Tag: visa

Notes on applying for the French Working Holiday Visa

Bonjour!

The following were notes of my experiences in April 2018 of applying for the French Working Holiday Visa as an Australian citizen.  Even if you are not Australia, some of the points here may be relevant for you. Enjoy!

Do I really have to go to Sydney to apply in-person?

Yes, yes you do. I’ve called and email many times and you really do need to go to Sydney.  If you are actually residing in a country (as in, registered resident, not travelling) then you may be able to apply for the French Consulate in that country. But keep in mind – in Europe, WHVs for France in a European country is not really that much of a norm considering free movement for EU citizens/residents.  You may also run into an issue where the Consulate may not speak your country language that well. You may also find that the paperwork being provided is provided in the recognized official languages – and by that, where English is not the official language you’ll have a hard time deciphering the paperwork yourself.

And there is also additional staff and security requirements needed to be there in-person where you speak to staff processing your visa, or where you need to provide bio-identification such as fingerprints.

Collate the official resources

Go to the official pages (ie linked to from the Consulate) and collate all the resources that you need for the application.

Look for a type of document that acts as a paperwork checklist that you need to apply. Keep in mind that these checklists are different to a requirements list.  For example, a requirements list may tell you important information like “You need to be x age” but a paperwork checklist document is what you give to the Consulate when you actually apply. They will go through the checklist and tick off the paperwork that you provide.

One of the issues that I had is that I may come across official information that lists out one thing, and in another document, will list out the same information + some new detail. It’s better to be more prepared and accommodate all details.

Keep to the letter of what documents and other requirements are needed

A common question people have is if they can replace one rule with another. A common one is around the issue with return tickets, which for Australians, can be easily upward of $2000 or more. “Do I really need to buy a return ticket? Why don’t I just buy a ticket out of France, like Germany? Or can I just show the amount equivalent of a return ticket?”.

This is not acceptable and you do have to show a return ticket. Even if you tell the Consulate that you intend to apply for another visa, or intend to continue travelling, promising this is not going to work.  So, if it says on the document that you need a return ticket then you need to go ahead and buy one.

The same applies for everything else.  If there is a note about the type of coverage that is required for insurance, thinking “I will be covered anyway by my existing insurer” may not be accepted. It’s your responsibility to ensure that any services you have is acceptable.

What health insurance provider can I go with?

Please note, this is NOT an advertisement. If you are already happy with your insurer, skip this part.  If you are open to new options, continue to read on.

For many years since 2012, I’ve gone with World Nomads as my insurer.  There has only been one time where I’ve made a claim and it was given to me without any fuss. So, I was happy with the service.

When it was time to look for my health insurance, I decided to take a look around. World Nomads had increased their premium by $120 even though my length of travel, regions to cover, and age still remain the same.

I decided then to use the time to look for a new insurance provider.

The requirement was that the insurance must cover any costs of repatriation for medical reasons and any medical emergency treatment with a validity for France and for one year once you enter France.

After some research, I decided to change to another travel insurance provider (which had been accepted) and was about $170 cheaper than my World Nomads quote including their discount of 5%.  When I looked at the paperwork for the repatriation and medical emergency treatments, it was actually similar wording.

How far in advance can I apply?

Once you receive your visa, you have up to 12 months to enter France. Now a lot of people see this part and think “So I’ll just get my visa first and then decide when to go between now and 12 months”.

While you do have some flexibility, this is only on the event of any unplanned events to happen. Meaning, if you have an emergency before leaving, then you may want to put off travel plans. This flexibility is not really aimed at people who want flexible travel plans because they want to leave whenever they feel like it. This is because a) you need to have an insurance start date, since you need to provide proof of insurance anyway, and b) you need to have actually bought a return ticket.

When I arranged for my appointment, it turns out that you can only apply at the maximum of three months before your departure date OR three months before your start of insurance date.  The reason why I say OR is because when I applied for my visa, I only had my insurance with me and no tickets.  When they looked at my insurance start date they mentioned that they will only start processing it a few days after my appointment which would have been 3 months before my proposed visa start date.

How long did it take to process the visa?

Some people have reported four weeks, other two weeks. My visa would have been processed within 4 business days (!!) including the fact that I provided a self-addressed Express Mail post to receive my passport in the mail.  I was really surprised by how quickly this was processed since I also expected four weeks.  It could have also been due to other factors involved, or that there were less paperwork to process on that day.

What happens if I find out that I am missing paperwork and that I have a visa appointment the following day?

This happened to me, so I decided to cancel my flights (since I had to fly to Sydney) and hotel stay. It turned out that you can still go to the appointment and that you can also have other documents mailed to the Consulate.

But keep in mind that this advice was given to me by the Consulate….one day after cancelling.

Also I was missing another piece of paperwork (a return ticket) and it also turned out that you can send it to the Consulate and they will start processing it after they receive it. But, this was after I paid for the visa fee so I don’t know if they’ll have a different response if they realized this before the application.  There was another person at the appointment and it also turned out that she had missing/incorrect paperwork and they asked her to actually make another appointment and return.

This entry is not meant to provide some ‘insight’ into how Consulates work by the way. This is the reason my top advice is to look at the official requirements and to be prepared with your requirements.

Other tips for the Consulate appointment

  • Arrive on time.
  • This is easy to overlook but you need to also provide photocopies of all your documentation.  Even all my passport pages with stamps needed to be photocopied.
  • You cannot arrange your appointment more than three months before your proposed arrival date.
  • A detailed itinerary of what you are doing in France is not required.
  • Evidence of French languages learning courses is not required (although, you definitely would want to learn the French language to make your life better/easier…topic for another post).
  • If you have no other options, you can book a hostel for the week (with free cancellation) and then add that address as the initial address of your stay.

If you are looking for advice relevant to your nationality, please consult your Consulate/Embassy pages.

Working Holiday Visa for Germany – Application Process, Documents, Banking, Housing

This series marks my experiences on my 4th working holiday visa for Germany and is written as an Australian applicant.  If you are from other countries with the bilateral agreement, you may also find this post useful.

I also have some posts of my experiences under the Working Holiday Visas for Canada (called International Experience Canada), the UK (called Tier 5 Youth Mobility) and Ireland (simply Working Holiday Visa).  It’s scattered all over my blog so please have a look at my earlier posts.

One main thing to keep in mind throughout the whole process

When I read posts from other applicants of the German working holiday programmes, there is a common theme emerging – and that is that the German immigration system will do the work for them.  Meaning that, all German immigration authorities have native command of English and that everyone knows what a working holiday visa is.

The truth here is the opposite.

It is completely up to the individual to ensure that they meet the requirements for the working holiday visa.  It is also up to the individual to ensure that they meet any other requirements to live and work in Germany – from making sure that the documents are correct to making sure to decrease as much miscommunication as possible.

With that in mind, feel free to continue on below for my thoughts around the application process for the German working holiday visa.

The Application Process

On the Australian Germany embassy website, Australians have the choice to either apply in the Consulate-General in Sydney or at the local immigration authority (‘Ausländerbehörde’).  Being based in Dublin, I decided to do my application at the Germany embassy in Dublin instead.  Another reason why I decided to avoid Ausländerbehörde was all because of their website.  When I logged in to do an online appointment, there were no appointments available (not even if I browse all the way to 2020) and I was sure that there was an issue with their system after trying on three different browsers. I gave up and decide to apply here in Dublin.

If you decide to do your application after arriving in Germany, make a note of what the next available slot is for an appointment by going to the Ausländerbehörde website.  From my experience in handling immigration bureaucracy (ie when getting my GNIB card here in Ireland), it is considerably better to research and try to get your paperwork and appointments ready in advance instead of showing up at the office and getting your information there.  Do not assume that there will be a spot on the day of your appointment, or that there is even going to be availability in the near future.

In addition, don’t assume that information will be delivered to you in English and that it will be 100% accurate.  I think that this comes from a source of naivety in people who the world is going to be functioning on their level at 100% English-speaking proficiency.  The reality is that, especially in Europe, English is not going to be the native language and so it’s better to assume that whatever information you get, or whatever interaction you do, it will not be in native English level.

You are required to make an appointment and is usually booked out for two weeks.  If you miss your appointment, you need to rebook again.

Documentation

The documentation that you need in your application is pretty much straightforward and is outlined in the German embassy pages for working holiday visas.

One of the main areas of contention is around residence which was:
– Proof of main residence in Berlin
– Certificate of registration at the main residence or
– Rental agreement and written confirmation of occupancy from the landlord

I asked the embassy if it’s acceptable that I only show a booking for two weeks in temporary accommodation and they were fine with it.

A copy/paste of their answer is below:

Yes you will have to provide only the first 2 weeks accommodation in Germany for the VISA application.
Hotel / Hostel booking are accepted for this.

Regards,

German Embassy Dublin

I am seeing some posts were others are going all the way to secure accommodation in Berlin as part of their application. For example, they would arrive in Berlin, go to Ausländerbehörd, sit there for a couple of hours to get confirmation that their real appointment is in 10 weeks, and during that time they’ll have the opportunity to do room viewings.  I did thought that perhaps there is an advantage for already being in Europe AND I am on a working holiday visa but I am aware of someone in Argentina who also went through the process at around the same time as I did and not seeing any issues with the paperwork.

Housing – moving from temporary, short-term housing to long-term

There are quiet a number of various residence options in Berlin and I have to admit that it has been a dream meeting the most basic residence requirement! Meaning that there is established infrastructure in place making foreigners seeking housing in Berlin very easy.  We are talking public transportation and all the different options and places that you have available to search for housing.

It is also possible to book for and pay for housing online on trusted, dedicated platforms where they make the effort to provide as much detail as they can on what to expect.

Overall, even though I didn’t need to book for months long accommodation for the working holiday visa application, I still had the option to do so safely and securely.

I think that Berlin is one of the leading hubs for expats / digital nomads, global / remote workers and so on.

Back to the paperwork.  Don’t forget that shortly within obtaining your long-term accommodation, you will also need to register with the town hall.  Check online for an appointment slot that is available.  In addition, there are documents that you need to take with you when you register.

One thing to keep in mind around housing is that if you require temporary accommodation to look for longer term housing, you do not need to register as a resident within two weeks of arriving.  I would recommend going for temporary housing while applying for the working holiday visa as this is enough.  Since it’s considered temporary, then you do not need get the additional documentation for residence.

Insurance

A one year’s travel insurance is enough, so long as it covers Germany.  Certain visas may require specific types of insurance but a standard travel insurance is enough.  The reason being is that a working holiday visa is only temporary in nature.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a difference between travel insurance and health insurance.  You can read more about my thoughts on this area here.

Banking

It is possible to open a bank account online and prior to arrival.  You can also authenticate your identity online and without needing to be in a branch.

There are also various loopholes when it comes to opening bank accounts.  It all depends on who you talk to, what type of account that you open and which bank.

Of course, you can also opt to go with other options that require in-person appearances.  Banks these days need to be customer-centric.  This means that banking services, should they wish to remain relevant in today’s modern world, also need to be available whenever and wherever the customer is.  Hopefully, we will see more of these practices rather than forcing customers to change their whole day’s schedule just to open an account or cash a cheque.

Taxes

Once you have registered as a resident you can now apply for your unique German tax number (Steuer-ID).  This should be sent to you automatically after registering your German address.

Next part of the series…

Stay tuned for the next part of my German working holiday experience!