Know your visa category
- long-term / national D visa for more than 90 days (not Schengen short-term visa)
- health care workers OR skilled workers/academics for employment with prior recognition of foreign professional qualification (not student, not language, not job seeker, not Blaue Karte, etc.)
A. Book an appointment for visa application
Medical doctors must submit their visa application personally at the German representation (German embassy Dehli or German consulate in the local jurisdiction where you are registered for at least 6 six months) An appointment must be booked in advance. The German government officially contracted the external service provider "Visa Facilitation Service" (VFS global) to manage the appointment booking. Note: Book the appointment via the VFS portal for an appointment at the German represetation, not at the VFS German visa center.
Step 1: Create a personal account for the VFS booking portal.
Step 2: Start the booking process
Step 3: Choose your Visa Application Centre
There are 22 centres in India to choose from. You are eligible only for the one center in the local jurisdiction in which you are a registered to live for at least the last 6 months. Exception: The VFS Cochin currently handles all health care personnel from Karnattaka and Kerala.
How to book an appointment at the MUMBAI General Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany (for other consulates scroll down)
Select the options below. Attention: Select as Visa Application Center the Mumbai General Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany, not the Mumbai VFS German visa center (see screenshot below).
If the system displays that there are currently no available slots, nevertheless proceed and complete the booking process. You will then receive an email with a personal waiting list reference number. The waiting period currently is between 1 week and 1 month, depending on the number of applicants and number of slots per day at the consulate permitted due to COVID regulations. As soon as your slot becomes available, you will be informed by email from VFS. Please have all visa application documents ready and checked by the FiBmed staff in Bonn as soon as you get on the waiting list.
Residents of Kerala and Karnattaka pls. choose the Germany Visa Application Centre, Cochin.
B. Prepare visa application documents
As soon as you booked the appointment, please swiftly prepare all visa application documents. You will find the necessary templates in your FiBmed-google drive. After all documents are ready and uploaded, inform FiB for a final check.
1. Blocked bank account statement with funds for personal living expenses
- A proof of financial sustainability for the duration of the FiBmed course must be submitted with the visa application.
The required amount corresponds to the official minimum amount for simple student-level living, which is 947 € per month = 11.364,- € x 12 months. For the visa application a bank statement with the full amount is required.
Fintiba bank (click on red link) in India offers blocked accounts with international transfer options.
After you arrive in Germany, you will open an German bank account and transfer the monthly amounts there.
2. Health insurance
- Proof of health insurance for the entire course period (minimum 10 months) is requested for visa application.
- Indian student travel insurance companies are not accepted. The insurance must be officially recognized by German authorities.
- Fintiba bank offers a package of blocked account and health care insurance with the recognized provider Mavista.
- Note that this health insurance will only cover basic and emergency medical needs, not routine care or pre-existing conditions.
- Arrange that the insurance coverage will only commence, after visa approval and with travel date to Germany. The consulate requires a general health insurance contract at time of visa application and the starting verficiation at time of visa stamping into the passport.
- Upload all in your FiBmed google drive.
3. Offical visa application form
- Fill the official online form of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs with your personal data and according to our templates belwo: Link: https://videx-national.diplo.de/videx/visum-erfassung/#/videx-langfristiger-aufenthalt . In the section “Reisedaten” set the date “von” 2 months after the visa application date. This is a rough estimation and can be varied later. Leave the field “bis ” empty.
- Save the completed form not only in the system but as pdf in your google folder for us to check. It is not possible to save single pages (otherwise it is saved in a format that can no longer be opened), so please fill in the form until the end, then click “weiter” and then you can save it as a pdf that will be editable.
- Get 4 biometrical fotos (2 for the visa application, 2 for later use in Germany)
4. Offical declaration of true information
Downlad and complete the form: “Declaration of true information” from the German embassy webpage. Date, sign, scan and upload it to your FiBmed google drive.
5. Contact and legal representation
Download and complete the form: “Contact and legal representation” from the German embassy webpage. . Tick the box that you want to be notified by email. Add our contact data:
Name and postal address: Fachbüro für internationales Bildungsmanagement, Koblenzer Str. 75, 53177 Bonn, Deutschland
Phone: +49 228 3727478, Email: info@fib-bonn.de
6. CV
- Copy the existing CV (Lebenslauf) from your previous file Approbationsantrag (See also the latest template on our Website) and store it as separate google document named “Lebenslauf-Visumsantrag-LASTNAME” in the visa folder .
- Update the date and information, if available, (for example higher language level, or other new information)
7. Cover letter
- In your FiBmed googledrive folder “visa” you will find an English template of the cover letter. Translate this English cover letter in your own words and at your own language level. Beware that the aim is not to have it translated to perfect German by your language teacher or another native. The consulate wishes to ensure sure personal language level B2. In some case consulates asked applicants to write another letter spontaneously at the time of visa application. Therefore make sure you do the translation yourself, understand the content very well and become able to reproduce its meaning orally or in writing to the consulate staff.
- Rename the googledoc as “Anschreiben-LASTNAME” and keep it stored unprinted and unsigned until after our checking.
8. Feststellungsbescheid
- Feststellungsbescheid is a mandatory document in the visa application folder.
9. Personal qualification documents
Copies of: Passport, MMBS certificate, Indian Medical Council registration, B2 certificate (minimum B1).
10. Demand Draft (DD) for visa application fees
Check up with Consulate/VFS website and prepare Demand Draft( DD) for the Visa fee amount. If your Consulate/VFS accepts other forms of payments- Credit card or Cash, be prepared accordingly.
11. FiBmed confirmation of registration
After everything from your side is perfect and complete, we will upload the mandatory FIBmed confirmation of course registration.
General rules for document preparation
Create a subfolder: “Visa” in your FiBmed-google folder.
- Please store all documents related to visa application only in this folder.
- Never send documents to FiBmed by email attachment, don’t create subfolders within the visa folder.
- Pay highest attention to all details, layout, orderlines.
- Personal qualification documents do not need to be attested (again).
- Please name each document properly as in the instructions, so that it can be found immediately.
- In order to avoid frequent back-and-forth communciation regarding minor issues, please strive to complete everything independently first, then inform us for final review.
- After everything is then checked and green-lighted by us, print and sign wherever required.
- Then scan the entire package again as one identcial twin-pdf file (max size 10 MB) of the complete application with of all documents. and name it “Visumsantrag komplett LASTNAME”. This will serve as back-up in case of loss, delays and if we have to communicate with German authorities about the processing status.
- Take two printed sets of all documents to the consulate.
Visa Interview
At the day of visa application at the German consulate, an inverview will be conducated to verify, if you are fully aware of the steps and challenges to prepare for and obtain a medical PG position in Germany. Below you will find the necessary information.
Aim of the interview
The aim of the interview at the consulate is to verify that you are fully oriented and aware of the chances and challenges ahead in Germany. The consulate staff doesn’t want to listen to memorized and recited statements but have a conversation, in which they gain the confidence that you are a well-organized person who is knowledgable and well prepared for all steps of the program and aware of the procedures . Mr. Ashok and Frau Becker will both have a mock interview with you.
Therefore please make yourself aware of the following facts. Since the interview will be in German language, the following examplary questions will be in German as well: POSSIBLE questions in the interview
You may be asked the following questions. We give you some keywords for correct answers. Please don’t just memorize the answers below, but get the meaning right and then speak in complete sentences of your own in the interview!
Why do you want to go to Germany?
WRONG answer 1:
Because Germany is so highly developed, because the technology is so good, etc. There is no need for you to praise Germany in general!
WRONG answer 2:
Because I want to do my specialist training.
This answer is incorrect because you are NOW applying for the visa for the FiBmed preparatory course for the license exams and NOT for the specialist training.
Answer the question specifically by registering for the FiBmed course:
Correct answer:
I would like to go to Germany to take part in a preparatory course for the exams to obtain the German license to practice medicine. That’s why I’m applying for a national D visa according to § 16 d of the Residence Act today. This allows you to take part in a qualification measure in Germany for the recognition of your professional qualifications.
The district government of Münster sent me a notice of assessment stating that in order for my qualifications as a doctor to be recognized I first had to take two tests: a medical language test and a medical knowledge test.
That’s why I signed up for a preparatory course for these two exams.
The preparatory course is called FiBmed and takes place in Bonn at the further education institute “Fachbüro für Internationales Bildungsmanagement – FiB”. The course lasts 10 months, first online in India and then 6 months in Germany. The course has nothing to do with a job!
After I have completed the course and passed the two exams, I will receive my German medical license. Only then can I apply for a position as an assistant doctor for specialist training in Germany.
ATTENTION: You are NOT applying for a student visa. Don’t even use the word student! It means exclusively university student in German. The FiBmed course has nothing to do with a university. You are not a student but a course participant. They also do not apply for a language course visa! FiB is not a language school and the C1 language course is just one module of the FiBmed course.
What kind of FiBmed preparation course is this?
The course is called Fibmed and takes place in a professional training institute in Bonn.
The institute is called Fachbüro für Internationales Bildungsmanagement (FiB) and has been running the courses since 2013.
The course lasts 10 months and has several modules:
There is an online part in India and then 6 months face-to-face modules in Germany.
At the same time, voluntary visits to an old people’s home once a week for one afternoon to practice speaking to old people. But it’s not nursing!
Then parallel medical language classes and medical knowledge test classes.
If my medical terminology is good enough, I will do a one-month voluntary hospital internship to get to know the German hospital system.
Every month there are additional workshops within the FiBmed course in certain specialist areas in which we practice for the knowledge test and later hospital practice.
After the knowledge test is passed and we have the approbation, we get application training in the FiBmed course.
Then we apply for assistant doctor positions for specialist training in German hospitals
When we have found a position as an assistant doctor, the FiB Institute checks whether the employment contract has the same conditions as for a German doctor.
Then we apply for the work permit, i.e. the blue card, at the immigration office in Bonn and start with the specialist training.
What are the medical language (FSP) and knowledge tests (KP)?
Two exams that foreign doctors have to take to prove that they have the same qualifications as doctors who have completed their medical studies in Germany.
The technical language test takes place at the Medical Association and lasts 60 minutes. It is a practical test in which you have to take an anamnesis with a patient, then document the findings and finally present the case to the examiners.
The knowledge test is almost like the third state examination for medical students in Germany. It is also a practical test. You have to interview and examine a real patient in a hospital and discuss the case with the examiners. Then questions are asked about internal medicine, surgery, pharmacology, radiation protection, radiology and forensic medicine.
The knowledge test lasts four hours. It takes place at various test locations in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Do you already have an appointment for the technical language and knowledge test?
I have already applied for a license to practice at the district government of Münster. This is the first step. After that, you will first receive an e-mail with a notification that you have to take these tests.
That’s why I registered for the FiBmed course and am now applying for the visa for it.
As soon as I’m in Germany and have registered at the Citizens’ Registration Office in Bonn, I can register for the exams in NRW.
A few months later you get an email from the district government that you should pay the examination fee (approx. 300€) for the FSP. When you have paid this fee, you get an appointment for the FSP from the district government.
For the KP you will first get a payment request to pay the fees (approx. 750€). After you have paid the fees, you will then be assigned an appointment by the district government. This usually takes up to 8 months.
Do you already have a notice of assessment? (Sometimes the word deficit decision is used. It is a synonym)
Yes, it says there that I have deficits compared to doctors who studied in Germany and that I have to take the specialist language and knowledge test. That’s why I signed up for the prep course.
Is the specialist office for international education management a language school?
No, it is a vocational training institute. We run the C1 course as a separate course parallel to the medical program in cooperation with a certified Goethe Institute language teacher. All other modules take place in FiB. The course contains purely exercise-theoretical modules and has nothing to do with a job in a hospital.
When does the course start in Germany?
I would like to start on 01.<month>. If the visa has not been approved by then, then a month later. The course is continuous and you can always start at the beginning of a month.
Where will you stay?
In a single room in a shared flat in Bonn. The FiB organizes the room for me after I have received the visa and it is clear in which month I can start.
How do you finance your living expenses in Germany?
I have an Indian blocked account with 948€ per month for 10-12 months, and also health insurance. If I need more money, my parents will send me more.
What do you do when the preparatory course is over?
As soon as I have passed the exams, I will apply for a position as an assistant doctor for specialist training.
What if you haven't passed the exams when the course is over?
Then I keep learning for it until I get it done. It also sometimes happens that you only get the knowledge test date from the medical association later, after the end of the course. But the FiB will take care of me until I have completed the KP. You can repeat the technical language test as often as you like and the knowledge test twice.
Do you already have a job in Germany?
No, German hospitals are only allowed to hire doctors who have at least a temporary professional license. You can only get them after the FSP. In addition, interviews are first held in the hospital. I will apply for a job as an intern as soon as I pass the exams and get my license to practice medicine.
Do you get the assistant doctor position from FiB or can you register for it?
No, FiB is a training institute and not a recruitment agency. You can’t automatically register for it either. Hospitals publish open intern positions on the Internet and each doctor then has to apply independently for intern positions. I get application training from FiB. And when I have received job offers, the FiB checks whether the employment contract is legally ok and also helps me to apply for the Blue Card, i.e. the residence and work permit in Germany.
Do you have to pay for the specialist training or can you do it for free?
You don’t have to pay anything for specialist training in Germany. The specialist training takes place according to the training regulations of the German Medical Association as part of on-the-job training. The job is called an assistant doctor’s position. You get a fixed salary according to tariffs.
Can you apply for a position as an assistant doctor without taking the specialist language and knowledge test and without a license to practice medicine?
No, all foreign doctors must first take a specialist language test! It is not permitted to work as a doctor without at least a temporary professional license according to the FSP. And proper specialist training only begins when you have your license to practice medicine. That’s why I will only apply for a job after both exams and after the license to practice medicine.
Waiting time = study time!
Waiting time for visa ranges between 6 weeks and 6 months. It is absolutely impossible to assess or influence the duration.
In any case, please use the waiting time very productively to advance as much as possible with general German language and medical prior to departure to Germany. The optimal preparation level before arrival to Germany is twofold: 1. B2 or better C1 certificate, graded “GOOD” DON’T RUSH TO JUST CLEAR the B2 or C1 exam quickly and roughly with a low grade. But aim for a REALLY GOOD language proficiency and a B2 or even C1 certificate, graded at least “GOOD”. The C1 certificate will later become part of your PG job application and the hospital’s selection decision. The better the real language proficiency and C1 certificate, the higher chances to be offered a PG training position.
The FiBmed program offers a C1 class in Germany at a partner language school. However, experience has shown that students who arrive with a B2 certificate graded less than “good” usually don’t pass the entry test for the C1 class and have to take B2 repetition classes at their own cost for several months. This causes them additional expenses of up to 5000,-€ (language school fees plus 2-3 months cost of living).
Students who arrive with an already completed C1 course or even certificate can save 2-3 months of language school, focus on medical classes, pass the medical exams faster and start to earn approx. 4200,-€ per month faster.
2. anvil M3 study plan and book “German for doctors” completed.
DON’T RUSH TO JUST READ roughly. But aim to have the medical knowledge refreshed in your head, the German terminology well memorized and be able to discuss the topics actively. This will significantly facilitate and speed up FSP and KP exam readiness. The faster you pass the exams, the faster a PG job with a monthly salary of approx. 4200,-€ will be reached.
