Applying for a German visa

Applying for a German visa

After obtaining a bachelors degree in accounting from the
University of Indonesia in September 1999, I want to expand the
scope of my career.

In February 2000, Goldschmidt AG, a German-based multinational
company, offered me a summer internship in Essen, Germany. I have
also applied for a postgraduate program in Otto-van-Guericke
Universitat, Magdenburg, for September 2000 entrance. The summer
internship starts in April and will last until August 2000.

I went to the German Embassy to apply for a visa and an
Aufenthaltserlaubnis (residence permit). At first, I was thinking
of getting a tourist visa for a short stay for the summer
internship. Unfortunately, the tourist visa would only last for
three months and my summer internship lasts for four months. This
means I will have to get a residence permit.

Considering that I will also study in Magdeburg, I applied for
a three-year residence permit, after calculating the length of my
stay and after consulting the embassy's officer. He told me to
fill in the length of stay with the length of the internship and
the length of my studies for the masters.

The visa officer told me that the two permits required between
three and five weeks to process, since they need to send all the
required documents to the immigration office in the city where I
will be living. I also arranged to have the internship
rescheduled to June 2000, expecting that my visa and residence
permit would be ready by then.

Unfortunately, my documents have not been approved by the
immigration office in Essen. I was asked to contact the embassy
on June 7. This is ridiculous. I have fulfilled all the
requirements but still there has been no progress. Meanwhile, the
internship program has already started.

IBNU KUNTO ARIBOWO

Jakarta