Applying for German license - Converting Indian DL to German

This blog will help you with the information regarding process for converting you Indian driving license to German driving license.

My friend and I recently took German license and here is the procedure we followed.

1. Drove for 6 months with Indian license 

• This will benifit you in the practical classes as you will need less practical classes
• But be careful and drive safely, I would recommend to drive along with a persn who knows German traffic rules

2. You will need you Indian license translate to German for the application process.

•    I got he license translate from ADAC

3. For registration you will need to go to Rathaus/Landrasamt  and register for license

• Be sure of the documents required
• I required Translated Indian DL, first aid course, EYE test and Driving class address, application form fully filled

4. After 3-4 weeks we got letter from Landrasamt stating that we need to pay some nominal fee and register to a driving school for theory and practical exam.
5. We registered with a fahrschule for thoery exam. 
6. We got theory material for the theory exam from the class itself 
7. We prepared for theory exam which is little tricky but managed to pass in first attempt. 
8. We did 3 practical session to give our teacher confidence about our driving. You can start the practical class along with theory preparation. 
9. We did practical exam and on same day we exchanged our Indian license and got German license.
10. Sometimes you can ask the officer to retain the Indian DL by giving some reason that you will be needing it, but we were not able to retain and had to submit it.

Entire process costed less than 600 Euros per person.

1. Translation - 55
2. Rathaus - 7
3. school registration - 55
4. Study material - 40
5. first aid and eye test - ~35
6. Theory exam in english - 55
7. Drivers license printing fee - 35
8. Practical classes - 175 for 3 classes
9. Practical exam - 125

German work permit - part 2

I submitted the following documents for my “Employment” visa application:

Two sets of the following:

1) Application Form (Application for a Employment Visa)
2) Declaration of True and Complete information
3) Annexure: Employment Visa
4) Personal Covering Letter explaining the exact purpose and duration of stay (As this was not a deputation I had to write a short personal covering letter)
5) Work Contract from the company in Germany and covering letter from German company
6) Curriculum Vitae (One Page)
7) Copy of Degree Certificate (10 and 12 not necessary)
8) Copy of Passport data page (Page containing your photograph and page containing your address)
9) 3 photographs as per Biometric Specifications (1 photograph is pasted in each of the residence permit application forms, while 1 photograph is returned back after scanning, white background for photo)

Keep extra documents with two Xerox copies in case you need them.

1) Form 16

2) 10 ,12 mark-sheets

3) Salary slips

4) Appointment letters

5) Experience letter

etc.

Demand Draft with two copies of filled-in Demand Draft Form to be kept separately:

This needs to be in favour of “Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mumbai”. The draft should be of the exact amount as mentioned in the German Mission website. (Drafts with amounts different from the amounts mentioned in the German Mission websites are simply not accepted). All nationalized banks are allowed. It’s important to write down the Name, Passport Number and Mobile Number on the back side of the draft so that it can be traced in case it’s accidentally misplaced by them. This needs to be accompanied with two filled in copies of the “Demand Draft Form”.
After arranging all these documents, I had to go to a Token Issuing counter for getting these documents checked. After the brief check, I was issued a Token and asked to go to the Air-Conditioned interview waiting area.
In the Interview waiting area, there were 5 counters and each interview lasted for an average of about 1 hour 20 mins as there was some problem with the system.
When my token number was announced, I went to the interview counter along with my wife and presented my documents. Interviewer was a Indian lady. 


Link to part 1 
Link to part 3 
Link to part 4

German work permit - part 4

Filling in the Visa Application Form:

I followed the instructions given at the link https://www.facebook.com/german.masters/posts/335699309844321
Contents pasted below for reference. I changed some responses as my application was for a Employment visa, not a Student visa:

To fill visa application form :

1. You Family Name (This should be exactly as in the passport)
2. You first name (This should be exactly as in the passport)
3. DOB in the format of dd/mm/yyyy. This format is the official German format.
4. Place of Birth : This is mentioned in your passport. Write the exact thing as is written in the passport. Do not add or subtract anything.
5. Nationality : You must mention you current as well as any previous nationalities that you have given up. It clearly says each nationality should be stated.
6. Marital Status : Announce your marital status here. Strike out the non-applicable status with one single line in whichever language you are filling. If you are filling in English, and in case you are single, strike out the other three with one straight line. I would suggest, along with English, also strike out the bold German version as that is more legible and comprehendible and bigger in size. Even if you don’t, it does not matter.
7. Spouse Details : This should of course only be filled if you are married. Follow the steps 1 to 5 in filling the details.
8. Children Details : This should of course only be filled if you are married. Follow the steps 1 to 5 in filling the details.
9. Father : Write your father's Family name in the first line and First name and second and any following names in teh second line exactly as in passport.
10. Mother : Write your mother's Family name in the first line and First name and second and any following names in teh second line exactly as in passport.
11. Passport or Other Travel Documents : Write PASSPORT in the first line. If you have any other travel document, write its name. The Passport number in the second line, date till which it is valid in the third line. Issued by (Maybe Passport officer or Assitant Passport officer) in the fourth line. The designation of the issuing authority is given in the stamp on the first page(the page immediately after the information page) in the Passport. Finally write the Date of issue in the last line. I wrote “Passport Office, Pune”
12. Authorization to return to : Write the place from where your passport is issued. I left this blank.
13. Entered Germany on : Not to be completed if the application is made outside the Germany. Just leave it blank.
14. Have you ever stayed in Germany before : Strike out whichever is not applicable with one single line. If you have been to Germany before, write yes and mention from and to and the place below. I left this blank.
15. Proposed Place of Residence : Now this is one place where everyone gets stuck. I think most of us do not have a place of residence finalized when we start our visa application. So, you can write the complete address of the Employer. Be careful since it does asks for address and not just the City of your residence. I repeat, write the address of the Employer. I wrote the address of the company I’ll be joining at Germany.
16. Arrived on : Not to be completed if the application is made outside the Germany. Just leave it blank.
17. Do you intend to maintain your permanent residence outside the Federal Republic of Germany? If so, Where? : write yes if you intend to keep your current nationality. I suggest you to write yes as right now we are just going for studies and wanting to gain another Nationality is a matter of different decision at a different point of time. In the space below, write the country of your current Nationality. I wrote Yes.
18. Will you be accompanied by the members of your family? : Yes.
19. How are you accommodated? : Not to be completed if the application is made outside the Germany. Just leave it blank and dont strike out anything.
20. Purpose of stay in Germany : EMPLOYMENT
Employer : COMPANY NAME
Contact Person in Germany : Company contact person, Complete Address, Contact number
Intended Employment : One line on the job profile
21. Highest Vocational or Academic Profession : Bachelor of Engineering
22. Are you already in possession of a permit issued by a German labour office : Strike out with a single line whichever is not applicable. I wrote NO
23. Intended duration of stay in the Federal Republic of Germany : I wrote from The joining date to Unlimited.
24. What are your means of subsistence? : Write "FINANCIAL SUPPORT BY PARENTS" or "EDUCATION LOAN" whichever is applicable. If you are being financially supported by any other source, like any other family member or a scholarship, write accordingly. I chose “Own funds(Salary)”
25. Have you ever been convicted? : Strike out whichever is not applicable. I hope everyone strikes out YES
26. Have you ever been expelled....................refused entry into Germany? : Write "YES" or "NO" whichever is applicable.
27. a) Do you suffer from any disease? Strike out whichever is not applicable. Be honest in mentioning this.
b) Do you have a health insurance cover for the Federal Republic of Germany? : All of us do not have a Health insurance from a German Carrier. We will get it once we reach there. So, write "NO. I WILL TAKE ONCE I REACH GERMANY". I wrote NO.
PAGE 4: I hereby apply for a residence permit for 2 YEARS. Again this is just tentative. Strike out Days and Months. Write your complete present address, Place, Date and put your signature. Make sure the address you write falls under the jurisdiction of the embassy that you are applying to. They are likely to send you back if the address doesn't fall in their area. Paste the Visa photo in both the forms. I wrote 2 years.
Fill in your contact details and sign the form.

Place in the forms, letters etc should be Mumbai and date should be your appointment date.

PS : You can show a travel insurance at the time of application valid for the period that you think you would be going, maybe for 1 month or 2. But I think it is not an important document. At least they didn't ask in Mumbai for this. Please confirm with your embassy. Even I did not produce a Travel Insurance. This is required during stamping.

Please refer your respective Embassy website for the docs to be attached with the application.

DISCLAIMER : The information available in this document is intended to provide general information to the applicants. Use of above information is solely at the discretion of the user. I shall not be held liable for any claim for any loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained in this document.

Filling in the Annexure: Employment Visa:

This was pretty straight forward. Some key fields are as under:
Duration of Employment contract: Unlimited
ID of approval of Federal Employment Agency: Keep this blank if not available
Residential address in German: I filled in employers headquarters address
Will your family accompany you? : Yes.

Covering Letter:

GERMAN EMBASSY, Date: XX-XXX-XXXX
Mumbai, India

TO: HIS EXCELLENCY THE CONSUL

Subject: Application for Employment Visa

Passport No: XXXXXXXX

Dear Sir/Madam,

I () am an Information Technology Professional with expertise in the field of . I have served multiple domestic as well as international customers and hold overyears of experience in the IT industry. I hold a in the field of .
I’ve been offered a job by located at and I’m interested in accepting this job offer.
Therefore, I request you to issue a VISA for my employment in Germany.
I hope you find this application complete in all respects and I look forward to visiting Germany!
Thanking you,

Best regards,

Mobile:- 
Email: 

Enclosures(2 Copies):-
1) Application form
2) Declaration of true and complete information
3) Passport Copy
4) Annexure for Employment Visa
5) Employment Contract with and employer covering letter.
6) Degree Certificate of Bachelor of Engineering
7) Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae:

Short and simple do not put in a lot.

Following link will help you find the forms mentioned and in this blog along with few important links:

http://www.india.diplo.de/Vertretung/indien/en/06__Consu__Visa/visa__new/NATIONAL/NATIONAL.html

Do not hesitate to contact me for more information.

I will shortly writing a blog on how to apply for job in Germany or for that matter out of India.

Note: Please note these is my personal opinion and experience and should not be taken as legal advice. Any queries and questions are always welcome. Will try to help as much as possible.

Link to part 1
Link to part 2
Link to part 3

German work permit - part 3

Interview questions asked to me and their responses:

1) What are you applying for?
Long Term Visa, Work Permit

2) Can I see your original Passport?
Sure, here it is.

3) How did you come to know about this opportunity?
One of my colleagues is currently associated with this company and he referred my profile to them.

4) How was the interview/evaluation done?
It was done via Skype video call. There were 3 rounds of technical/management interviews spread over a duration of 3 months. They found my credentials matching their requirements following which they rolled out the job offer.

5) What is the job about? What will be your designation, role, profile?
My designation will be that of a Consultant in the XYZ domain. This is considered a niche area with very few experienced resources available. I’ll also be working on Customization, Implementation, Data Migration, Administration and Support.

6) Are you currently working in India?
Yes, I am currently working for a company.

7) So you’ve taken a day off today?
Yes, I had to.

8) Can I see your previous job experience letters?
I presented a copy of my past service letter. As I’ve not resigned from my current organization, I presented her the original appointment letter for my current company.

9) Do you have a copy of your appointment letter?
No, but I can get the same if required.

10) Can I see your latest salary slips?
I’m sorry, I’ve not bought that. However, I do have the latest salary revision letter in case you would be interested in seeing it. (I was asked to submit two copies of the latest salary revision letter)

11) Why do you want to leave your current job and move to Germany?
I am interested in moving to Germany as the opportunity is interesting and challenging. There is a lot to be learnt over there. Moreover, my colleague is very happy with the working culture there.

12) What will be your salary there?
I stated the gross annual and monthly salary package.

13) Do you have the salary breakup?

No I do not have but if you need I shall ask the employer?

14) Do you have the German version of the contract?

No but I have some confidentiality agreement papers in German.

15) How long do you intend to stay in Germany?
The contract is an unlimited one. I intend to stay there for at least 5 years.

16) Will your family be accompanying you?
Yes, my wife.

17) Have you already arranged for a house in Germany? Where do you plan to stay?
No, one of my colleague will be helping me find the same.

18) Can I see your marriage album?
Yes.

19) Please show me all the important ceremonies.

I walked her through the album showing the same.

She asked few question to my wife about marriage, where it took place how many people attended, from how many years you know each other etc.

20) Ok, I’ll take your and your wife's fingerprints and stamp your visa with submitted mark. This will mean that your visa is under consideration. Until you get a response from us, you cannot apply for Schengen visa. It can take anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks to get a response from us since the FEA approval ID is not mentioned in the application form. Had the FEA approval ID been mentioned, this duration could have been shorter. Please check your email regularly, including the Spam folder. Once you get a response from us, you can take a print of the approval to the nearest VFS application centre and get your Visa stamped.
All Right!

My fingerprints were scanned and my passport was stamped with some mark. This meant I could not apply for another Schengen visa until a decision on my current application was made.

DONE! Application was successfully submitted! And eagerly awaited response from German Consulate! And as said earlier got successful response within 2 days for both me and my wife.

Link to part 1
Link to part 2
Link to part 4

Applying for visit visa for family (Parents and brother)

Introduction

Sometimes there are cases when you would like to invite your family members / friends / relatives to Germany. Some reasons for the same could be:

1. Birth in your family
2. Tourist visit
3. General meet
4. or any other reason

Visa Options

There are two options
Tourist Visa
Visit Visa (Visit to Relatives or Friends)

I am sharing my experience for the above visit visa process. I started the process 2 months in advance and it is recommended that you start it at-least 3-4 months in advance. I am a based near Stuttgart Germany and my experience is related to this area and Germany. I applied for my parents(around 55 years old) and my brother(around 18 years old). This is my experience and should not be considered as legal advice and other people may face different experience. This blog is intended purely for help and guidelines.

How to get such visa for your family members?

Prerequisites

Before you apply for any visa it is recommended that send them formal invitation letter. (Verpflichtungserklärung). You get the letter on the spot from the Rathaus. Depending upon your area you will need to get or an appointment or go directly. I took the appointment and got it after a week.

For that following are pre-requisites

1. Following info about the family member you want to invite to get 
• Passport No.
• First Name
• Last Name
• Date Of Birth
• Place of Birth
• Scan copy of first and last page of passport
2. Your own passport and residence permit
3. House Rent agreement : Your flat area should be sufficient to accommodate guests. The definition is that for each person 12 square meter. So if you have 2 guests + 2 hosts . It should be 48 m2
4. A letter from the house owner stating the visitors name along with currently living people (this was required for me may not be in your case)
5. Last 3 months Salary slips to prove that you can sponsor their visit.
6. Euro 25
7. Knowledge of where your local Rathaus is located and opening times (Go to the office in your city)

To be more specific, This required documents can be asked to the local office. I got a email from the office stating the necessary documents. 

Procedure

1. If required take a appointment for the letter
2. Go to your local office and get the sponsorship/invitation letter
3. Send this letter to India (by post(min. 3 weeks), as I had less time I sent the letter by DHL express which took 2 days)
4. Get health insurance from India(please see the requirements on the vfs)
5. Book air tickets(During booking the tickets be sure to book the flight where your transit country does not have any visa requirements or no stop overs visa requirements, best is a direct flight)
6. Gather all the documents mentioned in the check-list(my experience is that you need all this documents and some more so please keep as much as documents as you can)
7. Apply for VISA in india at VFS office.
• Tip: Tourist visa is valid for 90 day

Gathering documents required:

The image has the documents required with annotation about my experience, please check on vfs site for up-to date information. 

Apart from the standard check-list I had to also submit my 3 months payslip, bank statement and house contract and my own invitation letter(On a A4 size paper) along with the Verpflichtungserklärung. 

VFS procedure:

We took an appointment online and got it the next day. Please arrange the documents as per check-list and in the same order.

Arrive at the vfs centre 20-30 minutes before your appointment.

If all your documents are in order they will accept the application and will ask few questions like who are you visiting, why are you visiting etc.

 A strong documentation is equals to strong chances of visa approval but still it depends case to case and on individual merit.

The fees can be paid in cash but still be sure to check the amount you need to carry.

We availed the courier service so that the passport after process is delivered directly at your doorsteps.

You can also track the application status on the vfs.
We got the visa approved and stamped in 5 working days.

Information related to applying jobs in germany

I applied on the following sites:

https://jobspotting.com/en/
http://berlinstartupjobs.com/
http://careers.stackoverflow.com/

Following is the email sample:

I would like to apply for ruby on rails developer position.

- I have Experience building and scaling distributed, highly available systems
- I have Expert knowledge developing with Rails and Ruby
- I have Strong knowledge of HTTP, REST, Redis, PostgreSQL
- I have Working knowledge of Capistrano, Git, Github, unit testing methodologies
- I work in an Agile environment
- Front-end HTML, JS, CSS ability
- Fluent in English

Interview Process:

1) HR call for 30 minutes knowing interest and personality, some do screening test in the same call asking 3-4 basic questions related to your technology.

2) First technical interview: Some take a skype call, some have a online test.

3) Second Technical Interview : Skype technical call or pair programing skype session.

4) CTO or delivery manager interview, just few non technical question.

5) Negotiations

German work permit - part 1

I recently applied for German Long Stay Visa (Work Permit) along with dependent visa (family reunion for my wife) at Mumbai, India. Trust7 blog helped me a lot in getting required information for making this application. To help others with the complete process, I would also like to share my experience in this blog.

I scheduled an appointment for both by calling (now on-line appointment is not possible) the Mumbai Consulate General helpline number(Please schedule your appointment with the German consulate for long term and not the VFS for short term). I got an appointment scheduled after one month at 9 AM, so please keep in mind that you may get a appointment depending upon the availability (sometimes you both may get appointments on different dates). I got an email from them with a soft copy of the appointment letter. It’s important to take a printout of the appointment letter when going for the interview, failing which entry will be denied.

I got the approval just two days after the appointment via email. Stating the documents required. Then I had to submit the passport for stamping at the VFS Pune (Viman nagar, changed in Feb 2017). I was asked to bring the approval email printout (write tentative dates on email itself) along with travel insurance (list of acceptable providers mentioned on site). Tentative dates can be the dates that you decide, I gave 3 months later as I had to serve my notice period, insurance dates and tentative dates should match. No appointment needed for stamping, just call vfs and ensure. It took around 4 days for stamping. Availed courier service so that the stamped passport was delivered home.

Following is my experience on the appointment day:

As I am based out of Pune, I travelled to Mumbai a day earlier. Following is the address of German embassy:

Arcadia building, Nariman Point, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400021 near NCPA

You may call the embassy for exact address, as it had changed recently.

When I reached Consulate, there were a couple of people awaiting entry into the German Mission office. Exactly at 8:45 AM we were instructed to align in a queue in front of entry gate. Different lines for the ladies giving them first preference, A security guard and a police guard asked us to present the Demand Draft(call embassy one or two days before your appointment for exact amount as it is not based on Euro rate but what the consulate decides) and the Appointment letter. People holding DDs with incorrect amounts were asked to get another DD from nearby banks. This might be a stressful situation so please have the correct DD amount. People holding valid appointment letters and proper DDs were granted entry one by one.
On entering the German Mission/ Consulate, a security guard briefly frisked me and my baggage and then handed over a Documents Arrangement check-list (Photograph of this check-list is available at multiple locations on turst7 forum). I was also instructed to place my baggage in the last row of the 3 rows of seats that were present in the waiting area and asked to be seated in the second row for arranging the documentation set. This outdoor waiting area is not air conditioned and it can get really uncomfortable here, if one is not used to the warm and humid Mumbai weather!
All the documents had to be arranged (IN TWO SETS) as per the order mentioned in this check-list. Black Fold-back Binder clips had to be used for keeping the documents together. NO stapled documents were allowed. People holding stapled documents were instructed to remove all staples.

For further information please visit the bellow links containing information for form filling and documents required and help on other data related stuff.

Link to part 2

Link to part 3
Link to part 4