Extending a 90-day language student visa

Hello, I just received this email from Auslaenderbehoerde in Berlin regarding my eligibility to extend my student visa:

I wrote:

Hello, I am in Berlin on a student visa from Canada but it expires in August 14th. My flight back to Toronto is on September 13th, so I need to extend my visa. I was wondering which materials I must bring with me to Auslaenderbehoerde, and when I can come in. I am taking a language course here for 3 months and afterwards plan to do some travelling in Germany. Thank you for reading.


Reply:

I regret to tell you that a visa extension is not possible. You can use your 90 days stay to take part in the language course and to enjoy your holiday here.
You have to fly back on the 14th of August and change your flight to get back home in time.

Regards

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Im Auftrag

Gemmel



That reply was really unexpected, because i was told by many people that extending my student visa was easy (which is why I put it off for a while). I came to Berlin in May, and my flight back to Canada is in mid-September, my student visa which I received from the Toronto Consulate expires on August 14th. Help!


p.s. my language course ends August 22nd. I have already planned to do some travelling outside of Germany during the last week of August - first week of September. I was to be back in Berlin on September 12th so I could catch my 13th flight back home..

Well then, you should probably just go home on Sept 13th. I don't think that it will be a problem for you. They will be glad that you are leaving and won't put you in jail or anything. As long as you don't travel in Germany where they check passports, no one will even care. But if you go to other places on trains, you will be in trouble. They busted my balls when I applied for a one year residency and requested 9 documents and references from prior work, education etc...so I just said, I don't really want to stay in Berlin that much and just signed up for a language class for six months. The school typed a letter of request and I gave it to them. As long as you have your receipts and a letter from the school, they should not be able to do anything about it. You should have seen the look on that Ausländerbehördemitarbeiter's face...they had my old files all ready and they were waiting for my to not have my act together, then I gave them the school papers, and his face turned beet red. He even asked me why I changed it all up and decided not to bring the previous papers. I told him, well, I changed my mind and don't want to work freelance anymore so I will just go to school. Slowly...he began to fill out the proper papers. They asked for it. I was trying to be nice, but what are you gonna do when they don't want to help you at all? Best luck to you.

Viet

What kind of visa are you on that they only let you stay 90 days? Most language learning visas I've heard of are usually for about a year - mine is. Do you just mean you are in Germany for the 90 days that you're allowed without a visa? In that case, you should be able to go in and apply for a visa for language courses. Just because it's valid for a year doesn't mean you have to stay that long...

I do second the idea of going in and showing them your proof of already being in school. That being said, there isn't really a reason to let you stay longer than the 22nd if the course is already finished.

No, I don't mean that I am in Germany for the 90 days I'm allowed without a visa. I applied for a visa in Canada because I knew I would stay longer than 90 days. When I got my visa back from the toronto consulate, they gave me only 90 days, which sort of defeated the purpose of my applying for a visa (or so i thought), but was told I could extend my visa once in Germany. My language course originally was to end on August 8th, but I extended it to 22nd knowing that my return flight was in September. All this time I thought extending my visa wouldn't pose a great deal of problem. It expires on August 14th.

IN the case that I cannot get any extension, what happens when I leave Germany after my visa expires in order to travel in Greece, Turkey, and Switzerland, before returning to Berlin to catch my return flight? All these things would take place after my visa expires.

Make an appointment and go in to see them. They're never too open to discussion or being helpful via email.

hello,

i am in a similar position. i am here on my 90 day "tourist visa". i have been here for 2 months but i signed a contract on my rent to stay until september 30th. i do plan on continuing language school until said date. my problem is that, i can't afford to pay for the 3 months schooling at once, therefore i won't have proof i will be enrolled the whole time. should i just show them the receipts i have for the month of may and explain this?

also, i took june off to backpack around europe and it was said in a previous post that we should use the whole 3 months to learn the language. im sure this isnt a big deal though.

my german is not at all good enough to communicate (in german) at the ausländerbehörde. do they speak english or do i need to ask my friend to come along??

if i dont plan on doing any more travelling (passport checks), would it be a serious offence to stay without a visa and then leave at the airport (which would be 2.5 months past expiry date of "tourist visa")?

sorry for all the questions, i figure it's better not to beat around the bush and get as much information in one go.

thanks in advance!

In all likelihood you will have to show your passport at some point when travelling to these other countries. In this event, I don't know if they'll deport you or not, but there's a good chance you'll be in trouble with the authorities.


If you don't have proof you're enrolled, they won't know if you're telling the truth or not. When I went in for my visa, they needed the proof right there. Not being able to afford your language classes all at once won't look good to the authorities.

Stay by all means if you don't mind not being allowed to come back to the Schengen area for years to come. It's best to play by the rules and go into the Ausländerbehörde and talk to them in person, bringing someone to translate if your German isn't good enough. It's likely you'll get different answers in person than you do through e-mail.

If I travel only in countries which are not part of the Schengen agreement, will I not have to worry about getting in trouble with the authorities?

Is Switzerland part of the Schengen state? Maybe I will skip Greece and only travel in Turkey and Switzerland, if the above is true.

From Switzerland I will take overnight train back to Berlin, and the day after I leave for Canada. What are my chances that I won't get in trouble so I can return to Schengen states in the near future?
In other words, is there a passport check on trains going from Switzerland to Germany?

As far as I know there is no one checking my visa when I am leaving Germany.. so if I make it to Berlin without any problem I should be ok, right? or maybe there is..

Thanks in advance..

Schengen Agreement, and as of today, they are not. They are however sched. to join in Nov. 2008.
Even though they arn't part of it yet, they are still tied into SIS, and will pass you details to all other EU and Schengen countries.
So trying to skirt the law by going thru Switzerland won't help you one bit. The only country in Western Europe that MIGHT be of any help is Andorra.

actually my main destination is Switzerland, I am not going there just because of this. I thought maybe I'd get lucky but I guess not.
Also, I am not trying to skirt the law, as you say, I was TOLD by the german consulate in Canada I would have no problem extending my visa, that I shouldn't have to worry, and I hadn't, until now.

See above posts.. Try going to the Auslaenderbehoerde in person. If you don't get the desired results from 1 person, wait and try somebody else.

I would second what Timmeh said. Just make an appointment and go meet them ASAP. Take a German with you if possible.

EDIT: Too slow, but you get the message, right?

Everyone usually gets a 90 TOURIST visa anyway, I would go to the Ausländerbehärde and just ask if it's possible to get another tourist visa, I think they will let you, but you have to be there in person . :-)

The problem with telling them that you haven't paid the full tuition yet because you can't afford it is that having sufficient finances to support yourself is a condition of
granting you a residency permit.

In hindsight, the best thing to do would have been to just enter Germany on the 90 day Schengen waiver as a Canadian and then apply while you were here (like about now) for a language study visa.

And I know it doesn't help now, but for next time, wait to do everything until you get to Germany on the visa-side of things. I had nothing but problems when trying to get things in order back at the Canadian consulate; I then had to go through and PAY for everything again once I got here, as the Germans didn't recognize what their own consulate did back in Canada.
Sometimes I wonder...

I am a canadian citizen seeking a 3 month language study visa.

I have been to the visa office 3 times, each 'receptionist' at Information giving me different responses and information. The first one sent me in to the office, but I did not have my proof of sustenance (in euros) or a photo and was told to come back in and see her. I returned the next day and was given a new application form and I was "suggested" to come back the next day because it was busy and it was closing in 2 hours. Today I was given a whole new set of requirements (persönliche vorsprache ggf. vollmacht - what is this anyways??? I have everything else required but I don't know what this is asking for) and I was not given a number, just the forms, and he sent me on my way. It doesn't make sense why each day there's a new person, especially when the shifts are only 4 hours, and closed on wednesday. The next opportunity I have to go back will be monday, and by then my 90 day tourist visa will be expired.

I was curious if anyone else has had this much hassle, if I'm doing anything wrong (asides from my lack of german that gets me foul looks)?? Or do I just have to be some stern bastard and tell them to give me a number?

Can anyone offer some suggestions or some motivating experiences?

I don't know if you can actually extend a Tourist visa (90 Day Schengen Visa). They clearly state 90 days in a 6 month period. Which really is crap given the number of countries (and ever expanding list) that are part of this agreement.

I am in a similar situation to you psychedlics, except that I haven't yet applied for the 3-month Language Visa. My 90-day Schengen stay runs out at the end of the month, and this is the only Visa option I can think of (apart from WHV) that would let me stay in Germany longer. (my ultimate goal is to get a proper job and live here, etc. so learning the language is a constructive way to pass the time while I hunt for that as-yet elusive job..of course the Ausländerbehörde does not need to know this right now).

So what's the deal with that visa anyway? Are you able to obtain it prior to being admitted into a Language course or does that visa give you the means to stay and make the best of the 3 months in learning what you can. Also, is it specifically for 3 months or dependent on the length of the course? Sorry if this has been explained before but there seems to be many facets to this..

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Psychedelics: You don't need a visa to come here for 90 days and take language courses during that time, as long as you don't overstay the 90 day Schengen pass. They don't ask for visas or anything at language schools so you will be fine. You don't need to organise anything with the consulates back home/show proof of money etc.

deep_schismic: Assuming you have the funds available, it would probably be easier to get a language learning visa for a longer period such as 6-12 months. (They don't typically allow you more than 12) For this, you will need either enough income in their eyes to support yourself (I don't know how much that is) or a Verpflichtserklärung, which basically is a piece of paper from someone in Germany saying they will financially support you while you are here. You need to register for your language course first, and then bring your registration, proof of funds, rental contract, proof of health insurance, passport etc to the Ausländerbehörde to receive your visa. Even if your course lasts 2 months, they will still give you the visa for longer, assuming you are going to keep up in courses. Of course, they could always contact you to make sure you're actually taking courses. You will not be allowed to work during this time.

Thanks very much for that info bluebell!!

Got my Aufenthaltserlaubnis from the KVR this morning!

It was pretty smooth-sailing actually, and the people actually managed a smile on their faces and were helpful (esp. the nice lady at the Studenten/Wissenschaft desk who answered all my queries)...just a bit funny with the merry-go-around nature of the place in terms of different offices handling different things. This involved me getting about 4 or 5 tickets before I got my passport back with (my 3rd) the good ol' pink visa label.

The one thing I should mention to other people considering the Language student visa (Sprachkurs), they will require you to get German health insurance if you plan to stay longer than 3 months...in my case this wasn't an issue as I only asked for 3 months.

The other tip is, make sure you have registered first (i.e. Anmeldung), and also helps to have all your documents (passport, health insurance, language school registration letter, proof of funds).

The muenchen.de site has all the info (albeit in German), and also the Application for Residence Permit form that you will need. It costs €50 for a visa (upto 1 year maximum stay) and if you get it for a shorter time and wish to extend it (Verlängerung) it costs €15 (upto 3 mth extension) €30 (more than 3 months)

It's good to know that they're also available for a shorter period of time!! (ie 3 months)