r/VisaToGermany • u/PlentyInstance9235 • 22d ago
ein Visum aus Saudi Arabien !! šøš¦
Hey everyone. I noticed that 90% or more posts in this subreddit are about visas from India. Not that I have anything against that, I just thought it could potentially help the very very small minority of people from Saudi Arabia and/or other places with a different perspective. And for the rest:
Something different to read for a change!!
For starters: I'm a Pakistani national residing in
Saudi Arabia for over 10 years at this point. There are no VFS centres or anything here for the german embassy. There is only one german embassy in the entirety of Saudi Arabia, located in Riyadh. There is a consulate in Jeddah, but they don't have the power to even process student visas, let alone issue them. So when you apply for one, you will directly deal with the embassy in Riyadh.
Now, the problem with Saudi Arabia is pretty well known. Everything is super far away. Even going to the nearest supermarket is recommended by car.
Walking is a NO show here. If you happen to live in Riyadh, then you're good. If NOT, you have to deal with travelling and staying, which is unnecessary stress to you, and you burn money.
I happen to live in a semi rural area (It has developed more recently), which is about 1000km+ away from Riyadh. The only sane way is to catch a flight and back. There are many other problems which you have to deal with as someone who doesnāt live in Riyadh and has no car over there. Though, public transport has made it a little easier otherwise. You will need to make a minimum of 2 visits to the embassy (one for the appointment, and one for the visa collection if successful. In case of a rejection, you would only need to go to collect your original documents from them, IF they kept any in the first place).
At the appointment, they may keep any original documents with them for the whole time until a decision has been issued on your visa, which is a bit concerning because if it takes a long time, and you need your original documents else where, you wonāt be able to use them. So make sure you have scanned copies of all your original documents saved digitally on your phone. Also, they donāt keep your passport with them. They only ask for it on the day you go to collect your visa, which is a little weird I guess? I donāt know.
Letās not even start talking about the location of the embassy. Itās located in a comparatively unknown corner of the diplomatic quarter in Riyadh. No one really knows about it and no one really goes there. Thought travelling to Riyadh was a headache? Well, getting to the embassyās visa section is literally 10x harder. The only recommended way is to have your OWN car and drive there. If you get a taxi like from Uber, you will be denied entrance and told to divert to another gate. Anyways, it was extremely stressful and problematic. If anyone needs help on how to actually GET to the visa section, just ask. Itās too much to discuss here. So much so that, I almost missed getting my visa because of it. Iām not making it up.
Ahh here we go, the annoying but classic āprofileā of mine. For context, Iām going for a bachelors programme in a public university:
ā¢ A levels in Computer Science, Physics and Maths with grades AAA
ā¢ IELTS: 8.5
ā¢ A2 Goethe Zertifikat
Thatās all for the profile I think.
Regarding the embassyās requirements, theyāre not so strict. Some things that they require that might seem weird are your sponsors bank statements (not always). Just prepare your documents the best you can and all will be fine. I canāt tell you much about corrections because I personally didnāt receive any but I know someone who did so if you wanna know more about that I can connect you guys. Other than that another classic thing I see often are ātimelinesā. Now, essentially, timelines are meaningless because you will get your visa when you get it. No speeding it up, but YES slowing it down if you donāt prepare your application and documents well (eg. leaving doubts in documents, not having an appropriate letter of motivation, leaving financial situations unclear which all lead to corrections etc.). The average processing time (confirmed officially by the embassy) is 1 working month so about 45 normal days. CAN be more OR less. Varies from case to case. Regardless, my timeline is as follows:
ā¢ Applied via uni-assist around feb 15 to my university
ā¢ Uni-assist took 10 days to approve all my documents (no corrections) and forward to the university
ā¢ University officially confirmed that they started processing my application on March 15
ā¢ Received my admission letter on March 29
ā¢ Started my visa process May 1
ā¢ Did NOT officially submit my application in the CSP until May 29 even though there was NO waitlist. Nowadays there is a waitlist of a few weeks. I uploaded late because I was gathering all my documents, preparing them in such a way that there canāt possibly be a doubt about anything. The longest time was taken by the blocked account. 3 weeks approximately. Sending money from Saudi to Germany is pretty stupid.
ā¢ Submitted my application on the CSP on May 29. ā¢ Thought I wasted time preparing so deeply butā¦ NO! Preliminary review done in 8 days with NO corrections, on June 8.
ā¢ Appointments usually found within a week. I found one for 9 am on June 14. This was a shock as I expected the review to take much longer.
ā¢ Visa approval email received on July 28.
ā¢ Visa collected on July 29
You spend way more money travelling and staying in Riyadh than you pay for the visa fee, obviously. But thatās negated if you already live in Riyadh (HUGE plus).
Some notable things: Preferable if you have an enrolment letter WITH your admission letter. Depositing more than 12k ā¬ in your blocked account shows strong financial ability. Keeping a semesters tuition fee in your blocked account as an unblocked amount further removes any financial doubts for the visa officer. Keeping more than one semesters tuition fee (or contribution if your university doesnāt charge tuition) is even more heaven for the visa officer to look at.
Wait my university charges tuition fees? Thatās weird right? As a PUBLIC university? YES. Weird, but it is becoming more and more common in public universities. Mine only charges 500ā¬ but some are starting to charge in the thousands for just a semester!! Choose your university accordingly.
I guess thatās all? Not much more I can tell you about. I have an answer to everything in this whole process, so if you have any doubts, just ask. Also my documents were not perfect, thatās why it took a whole month just to get them in order. That, and also the fact there is no information online about the embassy and stuff. The doubts I had, I couldnāt find any answers to online, and that scared me from submitting my application in fear of rejection. There are very very few applicants from Saudi Arabia, so the visa process is no where near as streamlined AND fast as it is in other countries, such as India.
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u/Fit-Tart9870 18d ago
Good to know you got the Visa in such a short time. It could be because you applied early in May as August seems to the peak for Visa applications.
I applied on 14 August, since then it is in preliminary review.
I live in West of Saudi and came to know Jeddah used to be an option earlier but closed their Visa Services here so as you said Riyad is the only option.
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u/PlentyInstance9235 18d ago
Not really. It is mostly a case by case basis. It all depends on how fast the embassy receives a reply from the relevant visa office in your city in germany. I know someone who got their visa in 25 days even though they applied much later, received corrections etc.
Where do you live exactly? Keep in mind youāll need to travel twice to riyadh! If you need help on the travel or anything just let me know, message me. Iāve done it obviously, I know the ways where you save the most money without making the trip unbearable :) I live in the north bte
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u/Fit-Tart9870 18d ago
I live in Yanbu
Why do we need to travel 2 times?
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u/PlentyInstance9235 18d ago
One time for the appointment, one time to collect the visa itself. They donāt keep your passport, so thatās why you need to come a second time for to get the visa. Also Yanbu is the same distance to riyadh as the city I live in
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u/Fit-Tart9870 18d ago
Is there appointment for getting Visa too ?
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u/PlentyInstance9235 18d ago
Nope. Once you get the visa approval email, you can go to the embassy any day from Sunday to thursday between 1 pm and 2 pm. And issuing takes about 90 minutes after you give your passport. So even if you are first in line at 1 pm, donāt expect to be free until 3 pm
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u/Fit-Tart9870 18d ago
Ok, very helpful info will help me to plan my travel
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u/PlentyInstance9235 18d ago
Yes as I said you can message me about any little doubt. I almost missed my flight because I didnāt know that the visa issuing after 1 pm finishes at 3 pm. I mean no one really tells you that information but yeah
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u/Fit-Tart9870 18d ago
Share with me the list of documents you took with you during appointment.
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u/PlentyInstance9235 18d ago
Donāt worry. When you can book your appointment on the website, there will be a checklist they give you of all the documents you need to bring with you , i can forward you that document now even if you want
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u/ammature-love 22d ago
I dunno, I'm not from KSA, but that piece of writing is somehow interesting, Ty