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Voluntary services
To whom does this leaflet apply
The objectives of voluntary service are commitment to the common good and the acquisition of skills.
Federal Voluntary Service (BFD) including ‘weltwärts’ South-North components
There is no age limit for participation in the Federal Voluntary Service (BFD), which is open to young people who have completed their full-time compulsory education, regardless of their educational qualifications. Participants in ‘weltwärts’ South-North must be between 18 and 29 years old. The duration of voluntary service is between 6 and 25 months.
Youth voluntary service (voluntary social year (FSJ) or voluntary ecological year (FÖJ))
Participants in the Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) or Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ) must not be older than 26 years of age. The FSJ/FÖJ is open to young people who have completed their full-time compulsory education, regardless of their educational qualifications. The duration of the voluntary service is between 6 and 24 months.
European Voluntary Service (EVS)/European Solidarity Corps (ESC)
Participants in the European Voluntary Service (EVS/ESC) must be between 17 and 30 years old. The EVS/ESC is open to young people regardless of their educational qualifications or social background. The duration of the voluntary service is between 2 weeks and 12 months.
For a total duration of voluntary service of up to 90 days, nationals from non-EU countries who live in Latvia with a valid residence permit or long-term visa (category ‘D’) do not need a visa.
What kind of documents need to be submitted
These documents depend on the type of visa you are applying for and must be submitted in addition to the standard proofs:
- Your agreement must be signed by you, the respective sponsor and, if applicable, the placement organisation.
- In the case of the Federal Voluntary Service (BFD), the agreement must also be signed by the Federal Agency for Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions (BAFzA).
- For the European Voluntary Service (EFD/ESK), in addition to the agreement between you and your place of assignment (host/coordinating organisation), the signed contract between the place of assignment and the German National Agency JUGEND für Europa must also be submitted.
- The contract/agreement must contain information on pocket money, accommodation, meals and social insurance. For the European Voluntary Service (EFD/ESK), the volunteer agreement must describe the tasks and planned learning outcomes.
As a rule, the host organisation covers the full costs of accommodation and meals (benefits in kind). In this case, a monthly allowance of €302 is sufficient. If the volunteer agreement provides for cash benefits only and no benefits in kind, the allowance is €855 (net) per month.
If the agreement does not contain any information about your accommodation and meals, additional proof of living expenses in the amount of €553 per month (in addition to pocket money) is required. The amount to be proven must cover the entire duration of your voluntary service (example: 6 months of voluntary service, amount to be proven €3,318).
Special feature of the European Voluntary Service (EFD/ESK): The organisations are obliged to cover the costs of accommodation, meals, pocket money, educational support programme and international travel expenses. All EFD/ESK volunteers are covered by group insurance. This insurance includes health insurance, accident and liability insurance, and repatriation in the event of death.
Due to the mandatory requirement for accredited organisations to provide living expenses, including insurance, in the EFD/ESK, no further individual proof, e.g. of accommodation or meals, needs to be submitted. The rates specified in the respective programme, e.g. for pocket money, are considered sufficient.
The financial resources can be proven by:
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Payment of the required amount into a blocked account in Germany (certificate) |
Information concerning the opening of a blocked account can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office. Also if you plan to attend a language course before taking up studies, you must prove funds for 12 months. |
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OR Bank statement from a Latvian or German bank |
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Certified A1 language certificate (original document with one non-certified copy) |
To find out which certificates are currently recognized, please visit https://www.alte.org/Our-Full-Members The examination date must not be more than one year ago. |
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OR Confirmation from the placement organisation/sponsoring organisation that your existing language skills are sufficient or that language skills are not required initially and will be acquired through language courses after arrival. Please note: Some placement locations or organisations require B2 German language skills throughout. In this case, an A1 language certificate is not sufficient. |
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Letter of motivation in German or English with details of the planned voluntary service (sector, region, planned place of residence/accommodation, etc.). This should outline your expectations for the planned stay, the expected professional and personal benefits, and your plans for the future. It should clearly explain why you are interested in volunteering in Germany at this stage in your life.
| Complete curriculum vitae in tabular form in German or English | In your CV, please summarize all previous activities, trainings and qualifications up to the current application date in one table. |
Most recent school or university qualification (e.g. school leaving certificates, diplomas)
AND
notarized translation (Diploma in the English language do not require translation).
(original document with a non-certified copy)
Further information
www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/themen/engagement-und-gesellschaft/freiwilligendienste
www.bafza.de/engagement-und-aktionen/freiwilligendienste
www.bundesfreiwilligendienst.de
www.jugendfreiwilligendienste.de
General information
Please note:
- Due to the high workload and in order to ensure equal treatment of all applicants, the visa section can only accept applications in the requested form for processing.
- Submitting incomplete documents may lead to the rejection of the application.
- Unsolicited documents cannot be assigned to your application.
- All documents, leaflets and application forms provided by the Embassy are free of charge.
- All information on the application procedure is available on our website.
- Please refrain from submitting status requests. Status requests do not speed up the visa process.
- Processing time: Approximately between six and twelve weeks, in individual cases shorter or longer.
- If the Embassy has questions during the course of the visa procedure or if additional documents need to be submitted, we will contact you directly.