Swing and a Miss - My First Visa Application Falls Short

It was an early morning for me. I shuffled all my papers into a folder, printed out a few last minute forms and finally headed out the Ausländerbehörde. All in all the process went pretty smoothly, mostly short waits and luckily the ladies were friendly and spoke English pretty well.

That doesn't mean they were helpful enough to actually give me a visa, or even read all the forms I gave them. After filling out an application and sliding all my papers through the slot under the glass I was under the impression things were going well. A few minutes later they were telling me I had the wrong insurance, didn't have copies of my diplomas, needed letters of reference from past employers, and some form from an architecture institution here that I didn't quite understand. None of these things were mentioned as needed for a visa application. Not to mention the insurance I have is the same plan as a friend of mine has who got a visa a couple weeks ago. The insurance company said many people have used it for visas and all been approved.

The good news is I at least got a three month extension to my current tourist visa - which expired tomorrow - and can email all the other forms as soon as I collect them. Its all about convincing them the health insurance fit their requirements. Here's hoping...