Verpflichtungserklärung: inviting a visitor to Germany

The formal obligation under § 68 of the Residence Act is signed at the Ausländerbehörde, which first checks that your host can afford it — three months of payslips, a pension statement, or a tax certificate and an accountant's profit statement for the self-employed.

Only the original is accepted; a scan or a fax is not. Most consulates will not take one that is more than six months old at the time you file, and the fee is set locally — Munich charges €29.

The host is the applicant here, not you: they file the form, they are the ones checked, and they pay.

• A resident host — a citizen of Germany, or a foreign national living there legally with a residence document, who has a home of their own to offer you.
• With provable means — the authority checks that your host can actually carry the commitment before it issues the form, so income evidence is part of every application.

The procedure at the Ausländerbehörde, step by step.

1. 1Collect the paperwork: ID or residence permit, proof of the home, income evidence, and your passport details and travel dates.
2. 2Book an appointment with the Ausländerbehörde. Some offices run weeks out, so start well before your visa appointment.
3. 3File the form in person and pay the fee. The authority checks the evidence before it issues or registers anything.
4. 4Send you the result in the format the consulate requires — usually the original document rather than a scan.

The exact list is set by the Ausländerbehörde; this is what almost every office asks for.

Bring originals and photocopies of everything. An incomplete file at the counter usually means booking again and paying again.

Indicative figures, checked against the government page linked below. Offices set their own tariffs and processing times, so confirm before your host pays.

• The commitment — by signing, your host takes on your living costs during the visit and undertakes to reimburse public funds for assistance, medical care or removal costs if it comes to that.
• The authority can refuse — it checks the housing, the income and the accuracy of what is declared before issuing. A refusal at this stage generally does not refund the fee.
• And it is still not a visa — the consulate assesses your whole file — purpose, means, insurance and your intention to leave — and can refuse regardless of how good the Germany form is.

The private invitation has no official template — it is your host's own statement, so the wording is up to them. Fill this in and it produces a complete, correctly structured draft to print and sign.

To the consulate of Germany
To whom it may concern

Subject: invitation for [Visitor's full name] — application for a short-stay (type C) Schengen visa

Dear Sir or Madam,

I, [Host's full name], born [Host's date of birth], a citizen of Germany, residing at [Host's address], hereby invite [Visitor's full name], born [Visitor's date of birth], a national of [Visitor's nationality], holder of passport no. [Passport number], residing at [Visitor's address], to visit me in Germany.

Purpose of the visit: a family visit
Intended dates of stay: [Arrival date] to [Departure date]
Accommodation: the applicant will stay at [Host's address], free of charge.

I provide the accommodation described above for the whole of the stay. The applicant covers their own living expenses.

To the best of my knowledge, [Visitor's full name] will leave the Schengen area before the visa expires and has no intention of remaining beyond the authorised stay.

Enclosed with this letter:
- a copy of my passport or residence permit
- proof of my address
- proof of my income, if the consulate requires it

Yours faithfully,



________________________
[Host's full name]

Print this letter, sign it by hand and send the signed original to the applicant. Check the consulate's checklist for anything it wants added.