Inviting parents or friends to Germany
If your guest cannot pay for the visit, they need your declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) for the visa. You give it at your local office, usually by appointment. No appointment to be had at the immigration office? We post your appointment request.
How the letter works
You enter your postcode, choose your office and fill in your name and address. The form is in English. We write the letter in German, print it and hand it to Deutsche Post, as a standard or a registered letter.
The letter is available for 18 immigration offices: those whose town or district says on its own website that the immigration office takes the declaration for a visit. More are added as we check them.
Bitte um einen Termin
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
ich bitte um einen Termin, um eine Verpflichtungserklärung abzugeben. Über Ihre Online-Terminvergabe habe ich keinen Termin erhalten.
Ich kann zu jeder Zeit kommen.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
What the declaration is
You promise the state to bear your guest’s living expenses. If a public body pays for your guest during the five years after entry, it claims the money back from you, for example for hospital treatment.
The German embassy sees from the declaration that the stay is paid for. The embassy itself decides on the visa.
Four steps
- Appointment at your office As a rule the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) where you live is responsible, in some towns another office.
- Give the declaration The office checks your income and certifies your signature. The fee is 29 euros.
- Send the original to your guest Make a copy first.
- Your guest applies for the visa At the German embassy or consulate, with the original. No more than six months should lie between the declaration and the visa.
Which office is responsible
As a rule the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) where you live takes the declaration. Many towns do it differently:
- Frankfurt am Main and Bremen: the Bürgeramt (citizens’ office) is responsible.
- Hamburg: for a visit of under 90 days, the Einwohnerangelegenheiten unit of your Hamburg Service vor Ort.
- Stuttgart: every Bürgerbüro also issues the declaration for a visitor visa, in the morning and without an appointment.
- Berlin: you first file an online application. The office then tells you your appointment.
For each office the search shows what we have read about it.