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