Tourist visa denied

Back in Heilbronn, my desire of Bebeth's nearness prompted me to research for means to grant her a tourist visa to visit Germany. Such a visa is also called "Schengen visa" and can be granted for a visiting duration up to three months, but it is not extendable. It's valid in all states which signed the so called "Schengen treaty" thus covering most of the European countries. More information is available on the homepage of the German Department for Foreign Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt)...

Through Forums in Internet, I learned about the difficulties of acquiring a visa because the Philippines belongs to the so called "negative list" of states, meaning that visitors originated from this country need to apply for visa at the German Embassy first. Nevertheless, we both started collecting the required documents for the German Embassy in Manila. I had to fill out an official invitation at the city office in Heilbronn for taking over all potential expenses and also a temporary health insurance was needed. We had agreed on a duration of one month for her first visit, so the insurance wasn't too expensive.

Another problem to tackle was the long distance between Surigao and Manila where the German Embassy is located. Any applicant needs to go to the Embassy personally after receiving an appointment for some kind of interview. The biggest concern is to assure that the potential tourist has definite plans of returning home after his or her period of visit because an extended stay causes expenses to the state of Germany. The embassy imposes all legal means to prevent or discourage Filipinos to come to Germany. Unfortunately, I can't explain the long list of requirements and harassments, but if you're interested on this topic please click here. This link leads to a specialized office, people there can help you with all kinds of legalization and organization of papers...

Bebeth managed traveling to Manila by going to Cebu by ferry first, then taking a plane to Manila. So such a round trip is about 8,500 Php without accommodation and other expenses...

Of course, her application was denied by the embassy not giving any reasons why, as it's not required according to International agreements. She was close to tears when she sms'ed me about the result she was told at her 2nd visit of the embassy. She was informed to pick up the result only but unaware of its declination. As you can guess, huge expenses incurred and Bebeth couldn't afford all those travels and application fees. The total expense was too much that it had overloaded my memory capacity. Fortunately Bebeth had the possibility to stay at the place of one of her aunties, so we could save hotel costs at least. This eased my mind because I had noticed Bebeth's nervousness to travel alone to Manila, so it was better to have somebody supporting her locally.

When an application is declined, usually there is a possibility to remonstrate wherein the Embassy must justify its decision. I advised Bebeth to do this and she really sent a letter of remonstration. Then we waited endlessly for any development, but all in vain! I got feed up and complained at the German Department of Foreign Affairs. After a couple of e-mails, I finally received an answer from the chief of the Visa Department of the Embassy, Mr. Hoppe. His writing was very amazing for me, though!

"Dear Mrs Somaruga (= the officer in charge at the Dep. of Foreign Affairs),
I checked this processing again. Ms Real didn't remonstrate against the decision of the embassy, yet. According to my opinion this isn't needed anyway, as I would grant a visa on a new application, as long as "KZB" would be ok. I send this e-mail to Mr. Storch at the same time, that he can explain the circumstances to Mrs. Real and to tell her to ask for a new appointment date at the embassy to apply again.
Sincerely,
Gerald Hoppe"

Meaning, the embassy not even denied having received the letter of remonstration but even advised us to apply for the second time to be granted a tourist visa, huh? I thought this was a very strange handling of such applications. I had hoped to meet Bebeth in Germany in summer of 2003, but it was the end of August already and becoming cooler outside. If possible she must not experience the coldness during her first visit.

The long waiting time brought us together and we became engaged at a distance on August 13, 2003, exactly 6 months after our first rendezvous. This event also happened online only without a big celebration, but at least we promised to wait for each other. All this was a reason for no longer heading for a tourist visa only, but starting the race for getting a marriage visa. This kind of visa is different, because a tourist visa isn't valid for marriage. A marriage visa is only valid for Germany for a duration of 3 months, but it can be extended for another 3 months as long as the authorities have the impression on the intention of marriage. It requires many many documents and certificates, thus causing a typical processing time of at least 6 months after applying...