It robbed me of sleep and mind, patience and calm - the visa.
At last I have managed to sought all together and bring it to
Berlin into the South African Consulate - since 01.06.2015 you have to appear there in person ... - but in the
end I was not in vain there, because my request was time being
assumed. The voltage is of course still present,
as if I really get the visa is still open, because it could take up to eight weeks
processing time.
Also at the consulate itself over half of all applications were already rejected - for the moment. These applicants had to take all their documents back home again, but may then send them collected to the consulate and do not have to come again.
Last year, essentials has been changed from South African embassy during visa application time. Thus, for the first time
it was one of the major challenges, to obtain a visa. Also this
year, some applications were initially rejected by the
consulate. Applicants had to take all their documents back home again, but may send them collected to the
consulate and do not have to come again. Necessary
changes/ additions for the application were now also more clearly communicated by the Consulate
staff.
The first visas this year were awarded already after about 2 weeks.
Here briefly summarized what I needed for my "Visitors Visa":
- my original passport + copy of it
- my in
English and with a black ballpoint pen completed
application
- a biometric passport photo
- an "invitation letter" from Tateni (my NPO in
SA)
-
certified bank statements (all !!!) of the last 3 months
of my current account (Girokonto) (important here is
that the amount must be always more than 3000 Rand
(the rely on the exchange rate on the internet is not
that important here, because at the embassy they
want the amount to be never less than
300 €!!!))
--> If this is not the case with your own account, you
may take the bank statements of your parents /
relatives (with different named parents you need
a
certification
that these are really your parents -
birth certificate...) Plus
you need a certified copy
of your parents passport and a written statement
of support ( in English) for 300 € per month.
--> Pretty complicated everything ...
- A copy or a printout of your flight tickets
- The "normal" police certificate with current residence
and not older than 6 months
- a "medical report"
as a confirmation of my health
well-being
- a "radiological report" as an acknowledgment for a
made Thorax-X-Ray-Picture and the fact that I am not
infected with tuberculosis
- a confirmation of the payment of the "application fee"
(Payment 5 days before your consulate visit -
52 € - Visitors Visa)
- a "DHL Erpressbrief" (without weight limit),
that had
cost sick 10.90 €............. for the return of my passport
- and - the unfilled, current
checklist.
--> Yes, that was/ is a huge stack of documents.. :D
--> I almost forgot the most
important thing...!!! For the
certifications, the radiological and medical report it's
essential to ensure that each sheet (I know that's
tedious ..) is authenticated. The signature has to
be NOT
in the stamp, but above, over or next to it.
When I arrived on Thursday morning in Berlin with the Flixbus, I went to the consulate and after 1.5 hours I were called to give them my application. I got my acknowledgement without
asking, some did not, so you should definitely ask for it!
After that I had a nice day in Berlin, until I picked up Sünneke (another volenteer who is going with SAGE Net)
from the train station in the evening and we
went along with Felix and Kim in the Park
of Tempelhof.
Sunday morning I went to the Consulate again with the other volunteers from SAGE Net (Sünneke, Kim,
Felix, Anne and Lisa) but this time just as a companion/ visitor.
After that Lisa, Sünneke and I
went to the Spree and after that near the Ullsteinhaus to the shore of the Teltowkanal for eating icecream and hang around - with a temperature of 34°C in the shadow you couldn't do anything
else!! Well and then then was time to say good bye again. We'll meet at London again for our flight to SA. <3
All the volunteers and others, I wish good luck for their visa application.
Best wishes and you hear from me again, when I get my visa or when I come back from Stuttgart Afrika Festival.
Your Vincent