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I am single (f), have never left Iran before and work as a English teacher online. I would like to come to Germany for a month get a CELTA certificate there and visit some friends.

How high are the chances to get a visa?

Any tips to improve my chances or alternatives would be gladly appreciated too.

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  • When you say "get a CELTA certificate", do you mean "take the exam", or "undergo training and then take the exam"?
    – jcaron
    Commented Mar 20 at 12:24
  • Undergo training and then take the exam. Takes around 1 month.
    – Visawie
    Commented Mar 21 at 19:59

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There are two aspects to your question:

  • Are the chances of getting a visa for Germany for an Iranian citizen good?
  • Are the chances of you specifically getting a visa good?

For the first question, you'll find detailed statistics on this page. The latest stats are for 2022.

The relevant data is: enter image description here

Where you see that the rejection rate for applications for Germany from Iran is about double that of the worldwide average.

Not the worst in the world (many combinations are well over 50%, even when filtering out those with very few applications), but not a walk in the park either, you clearly start with a handicap.

Interestingly, the proportion of issued multiple-entry visas is extremely high, so this means they mostly issue visas to people who have either a long history of travel to Schengen, or people with very strong applications.

For the second question, the thing you have to remember is that when you apply for a visa, the main thing they try to determine is whether you are likely to respect the terms of your visa, mainly return home in time (and not overstay, not claim asylum, not work or do any other activities prohibited on a visitor visa, etc.). This mainly means you need to show ties to your home country.

And there we see a number of issues:

  • You are single. Not an issue per se, of course! But that means you don't have a family to return to, kids to take care of, etc, so you can't use it as "ties to your home country".
  • You work online, so you could probably do this anywhere in the world, including in Germany, and do not need to go home for this. Again, difficult to use as "ties to your home country".
  • You have friends in Germany, which could help you settle and possibly even try to "stay under the radar".
  • It's your first travel outside of the country (and of course to Schengen), so they can't judge how much you abide by visa rules.

So you have very little motivation to go back, and this can be a problem. It would help if you had (real, not invented) other ties, such as owning property there for instance, or having to take care of a relative (but the fact you can leave for a full month probably invalidates this).

Also, you say you want to visit Germany for a month to get a CELTA certificate. I'm not familiar with CELTA, but from what I gather, taking the exam should not take a month, and there are a lot of other locations you could take it, so they are bound to ask: why Germany? You could take it in Türkiye for instance, where you don't need a visa, which is closer to Iran, and where the cost of living is lower.

Talking about costs, you'll also have to show that the cost of the trip (flights and other transport + accommodation + meals + any activities you intend to perform during your visit) is proportionate to your revenue/savings.

Add to that that it's your first application, and that you are asking for a relatively long visa (one month), and my hunch (but that's only my hunch, I'm not a visa officer) is that your chances are quite low.

Curious to see what others think.

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    I agree with the chances are low. The fact you teach English does not help either as you will be able to communicate easily in most of Europe, including Germany.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Mar 20 at 15:07
  • (+1) Being able to demonstrate the nature and longevity of the friendship might help - an internet only friendship is unlikely to carry any weight.
    – Traveller
    Commented Mar 20 at 18:04
  • Fantastic reply, thanks. Also great that you manage to find the statistics. That is very eye-opening.
    – Visawie
    Commented Mar 21 at 20:04
  • The certificate comes with a course and it takes 4 weeks. Why Germany? I have some Iranian friends there, and some German friends that I made when they visited Iran. It's an interesting (culture more different than neighbouring countries), safe and beautiful country, and well located to maybe do a trip from there to a neighbouring country. Türkiye is a good option too and I could easily do it there too, but if I know nobody that would of course increase rental costs. I think I could probably stay for free with a friend in Germany.
    – Visawie
    Commented Mar 21 at 20:13
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Your friends in Germany may be able and willing to sign a Verpflichtungserklärung. This is a formal pledge to reimburse the German state for the cost of an overstay of you fail to leave by the end of your visa. Such a pledge may increase the likelihood that the visa will be granted, but it would be a great financial risk for them (you could become sick, for instance).

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  • Surely becoming too ill to travel would warrant an emergency visa extension, any costs of which could be paid for by adequate travel insurance.
    – Crazymoomin
    Commented Nov 28 at 1:20
  • @Crazymoomin, the costs of a serious illness can exceed the coverage of the insurance.
    – o.m.
    Commented Nov 28 at 5:23
  • Medical costs perhaps, but visa costs aren't going to be more than a €1000 or so. Likely the insurer would repatriate someone before coverage limits are reached.
    – Crazymoomin
    Commented Nov 28 at 11:18
  • @Crazymoomin, at least some insurers would stop paying once coverage limits are reached, and leave the visitor and the host with the bills. (My recent experience of that has sample size 1, however. Other insurers may differ.)
    – o.m.
    Commented Nov 28 at 17:09
  • If an insurer does that, they're wasting money. Cost of repatriation is high, but once it's done the insurer is no longer on the hook for medical bills, so any insurer is going to try and repatriate as soon as possible unless there are reciprocal cost arrangements like EHIC or GHIC. Regardless, this is the sort of risk that would come with any visitor to Germany regardless of if they need a guarantor or not.
    – Crazymoomin
    Commented Nov 28 at 19:45
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Kill 2 birds with one shot!

An alternative potential solution if learning the German language is on your learning radar too:

German Language Course Visa for Germany

The language course visa for Germany is an educational visa for foreigners who want to attend an intensive language course lasting between 3 to 12 months. The courses must include at least 18 hours of lessons per week. In certain cases, the language course visa can be extended for up to one year, provided that no full-time studies in Germany are planned afterward.

With a language course visa, you can:

  • Participate in an intensive German language course.
  • Apply for an extension of the visa if no full-time studies follow the language course. The extension is offered for up to one year from the date of arrival in Germany.

With a language course visa, you cannot:

  • Convert it into a student visa or an applicant visa.
  • Apply for a work permit or engage in employment.
  • Begin university studies or apply for university admission.

If you plan to pursue studies in Germany after the language course, you must return to your home country and apply for a student visa there. Applying for a student visa while in Germany is not possible.

The validity of a language course visa is up to one year, depending on the course duration, and it cannot be extended within Germany. ... source

Note: the source was accessed on 27.11.2024 Please keep visiting for potential updates in the future from valid resources.

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