Foreign visitors

In many cases, a letter of intent is required in order to apply for a visitor’s visa. This means that someone in Germany must undertake to pay for all costs during the visit. By submitting the letter of intent, you therefore enter into a financial obligation and guarantee.

Commitment – to what?

With the letter of intent, you agree to pay for your guest's living expenses during their visit.

It is not anticipated that your visitor will make an application for public benefits during their visit. Should your visitor nevertheless apply for public benefits, you are obliged to reimburse these. This also applies if your visitor fails to leave Germany when the visa expires but continues to stay in the country (without permission).

The costs that you must bear on behalf of your visitor include, in particular:

• Living expenses
• Illness-related expenses (doctor’s fees, medicines and hospital stays)
• Departure-related expenses, such as air tickets or journeys to the airport

Regarding the costs in case of illness, your guest needs sufficient health insurance to apply for the visa. You can take out a corresponding insurance policy with many insurance companies. By taking out travel health insurance, you can also greatly minimise your costs in the event of illness.

Required documents

You will need the following documents to submit a letter of intent for visiting stays:

• Your ID card or passport
• Salary statements for the last three months or pension approval certificate or current net assets certificate from your tax advisor
• Fee: € 29.00

As an alternative to your salary statements, it is also possible to submit a savings book / or set up an account with a blocking notice. In the event that you lack sufficient income, please feel free to contact us for more information on the savings book.

Important: If you wish to submit the letter of intent together with your spouse, you must also appear before us together.

In addition, you will need the following information from your guest in order to submit the letter of intent:

• Full name
• Date and place of birth
• Nationality
• Passport number
• Address in country of origin
• Travel period

Letter of intent – what next?

Once you have submitted all the documents, the examination has been completed and your financial resources are sufficient to submit the declaration, you will receive the original letter of intent from us after a personal appointment. You must send this to your guest so that they can apply for the visa with the letter of intent.

As a rule, the letter of intent will only be accepted by the German diplomatic mission abroad if it is no more than six months old (date of issue) at the time of the visa application.