status in English or German.
Luckily, there is no waiting period for such a visa and the application time frame is quite fast compared to others.
Apply for a tourist visa as a Bangladeshi for Germany
Germany is one of the most beautiful countries with natural phenomena as well as man-made phenomenon. One will see the tremendous ancient building in every footstep inside this country. Every city is full of popular castles.
So, many people from Bangladesh like to travel to this country for a couple of months or a few weeks. They think of this as one a lifetime opportunity. For applying for a tourist visa, one will have to apply for a short-term visa. Also, the embassy will ask for the required documents via email first before scheduling an interview.
So, they must arrange all the documents before even applying for the appointment online. The required documents are,
1. Application form
2. Declaration of Consent
3. Passport (Validity minimum three months from the date of expiry of the
requested visa and at least two blank pages)
4. Overseas medical insurance
5. Flight and hotel reservation
6. Personal cover letter explaining the purpose of your visit and who will bear the travel cost
7. Tour Plan lining out the entire intended itinerary/activities in the Schengen area
8. Proof of recent employment or studentship
9. Bank statement of 6 months old with sufficient balance or property, assets, or others.
10. Documents related to civil status
The embassy will seriously check the hotel booking and the air tickets of two-way. Also, the bank statement and travel are extremely important. The health insurance of the applicant needed to cover the whole stay and it must have to be 30,000 euros.
2. long Term
I have already mentioned that a visa that does not falls into the short-term criteria falls into the long-term. Mainly, an applicant to live for more than 3 months, 12 weeks, or 90 days will need a long-term visa.
Mainly, students desiring to study in Germany, and people with a proper job in a German company with a proper salary can apply for this type of Visa. Moreover, there is a section on Family reunion visas. Using this criterion for long-term visas people bring their spouses.
As I said, the requirements of documents and the process of applying for a visa for those criteria will be different for different types. Below I will be explaining the process of applying.
How to apply for Student Visa in Germany from Bangladesh?
For an international student, Germany is one of the countries which is considered to be the best option. One of the main reasons that Bangladeshi students choose Germany is the tuition-free education. In the public universities of Germany, Bangladeshi students will not need to pay any tuition fees. Education in any discipline is completely free.
However, the student will need to pay a semester contribution fee of 80 euros to 300 euros. In that fee, all the additional charges of the university as well as the local transportation ticket will be added.
Another reason is their well-structured, organized, and practically focused curriculum of them. Mainly, this country is heaven for the student seeking higher education in the field of engineering of computer science, mechanical engineering, and subject of any engineering discipline.
There are three options for education to seek an education visa for the long term, See the total process of apply a german student visa from Bangladesh.
1. Bachelor
For the bachelor’s study from Bangladesh, the applicant will need to first complete one year of bachelor’s in Bangladesh. One year will cover 25% of the total credit and after that, they can apply to German universities of the same subject or relevant. Because to be qualified for university, they require 13 years of education which is 12 years in our country.
In that case, they will need to fulfill other criteria of the individual university such as minimum CGPA, IELTS, Motivational Letter, and more.
After getting the offer letter from any university, the student can book an appointment online from the German Embassy Dhaka website as a bachelor student applicant. Again, there is a waiting period that they have to face and after the end of the time, they will first get a document submission email and then the interview email.
After facing the interview on the decided date, the embassy will get back to the applicant within 4/6 weeks via email to collect the passport with a visa decision.
2. Masters
The application procedure for a master’s student in Germany is almost the same as the Bachelor’s. In the case of postgraduation in Germany, the Bangladeshi student will have to complete 4 years of bachelor’s first. Then they can apply to German universities of the relevant subject.
In this level of education, the applicant will need to fulfill other criteria too such as IELTS. After securing a place in the university, one can apply for a student visa online in the university portal. They must have to select the master’s candidate for the appointment.
There is also a waiting period of more than 12 months for the master’s applicant for Bangladeshi students. After applying for the visa with a valid offer letter, the rest of the process is the same as the bachelor applicant.
3. PhD
The application process for both universities and the visa of Ph.D. students for Germany is a little different than the other two. One will have to directly contact the professor and convince him or her with a research proposal and other criteria to secure a place for the Ph.D.
After getting the place or offer as a Ph. D. student, one can book an appointment with the Scholarship Holder option. The good thing is the application with a Ph.D. holder position, there will be no waiting period. With proper documents and fulfilling the requirements in the doc submission which will be in your inbox within 7 to 14 days, they will schedule an interview taking not more than 7 days.
What is the document checklist for the Bachelor, master, and Ph.D. applicants for German Visas from Bangladesh?
The document checklist for the Bangladeshi student got changed a few times over time. Mainly, the sequence of the checklist gets a huge change. Let’s see the type of documents one will need as a Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. applicant.
1. Valid passport with at least two blank pages and validity of 12 months from the date of the appointment.
2. Before, the embassy asked for 3 biometric photos, not older than 6 months. But in the recent update of October 2022, they asked for 2 biometric photos not older than six months.
3. 2 visa application forms signed and dated. One must fill up the form properly and mention the permanent residence properly according to the passport.
4. two copies of the passport data page in A4 size.
5. Offer letter, 2 copies
6. Enrollment letter, 2 copies
7. Medium of Instruction from the recent university; the document must have a clear indication of whether the medium of instruction of the course will be in English or German. If the MOI is German then the student will have to prove the required German language skill certificate.
8. 2 Copies of the Secondary board exam and Higher secondary board exam certificate and transcript.
9. Transcript and certificate of Bachelor, 2 copies.
10. Proof of English Language, IELTS, TOFEL, and Proof of German B1 level if relevant.
11. Proof of financial needs or living expenses of the applicant for 12 months. The document which will be accepted regarding that is,
- Confirmation of scholarship/stipend
- Formal sponsorship letter from a sponsor living in Germany
- Blocked account in Germany in the name of the applicant, 11208 Euro/ 934 euro per month.
12. Proof of Health Insurance
13. Proof of Travel Insurance
14. Motivational Letter
15. Curriculum Vitae.
While facing the embassy, one will need two copies of all the mentioned documents and a 75 euro visa application fee.
How to apply for the family reunion Visa from Bangladesh?
The family reunion Visa is another long-term visa that the foreigner applies for. Mainly, Bangladeshi residing permanently in Germany or doing a stable job invite their spouse or other members of the family. This type of visa is for them to apply for.
There are a few requirements they need to fulfill before applying. Those needed to be done in the city registration office of Germany where they live. They will need to take permission for applying for the visa.
After that, the applicant will have to apply online for an appointment at the German Embassy in Dhaka. There are also a few months of waiting period for the family reunion visa too. They will sequentially get the doc submission email and then the interview email. After the interview, it will take at least 4 months to process the application and provide a decision for them.
Moreover, the required documents for a family reunion visa are,
1. Valid passport (with a validity of at least 12 months)
2. 3 recent biometrical passport photographs (not older than six months)
3. 2 Visa application forms
4. Signed Declaration on True and Complete Information
5. Birth certificate, if applicable, accompanying children on Govt. Form 3-A
6. Marriage certificate (for all confessions) / Nikah Nama (for Muslims) in Bengali and
English with the address of the Kazie office.
7. Certificate of German proficiency on an A1 Level according to the CEFR
8. Copy of the passport’s data page (A4 size copy)
9. Registration certificate of the spouse living in Germany
10. Copy of the spouse’s valid German Residence permit
11. Lease agreement for the future mutual accommodation in Germany
12. Copy of the valid employment contract of the relative living in Germany
13. Photocopy of all pages (even empty ones) of the applicants relative’s passport which was valid
during the date of marriage
14. Individual Sketch maps for the following addresses:
- Sketch map of your present address
- Sketch map of your permanent address
- Sketch map of your spouse’s address in Bangladesh
- Sketch map of the Kazie Office where the marriage is registered
15. One will have to submit pictures of their house and roads to find the
location of their house. As well as photos of applicants and their spouses as well as pictures from their weddings.
16. Affidavit before a notary public regarding a change of name
17. Marriage and divorce documentation of earlier marriages (or death certificates)
18. For Muslims divorced in Bangladesh: Divorce notice and receipt confirmation of the local
council and extract from the Marriage and Divorce register
19. Proof of legal custody for children from any previous marriage
