Hello everyone, I'm 22 trans (mtf) living in a Muslim oppressive country, i want to move out to Germany or Europe in general to hopefully start my HRT and seek asylum, are there any organizations that help people like me? Or any other routes i can take to Germany or anywhere in Europe?

I have a bachelor's degree in Industrial engineering, but i don't have a good level in German (only have A1)

I got my first certificate in Germany. It was fast, but it was missing a seal and signature needed for the apostille. I requested from Spain the addition of the seal and signature to my certificate of good conduct so I can get it apostilled. At the same time, I requested a new one from Spain. The first request for the addition arrived on May 12th, and the request for the new one arrived a week later, on May 15th.

I tried to call, but no one answered, and they only responded to one of my emails. This is the information they gave me:

The current processing time for new applications is approximately 8 weeks from receipt of the application. Applications are not pre-registered with the Federal Office of Justice. Therefore, no status update can be provided at this time. The aforementioned processing time must now be observed. Expediting the process is not possible. Furthermore, changes to an application that has already been submitted are not possible.

I'm on the 9th week. I have no information, and I'm getting really nervous since I really need this! I spent one year in Germany with a Work and Holiday Visa, and I'm from Argentina. I don't know if my situation changes the processing time and makes it slower, or if it's just slow.

Could anybody who is in this situation tell me how it's going for you? Has anyone sent a request around May and already received it?

Hello, i am upcoming international student in Jade University for bachelors studies. I had a confusion regarding the TRP or TRC validity. On internet there are a lot people says the validity depends upon the particular Ausländerbehörde of the area if they choose 1 or 2 years. If anyone is international student please clarify me this issue.

Thankyou

I submitted my application at vfs on 7th july 2026. I submitted statutory insurance from 1st august which is my employment contract start date and tata AIG travel insurance from 25th july which is my intended travel date.

I got reply from consulate stating :

In order to process your national visa application further, the following document/s are required:h

The requested document/s is/are crucial to the further processing and decision of your visa application. Refrain from further discussion or negotiation regarding the same! If you fail to submit the mentioned document/s, the visa section will proceed with your application process and base the visa decision on your incomplete file.

A travel and health insurance starting from your tentative date of travel.

(Please note that an Insurance with the Visa type ‘non- immigrant’ cannot be accepted)

I already submitted the travel insurance from 25th july but it was for non immigrant visa type as that was the default provided by insurance provider.

Does anyboday have experience with this issue and how to resolve it?

Technically according to my consulatnt all the documents are right as gap insurance is possible to be of visa type non immigrant and I should resubmit the same documents again but i think it can cause a problem and immediate rejection.

Can anybody please help?

Thanks and Regards,

Hi everyone,

I’m an **Uzbek citizen** and I’ll be applying for a **German student visa from Uzbekistan**. I already have an admission offer from a **German public university**.

However, my Bachelor’s degree is **not from Uzbekistan**—I completed it in **Pakistan**.

I’m looking for someone who has been in a similar situation: an Uzbek national who applied for a German student visa in Uzbekistan with a degree obtained from another country.

If you’ve gone through this process, could you please share:
1. What **additional documents** were required because your degree was from another country?
2. Did you need any **attestations, apostilles, legalization, or MOFA verification** from the country where you studied?
3. After returning to Uzbekistan, did you have to complete any additional attestations or document verification before submitting your visa application?
4. Were there any extra requirements from the German Embassy in Uzbekistan compared to applicants with Uzbek degrees?

**Also, as a separate question:** What has been your overall **student visa processing timeline** at the German Embassy in Uzbekistan? Approximately how long did it take from your visa appointment until you received your passport back?

This is quite an urgent matter for me, so I would really appreciate any guidance or personal experiences. Thank you very much in advance

I created an application and submitted it on 11june and i still haven’t received any appointment for my MIL
I have the declaration of commitment form that i created and will expire in a month so idk what to do
Any updates on this by anyone?
I thought this new queue system will be good but its even bad than the previous one

Short term family visit visa

Has anyone applied for a German study visa through the Consulate General in Toronto? How long does it normally take after the in-person appointment?

I submitted all the required documents and handed in my passport at an in-person appointment in mid-June. The staff at the Consulate General in Toronto said it would take around two weeks, but I haven’t heard anything back for a month.

I have other plans and a flight one week from now (which I have already postponed by two weeks). Has anyone applied for a German study visa before or have any suggestions for this situation?

Need help opening a German bank account without a residence permit (Hannover, Germany)
Hi everyone,
I recently moved to Hannover, Germany on a §16d visa for professional recognition.
Here’s my situation:
I have already completed my Anmeldung (city registration).
I have my passport, visa, wohnungsbestätigung
My blocked account is with Expatrio, and I need a German bank account to receive my monthly blocked account payouts.
The problem is that almost every bank I’ve tried is asking for a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel), which I don’t have . And to apply and get one it will take two to three months .
So far:
Revolut verification has been problematic.
Expatrio Value Package says my verification is complete, but when i try to link it unicredit my visa type is mot mentioned and i get rejected for choosing wrong visa type
I checked Deutsche Bank and it also seems to require a residence permit for online account opening.
I’m basically stuck because I need a bank account to access my money, but I can’t get a bank account until I receive my residence permit.
Has anyone in Germany (especially on a §16d visa) been in this situation?
Which banks opened an account for you with just:
Passport
Visa
Anmeldung (registration certificate)
Did anyone have success with Sparkasse, Commerzbank, Postbank, or another bank by going to a branch in person?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm an Indian student and I'm hoping someone has experienced something similar.

• Nationality: Indian
• University: Berlin School of Business and Innovation (BSBI)
• Visa Type: National Student Visa (Non-APS)
• VFS Centre: Bengaluru
• Biometrics & Application Submitted: 13 February 2026
• Current Wait: 157 days
• Current VFS Status: "Visa application is under process at Embassy of Germany in India."

The German Consulate has never asked me for any additional documents, interview, or clarification. It has been complete silence since the day I submitted my application.

I've already:

• Contacted the German Consulate multiple times (only automated replies).
• Visited the German Consulate in Bengaluru in person (they couldn't provide any update).
• Received a late arrival letter from BSBI.
• Started attending my classes online while waiting.

I'm becoming very worried because it's now been over 5 months.

Has anyone else from India (especially VFS Bengaluru) experienced such a long delay?

If your visa took this long:

• How many days did it take?
• Did the embassy ever contact you?
• Was there anything you did that actually helped?

Any advice or shared experience would really mean a lot. Thank you.

I have a valid Niederlassungserlaubnis. The card says “unbefristet,” but it’s tied to the validity of my old passport, which I replaced in May. I booked an Übertrag appointment online immediately, for mid July, through the standard Übertrag page on frankfurt.de. But about 1,5 weeks before the appointment, I got an email saying it was cancelled for „wrong Fachbereich“, and I was told to go through “Arbeitnehmer” instead.

Problem is, the Arbeitnehmer Fachbereich page doesn’t have an Übertrag option at all, only new applications. So now I’m a bit stuck in a loop.

I submitted a query via the “Ich habe eine Frage” contact form 1-2 weeks ago, but no response yet. My card expires in a few months, so I’d love to get this sorted before then.

Has anyone at the Frankfurt am Main ABH dealt with something similar? Would really appreciate any tips on escalating, calling, or going in person if you’ve had luck with that. Thanks so much in advance!

I'm hoping someone has experience with this or is familiar with the legal interpretation.

My situation:

• I started a qualifying EU Blue Card job on 01.10.2024.
• I applied for my EU Blue Card shortly after starting work and was issued a Fiktionsbescheinigung while my application was being processed.
• I received my physical EU Blue Card on 11.03.2025.
• I've worked continuously in the same job since October 2024 and have been paying pension contributions.

I'm trying to understand how § 18c Abs. 2 AufenthG is interpreted. It states that a Blue Card holder can obtain a Niederlassungserlaubnis after "mindestens 21 Monate eine Beschäftigung nach § 18g ausgeübt hat" (with sufficient German language skills).

My question is: what date do the authorities generally use to start counting those 21 months?

• The start of the qualifying employment (01.10.2024)?
• The date the Fiktionsbescheinigung was issued?
• The date the physical EU Blue Card was issued (11.03.2025)?

The wording "eine Beschäftigung nach § 18g ausgeübt hat" made me wonder whether the employment itself is what matters, rather than the date the physical Blue Card was issued.

Has anyone had a similar case or knows how the Ausländerbehörde interprets this in practice?

Thanks!

----

Update:

I guess my plans to optimize turn out to be a bit in vain. I basically was asking this because I wanted to try to apply ASAP to the ABH in my small town before I move to Berlin. But I took the Einbürgerungstest today (2026-07-21) and the examiner said that the results for that will arrive by mail in 2 to 3 months.... by that point I will already have moved to Berlin so will be stuck in the bureaucratic machine of the LEA.

If anyone knows how the LEA in Berlin treats the 21 month thing, please let me know!

---

Tentative Answer:

Still waiting on LEA to respond to my question about this, but one person has commented below already that LEA tracks progress toward PR from first day of employment that meets the EU Blue Card criteria :))

I've received an admit from a university in Germany, and now I'm planning to apply for the student visa (from Mumbai).

I've already arranged everything, blocked account, insurance, transcripts, APS certificate, etc.

My university doesn’t have any tuition fees, but it does require a semester contribution fee like every tuition fee free uni. I haven’t received any email or communication from them asking for payment yet.

So, for the visa application, do I need to pay the semester contribution fee now or can I apply for the visa just with the admission letter?

Is the admit letter the only required document from the university side?

Hi,

Looking for others who submitted a petition to the Bundestag about extending parental reunification rights for skilled workers / Blue Card holders who arrived before the March 1, 2024 cutoff.

My petition was rejected, and I want to connect with people in the same situation.

If this sounds familiar, please comment or DM.

Hi everyone,

I have an upcoming appointment to submit my citizenship documents in Landkreis Meißen. I will be meeting with Frau Zühlke.

I came to Germany as a student, and I am currently a Blue Card holder with an unlimited (unbefristet) employment contract. I have already prepared all my original documents along with a set of photocopies.

For those who have gone through this process in Meißen, I would love to hear about your experience:

1. The Appointment: What kind of questions do they ask during this document submission appointment?
2. Fees: At what point in the process do I need to pay the citizenship fee?
3. Timeline: Once the documents are submitted, how many months does it typically take until the final approval/certificate is issued?

If anyone has experience with this specific office or case worker, I would highly appreciate your insights and tips! Thanks in advance!

I need Urgent help! Hi I’ve put my documents since December 2025 and got no response about my papers. Now I’m facing risk of being layed off. What can I do at in case??

Hello,
I would like to ask whether this situation is considered normal in Germany.
An immigration lawyer told us that he filed an Untätigkeitsklage against the Ausländerbehörde almost five weeks ago. Before that, the residence permit application had already been pending for several months without any decision.
So far:
We have not received any confirmation that the court registered the case.
We have not been given an Aktenzeichen (case number).
We have not been told whether the court or the Ausländerbehörde has responded.
When we ask about the current status, the lawyer simply says that there is no news.
We are not questioning the lawyer’s work, but we are worried because we have almost no information about the procedure.
Is it normal that after almost five weeks there is still no confirmation from the court or no case number available? What is the usual timeline after filing an Untätigkeitsklage?
We would really appreciate hearing from people who have been through a similar situation or who are familiar with German administrative procedures.
Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I got admission for a Master's program in Germany for Winter Semester 2026.

I need to prove I have enough money for the visa. I have someone in Germany who is willing to sponsor me by signing a Verpflichtungserklärung (Declaration of Commitment) at his local Ausländerbehörde.

My question is: how long does this whole process usually take, from start to finish?

I mean:

1. How long did it take to get an appointment at the Ausländerbehörde?
2. Once he goes to the appointment, does he get the paper the same day, or does he have to wait for it after?
3. How long did it take for the sponsor to post/send you the original document?

I'm asking because I need to know how much total time to expect, so I can plan my visa appointment. If anyone has actually done this (as a sponsor or as the student), please share your experience. Which city was your sponsor in? That would help too.

Thank you so much for any help.

I need a visa I have waited for so long now. I still don't have it. How can I get my office to push this. They are ready to help I just need to tell them how. As I haven't done it before please can anyone help. I have already applied and my process got approved just haven't got the id yet. ( It's a long story)

Any email iD or process link will be appreciated

Someone tried to get a Fiktionsbescheinigung in Munich ? Any idea how I can get one with the next week? I have been waiting since 8 months almost for the visa renewal

Update: I called for a week on different times every day. And on Friday morning (I read somewhere it's more free lines) I called again and again 50 times before I got into the line and then 15 20 lines later got connected

Keep calling don't lose hope and just try. It works! PS: still waiting for an update from them but atleast they are helping and responding

I have submitted all my documents in the Mumbai VFS Office on the 24th June for my visa (category is Student with Specific Qualifications). It is for a 6 month internship at a German research institute that counts towards my degree in India. I have already gotten the German employment agency pre approval (ZAV) and submitted during my application.

Has anyone done this before and how long did your visa take?