Dear Editors!
My acquaintances living in Germany are inviting me to visit. The other day they sent me an invitation needed to obtain an entry visa. But the thing is, for certain reasons, I will not be able to travel to Germany in the near future. Please advise me what the validity period of this guest invitation is, will it expire in a couple of months when I can finally organize my trip?
Arkady SMOLIN, Donetsk
An explanation from German lawyer Thomas PUE can serve as an answer to the reader's question:
– A private invitation to visit Germany is required for issuing an entry visa to citizens of a foreign state who do not have the right to visa-free entry into the Federal Republic of Germany. The Aliens Act (Auslaendergesetz) does not contain instructions on the validity period of a guest invitation. The meaning of the invitation procedure is that a person living in Germany long-term or permanently guarantees financial support and, to a certain extent, the behavior of the invited person during the guest's stay in the country.
In principle, embassies and other German institutions have the right to independently determine the validity period of the invitation in each specific case. The meaning of the requirement to make a new invitation is to recheck the current intentions of the inviting person to see the invitee in the country and his financial ability to support his guest.
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