I would like to invite my friend from Sri Lanka to Austria. He has an employment and he has confirmations from his employer about his salary but no bank account - only a small saving book.
How can he prove sufficient funds? Is it enough when I confirm in my invitation that I take overall cost during his stay?
Or he needs to make a bank account and then I could transfer money there?
If you want to take all costs during your friends stay, you can go to Fremdenpolizei and ask to fill Elektronische Verpflichtungserklaerung (EVE). It will be sent to the consulate and should be sufficient for visa and you will only need to provide your friend with ID of your EVE.
Here is a link to official web page of Austrian government regarding Austrian Visa.
Hard to say what the consular officer will say. Your letter of invitation guaranteeing support will help, but as an individual it may not carry huge weight. Are you providing any info on your ability to support your friend?
Transferring funds is usually of no help and sometimes even a hinderance, as the consular official will see that suddenly their bank account jumped up beyond what they likely make per salary period.
There is no sure fire visa guarantee for someone coming from a third world or developing nation. All you can do is provide as much info as possible and hope it satisfies the consular official that handles the request.
I'm from Sri Lanka, and have jumped through many bank statement hurdles (the lawful way).
Most of the bank accounts here are savings accounts, and the money is readily available to withdraw (I.e accessible funds - not fixed deposits or anything). They come with a passbook to record transactions.
However, for visa requirements, customers can request the bank to provide a statement of transactions or a balance confirmation.
If your friend plans to pay for the visit and stay, make sure he has sufficient funds for that. A statement (3 months history) is usually OK, but some countries (Japan for example) require 6 months back.
Banks also provide bank guarantees based on fixed deposits + land property + vehicle + other assets. These are a bit difficult to get (statements only takes a few minutes), and are usually viable only to guarantee assets worth more than 1 million Sri Lankan rupees.
I think the best way would be that you provide the embassy a letter that you will be sponsoring for your friend (unless he can prove he has more than a reasonable amount maintained in his bank account for 6 months), which is up to your bank to provide.
