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I am an Indian citizen planning to visit Berlin, Germany to meet my boyfriend. I am applying for the Schengen visa from the UK. I have already gotten Schengen visas twice in past, 1 month multiple entry from Austria and 6 month multiple entry from Germany. I am working full time in the UK and will be sponsoring the visit myself.

What should I mention in "Type of Reference" in the visa application. Do I need to provide my boyfriend's details and mention his name as inviting person? If yes, then do I need to provide an official invitation letter from him or some other documents?

The things is that when I look at the official documents required for "Visiting Friend/ Family visa", it asks for:

  • Accommodation provided by family/friends in Germany: applicant’s host’s recent (not older than 1 month) cover letter (signed & dated) - confirming travel period and address of stay - is required, along with a copy of host’s passport’s bio page + host’s permit of stay in Germany, if host is non EU citizen.

Or

  • Formal Declaration of Obligation (Verpflichtungserklärung), which can be obtained from the sponsor’s local Town Hall authority (Foreigners Office – Ausländerbehörde) in Germany (if host lives in Germany)

Nowhere it gives me an option to select Hotel. How do I provide this information?

I've read online that it's not always a good idea to voluntarily mention that you're in a romantic relationship. Is that true?

What should I do to maximize my chances of getting a 1 year multiple entry visa?

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  • Welcome, Kriti. IMHO telling the truth maximizes, not doing so can minimize. Take a look at this response. Visiting your boyfriend is a valid reason, particularly if he's providing accommodation, and could make more sense in a decision to issue a multi-entry longer term visa.
    – Giorgio
    Dec 3, 2018 at 16:58
  • Thanks Giorgio for reverting. I will be booking a hotel as he would need an official letter from the landlord and KVR if he provides me with the accommodation and we don’t have time for that. I was wondering if I need to supply his documents with my application given that I am sponsoring my visit. Dec 3, 2018 at 18:33
  • As you already have obtained the visa twice, I would suggest filling it up the same way as you filled it the last time unless your circumstances have changed (in other words boyfriend moved to Germany)
    – RedBaron
    Dec 4, 2018 at 10:09

1 Answer 1

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Your boyfriend may be relevant in two ways:

  • You should explain the premise of your trip. Why do you come to Germany and what will you do there? If your boyfriend is the reason for your visit, then leaving him out will make your explanation incoherent unless you invent a lie to explain your trip.
    Moral considerations aside, once you start lying it becomes harder and harder to keep your story straight. What about your next visit? Or the one after that? Sooner or later you will be caught at a lie and your future visa prospects will be diminished.
  • You should explain the financing of your trip. If you plan to stay at your boyfriend's home, you will need less spending money and the trip will look more affordable for you. (They will look at your finances to determine if there is a stable pattern of income and expenditure and if the expense of the trip looks reasonable in this context.)

A formal invitation would be a Verpflichtungserklärung. That is unlikely to be required for an UK resident with a good job and a good visa history. An informal invitation proves nothing.

It seems you are already on the way to a longer multiple-entry visa. They gave you six months last time, after all. One thing that might be helpful are several short visits on your next multiple-entry visa if you get one. Just a few days each time, so it doesn't look as if you want to live permanently in Germany, but so many that everybody can see why you need a longer multiple-entry visa.

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  • First of all, thank you so much for answering. 1) I planned to give “tourism and visiting friends” as the premise of my trip (which is true) like I did in past. In that way, what I feel is I am not lying as such, it’s just that I am not voluntarily disclosing my relationship (It’s just my opinion and I totally understand about the consequences of lying so I wouldn’t do that) Dec 3, 2018 at 18:27
  • I am financing my trip myself and I have a good job in the UK and have good bank balance. I don’t mind giving the my boyfriend’s reference, it’s just that I was wondering if I need to supply his documents along with my visa application if I do so? As I read about Verpflichtungserklarung, is it mandatory to supply one? Dec 3, 2018 at 18:29
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    The Verpflichtungserklärung is not mandatory. It can make the difference for people who would otherwise be considered too risky. Most people would never consider to submit one, especially after several successful visits. So, visiting "a friend" rather than "friends" would be the exact truth, and by the time people wonder why you visit this friend so often you should have a history of coming and leaving again. Field 31 of the form, name of the friend providing accommodations.
    – o.m.
    Dec 3, 2018 at 18:35
  • I will be booking a hotel as he needs the permission from the landlord and KVR If he provides me with accommodation and we don’t have time for that. In that case, do I still need to submit some documents from him like his passport/permanent residence or only my documents would suffice? Dec 3, 2018 at 18:44
  • Look at the form. You are visiting him, but he isn't inviting you to stay in his home. The hotel is where you stay.
    – o.m.
    Dec 3, 2018 at 18:56

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