Visa requirements for a South African

Hi,

My south african friend is trying to come over from london for oktoberfest.

she can not get an appointment to get a visa till October 2nd...so obviously this is a little too late. (she has UK working visa, but is required to get visas for other EU countries she wants to visit..poor saffas...they really have a hard time of it)

anyway, does anyone have advice on whether she will be able to get in without one ? I know you are 'suppose' to have one, but everytime I go through Munich airport my passport is never checked, so I am just wondering if she would just be able to stroll through ??

if anyone has advice/experienced I would love to hear.

cheers

woah! flying in from london your passport is quite likely to be checked. any other mainland EU country flight ... no but there is passport control when you fly in from london to munich...so my advice...dont do it.

PS - been checked everytime, as soon as you line up in the non-EU line it is guaranteed

Hello,

I work for the pasport control at the munich airport and i am not sure what your frined needs to get into munich but i do know if they have a normal south african (not a temporary) passport then they dont need a visa to get back into London from munich. Hope that helps a bit?

Andrew

Thanks andrew.

My friend told me that she needs me to get a piece of paper from poccistraße (german office) saying that I have residence here in munich...then I have to send this to her...then she must take this into the office at london where she can then apply for a visitors visa ??

sounds like a lot of work to me. she does hold a south african passport though.

Ahh the old Verpflichtungserklärung, where you have to give them all your bank statements, pay slips, 80 euros etc. Takes 3 months too!

I dont know why UK a (even temporary) residence permit isnt enough to let them come to Germany. I would normally have to get a visa for the UK or Ireland, but I dont need it because my temporary german residence permit lets me travel anywhere in the EU. Her UK one should too, but Germany are pricks with these sorts of things, especially against saffas.

Your friend needs a valid Shengen visa to exit the UK to Germany or any other Shengen country.

Shengen visa ??? wtf ???

info for Shengen countries

Shengen info

[quote name='Kza' date='Sep 15 2006, 9:26 am' post='706823']
Ahh the old Verpflichtungserklärung, where you have to give them all your bank statements, pay slips, 80 euros etc. Takes 3 months too!

This information is a little incorrect. You will get the Verpflichtungserklärung immediately at the Ausländerbehörde at Poccistrasse and the visa resulting from this will be valid for 3 months. It costs €25.

You will have to sign a paper saying that you will be "responsible" for your guest and prove that you are are capable of doing so by providing your last 3 pay slips OR if you're self-employed, the tax returns for the last 3 years. You must also either possess a German passport or have a Permanent Residence Permit. Also know his/her birthdate, passport number, full address and name and address of the hotel he/she'll be staying at in Munich.

Your friend will also have to buy travel insurance for her time in Germany and have to present the ORIGINAL Verpflichtungserklärung at the Embassy in England. She's almost guaranteed to get the Visa though. I have done this many times for my SA family living in England. I admit its a bit of a pain to sit at the German offices for hours and then rush to the post office to mail the papers to the UK express.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Ah well I only had a temporary residence permit, so thats why it probably cost more and took longer.

Stop the guessing.. Heres the official requirements:

Valid as of: 15SEP06 / 1348 UTC

National SOUTH AFRICA (ZA)
Residence UNITED KINGDOM (GREAT BRITAIN) (GB)
Destination GERMANY (DE)

Passport and visa required.

Passenger must hold:
- sufficient funds; and
- return or onward ticket; and/or
- other documents required for next destination.

Non-compliance with the entry requirements (incl. forged documents) results in:
a. fines for the transporting carrier varying between EUR 1,000.- and EUR 2,500.- per passenger;
b. penalties of up to EUR 10,000.- per passenger in the event that the carrier was negligent in taking the
necessary precaution to the end that the passenger complied with the entry requirements; and
c. deportation to country of origin or any other place where the person is admissible. Detention costs at
carrier'sexpense.

Minors: aged up to/incl. 15 years of age may be included in the passport of a parent/guardian, provided:
- being of the same nationality as the parent/guardian; and
- travelling with the parent/guardian; and
- if the child is 10 years or older, a photo of the registered minor must be included in the passport.
Minors aged 16 and over are required to hold their own passport or authorized document accepted
in lieu of a passport (However, minors are not required to hold their own residence permit).

For School Groups travelling within the E.U., pupils do not require:
1. a passport or visa, when the "List of Travellers" (LOT) (not issued by all EU Member States):
- is stamped by the school and authenticated by the responsible authority of the Member State;and
- contains photos of the pupils; or
2. a visa, when the LOT:
- is stamped by the school (this will not contain photos of the pupils); and
- pupil holds their own travel document and proof of residence. In both cases,
the school group must be accompanied by a teacher who can identify the pupils.

my south african friend needed a Shengen visa as he did not hold a British passport. It covered most EU nations plus Switzerland and Norway (think UK, Ireland and Denmark are not part of Shengen)

Us saffas have quite a time with our passports here in EU but although it sounds bad it's quite easy to sort things out for VISA:

You need to send your mate an official invite to visit you along with your proof of address and say in the invite that she will be staying with you.

She needs this letter + a return flight airticket + travel insurance + valid credit card + passport and that's the visa sorted out. Usually a few days is sufficient. Another option is to get the Shengen VISA through Austria etc and fly in to Salzburg rather...