Important Notes on German Visa Validity: Planning Your Trip
When applying for a German visa, whether it's for family visits, tourism, or business, the German Embassy or Consulate typically issues the visa for the exact duration of your submitted itinerary. This means:
- If you submit an itinerary from August 1st to August 10th, your visa might only be granted for those 10 days, without any flexibility.
- This can create challenges if you're aiming to secure affordable tickets, need a flexible plan, or want to have a few extra days as a buffer.
Therefore, when preparing your application, it's advisable to create a detailed itinerary that's slightly longer than your actual planned trip (while remaining reasonable). This provides the Embassy with a basis to consider granting a visa with some extra days. This gives you more flexibility when booking tickets, traveling, and handling unforeseen circumstances.
Key Considerations:
- Your itinerary needs to be logical, clearly outlining arrival and departure dates, accommodation details, and your main activities for each day.
- Avoid exaggerating the number of days significantly beyond your actual travel purpose, as this could be perceived as lacking honesty.
Preparing a well-structured itinerary not only strengthens your application, but also offers you greater flexibility during your travels, especially in unexpected situations like flight changes, personal reasons, or health issues.
For example, while preparing a family visit visa for parents of a person expecting a baby in Germany, the original poster prepared an itinerary a few days longer than the actual plan. This was both reasonable and helped increase the chance of obtaining a more flexible visa. The family received a visa in accordance with the itinerary submitted to the embassy, and ultimately managed to book a more economical and convenient flight from Hanoi to Munich instead of Hanoi to Frankfurt, making it easier for their child to pick them up in Germany.
If you are interested in Schengen visas, and particularly German visas, please check out the previous posts in the group for more details. Good luck with your applications and success in obtaining your visa!
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