Inviting foreign nationals for stays of up to three months

In case you intend to invite foreign nationals, for example family members, who are not nationals of an EU or EEA member state you may issue, with our assistance, an official invitation for stays of up to three months which will be sufficient to apply for a tourist visa valid for all Schengen states. Under the current German Act on Foreign Nationals (Aufenthaltsgesetz), these visa-holders are not allowed to take up paid employment, neither in a self-employed nor in an employed manner.

In order to make your invitation you will have to personally submit a declaration of commitment (`Verpflichtungserklärung´) to the responsible alien authority. The declaration includes the reimbursement of all public costs which could occur to support guests´ cost of living including accommodation, treatments for illnesses and dependency on care. To minimize the risk of high costs for medical treatments a health insurance has to be concluded for the invited persons. The declaration of commitment also includes all costs connected with the departure of the invited. In case obligations according to this declaration of commitment are violated inviting persons are subject to the authority´s right of foreclosure.

In the course of an inviting person´s declaration of commitment a credit assessment will be made by the responsible authority.


For the declaration of commitment make sure to present the following documents:

  • Passport / Identity Card of the inviting person
  • Salary certificates of the last three preceding months or alternatively the notice of income tax assessment
  • Lease contract (including information of the size of your apartment) or proof of home ownership

Apart from these documents a health insurance has to be concluded for the invited person/-s and has to be submitted to the responsible German embassy or consulate. The fee for submitting a declaration of obligation is currently 25 EUR.


Application Form:

Please note that apart from the information of the inviting person the following data of the invited person/-s is/are required to fill in the application form:

  • Family name, given name of the invited person
  • Date of Birth / Place of Birth
  • Nationality
  • Passport-Number
  • Home Address
  • Relation with the inviting person
  • Family name, given name und date of birth of the accompanying person (spouse and / or children)
  • Address of planned accommodation of invited persons
  • Prospective date of entry into Germany

Procedure:

The declaration of obligation will be filled in by the responsible officer of the alien authority. Unauthorized subsequent coentries are not permitted and can be prosecuted as forgery. The inviting person has to inform the alien authority whether he or she has already submitted other declarations of obligation and for whom. Please note that false and incomplete information made in order to acquire a toleration of residence can be punished with three years of imprisonment or by a punitive fine. In order to submit a declaration of obligation a fee of 25 EUR has to be paid. Please note that in case your declaration gets lost or stolen the same documents will be needed in order to get a duplicate and the same fee of 25 EUR will have to be paid again.

The original declaration of obligation has to be forwarded to the invited person by the inviting person. During the visa application process the original document as well as a copy of the declaration and proof of a travel health insurance for the invited person has to be presented to the German embassy or consulate. The original of the declaration of obligation will be handed back to the invited guest to present it to the border police on arrival.