JSV_kid's status

Here are 2 very good links for information about the JSV. But I don’t find the information about taking family members. Maybe someone else here knows more specifics. I am not sure but would assume that from a legal standpoint they would have to allow any parent to take their minor children with them but this would be an awkward situation. How does one look for work while having to take care on a child that doesn’t know the language, culture or anybody there?

Also, any child has to attend school if they are there on anything other than a tourist visa. But to place a child in school that doesn’t intend to stay and doesn’t speak the language sounds like a complicated and difficult thing. One has to contact the consulate or embassy to apply for the visa anyway so you should specifically ask them about this. And even if it works, it will mean they will require even more money, likely in a blocked account, to pay living cost while looking. So even if you have the legal right, it sounds like a very impractical idea.  One would think that it would be better to leave him at home where he is familar with things if you can find some more distannt relative(s) or friend(s) to take care of him.

https://www.germany-visa.org/job-seeker-visa/https://visaguide.world/europe/germany- … ob-seeker/

As far as I know, you cannot apply for a family reunion visa for your kin while on JSV (but please confirm this with the embassy!).
If so, your kid would have to qualify for a residency visa on his own merit, which is a stretch.

If you had a JSV before and didn’t use it, can you actually apply for another one?
I thought it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

beppi wrote:

If you had a JSV before and didn’t use it, can you actually apply for another one?
I thought it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

I'm not sure but I think it can be given again but the rule is strict that it cannot be extended. And from my experience, if one shows important extenuating circumstances that prevented someone from using a first issued one then such officials might be open to give another chance even if it is against the normal rules.

After the max. 6 months one cannot get an extension; they would have to go home and apply again in the future - without any guarantee of getting it again, especially if they haven't done something notable (like an additional degree, certificate or some more years of new experience) to increase their chances.

With all matters related to Visa, best check with the German Embassy in your area (not the consulate). Also, consider sending your child to learn German where you currently live as this will come in handy when, and if, your visa is approved and your child needs to travel with you.

alisa_ram wrote:

With all matters related to Visa, best check with the German Embassy in your area (not the consulate). Also, consider sending your child to learn German where you currently live as this will come in handy when, and if, your visa is approved and your child needs to travel with you.

Why would one only contact an embassy and not a consult? The real question is which is closest. But in general, a consulate provides all of the consular services, like dealing with visas, that an embassy does. An embassy has additional things do to but these are mostly of a political nature. Unless they specifically show on their website that they don't provide certain services, a consulate is exactly the place to go. That is their purpose!

As far as my experience goes (and even most recently in the past few weeks), the Consulate facilitates sending documents to the Embassy responsible for the jurisdiction under which the Consulate is.

The Consulate hours are mostly 9 am to noon (local times), and are open for three days during the week only. The personnel at the Consulate will ask you to check the website of the Embassy of your region for more information regarding Visas etc... Once you have gathered all required documents, then the Consulate can help.

I hope this clears your doubts @TominStuttgart.

TominStuttgart wrote:

alisa_ram wrote:

With all matters related to Visa, best check with the German Embassy in your area (not the consulate). Also, consider sending your child to learn German where you currently live as this will come in handy when, and if, your visa is approved and your child needs to travel with you.

Why would one only contact an embassy and not a consult? The real question is which is closest. But in general, a consulate provides all of the consular services, like dealing with visas, that an embassy does. An embassy has additional things do to but these are mostly of a political nature. Unless they specifically show on their website that they don't provide certain services, a consulate is exactly the place to go. That is their purpose!

Its OK they have been spamming rubbish and already had posts removed Tom.

A consulate generally offers a limited range of services, which may vary from consulate to consulate (and is usually listed on the website). Visa services are not necessarily part of it.
Also, consuls are often not citizens of the country they represent (the title is often awarded to others) and do not necessarily speak the language.
Therefore, both of you above are right: A consulate with visa services is the right place to ask, one without is not. An embassy always is.

An ambassador or consular general, the ones respectively running an embassy or consulate will always be citizens of the country. But one won’t be dealing with either of these for basic consular services anyway. But many, if not all, of the people working under them, the ones processing visa applications for example, might not be; and this will be no different in an embassy than in a consulate. And while not all consulates will deal with visas, the vast majority do; it is a standard consular service rather than an exception. And personnel (other than the janitor perhaps) not even speaking the language of the country they are working for? Not inconceivable but highly unlikely; give me a concrete example of that! 

Like I mentioned before, if one has to personally visit one say for an interview, then one usually looks where the closest one is. I have heard of people in Seattle having to go all the way to California to visit a consulate for services. Taking the advice of only going to an embassy would mean they would have to go to say Washington DC or New York, on the other side of the country. Totally nonsensical! Sure most countries are not as large as the US but the principle is the same. One checks if the nearest facility offers the services and goes there; having a rule to avoid consulates and only go to an embassy is simply bad advice.

But one should always confirm where they need to go beforehand. In these days of outsourcing even some embassies no longer offer basic services. For example; someone in Bangladesh needing a visa for Switzerland (as well as Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia) now has to go to the Swedish embassy in Dhaka!

TominStuttgart wrote:

An ambassador or consular general, the ones respectively running an embassy or consulate will always be citizens of the country.

Well, it really doesn‘t matter for this thread, but a consul (unlike an ambassador) can be non-citizen and the title is sometimes awarded on merit (called „honorary consulate“ then). I have myself dealt with the German consulate in Barcelona, which had no German staff at the time (but offered visa and passport services), and the Singapore consulate in Waiblingen, which has only German staff (including the consul, who is a well-known German industrialist) and recently stopped offering visa and passport services.

The point of this matter was not to visit the Consulate or Embassy in person but the website of the Consulate or Embassy, to get more information on Visa requirements. The option of sending an e-mail, or in certain cases, use the contact form on the website, helps with such matters. This has nothing to do with staff members being local or not, or whether they speak the local language, or German, or Marsian for that matter.

The OP wrote about looking for a Schengen Visa for her minor child. There are so many things to consider here, but I will bring a few points as food for thought:

1. Does the child have a father (living or not)? Does the mother have full legal custody?If yes- does she have a legal paper which states so? Does he (the child) have a valid passport? etc...

2. How does somebody leave on a JSV and not make prior arrangements for their child? He will need to attend school in Germany- has she made arrangements for same? Did she send him to learn German as well, while she was doing so, because this is important, whether required or not.

3. How is she going to afford living in Germany with her child if she hasn't found anything concrete yet?

4. She didn't even specify from where she is from, and each country is dealt with based on case-by-case wrt Visa applications. For a Schengen Visa, it is valid for a period of 90/180 days, depending on where
you come from and which conditions apply to you.

Those who come to this forum looking for answers need to understand that they should provide more details on their current situation so others may attempt to be of any sort of help.

These people should also consult the websites of the German institutions for relevant information and ask the authorities concerned, before attempting to ask anything on expat.com.

Last but not least, anybody asking for a question should have the courtesy to give a feedback, so others in a similar position can benefit from their experience.

I came here looking for info and found the forum rather disturbing and disorganised. This is by no means blaming the moderators or Julien, because I know how hard the team on Mauritius works, but there should be some guide for such matters, and people need to stop thinking that Germany is Eldorado.

My 2 pennies worth.