Getting your first visa is usually the tough part. Extending it can be equally tough though, especially if you put yourself under unnecessary stress. This short article will give provide you with 3 pro tips to make sure your visa or residence permit is extended as smoothly as possible.
1. Start enough in advance
This might sound obvious but most people we work with only start sorting out their extensions when it is almost too late. That usually means within the last month or two of validity of their current visa/residence permit. Why is that almost too late? Multiple reasons!
- firstly, some of the documents you need to collect can take a long time to get (i.e. the proves of no debts can take up to 30 days to get issued, getting a proof of accommodation from some landlords can also be challenging in many cases etc.),
- secondly, depending on the branch of the MOI you fall under, you might not be able to book an appointment in time so you will have to just go and wait in the line which can take a whole day sometimes,
- also, given the real-life approval times of the MOI (not the ones they should officially stick to), if you apply right before your current visa expiration, you might end up going to the MOI again and again to keep getting your bridging visas,
- if you have a trade license, you will also need to keep bringing the new bridging visas to the Trade License office so they can keep extending your trade license.
You can apply for extension of your visa or residence permits 90-120 days in advance in most cases. Doing so will not only lower the amount of stress involved but it might actually make the whole process way easier for you.
2. Have all documents in order
Another obvious thing, but especially if you start with your extension process to late (see point 1.), you might not be able to get all the required documents in time. That is not a problem per se – you can submit even just a filled in form – on the other hand, if you submit incomplete application, the following happens.
- the MOI will immediately issue a letter for you saying you are missing some documents and you have X amount of days to deliver them – depending on the mood of the person you are dealing with at the MOI this X can either be long enough or very short. If it is short, it will obviously get you into a time pressure and will add a lot of stress into the process,
- the approval time will be way longer – if the MOI does not have all the required documents from you, the official approval time stops counting and it will only reset once you provide the missing documents,
- obviously, having some documents incorrect (i.e. wrong signatures on your proof of accommodation, too old documents etc.) can lead to denial of your application.
Some extensions are generally easier (i.e. employee card, blue card), some are more complicated (i.e. the business residence permit where you have too many things that can go wrong from proving your monthly income to your trade license expiring because you did not bring the bridge visa to them in time) but all of them require documents in perfect order.
Starting your extension process enough in advance will provide you with enough time to make sure your application is perfect and the approval process will go as smoothly as possible.
3. Hire a professional help if you are not sure about something
If you are skillful and maybe a bit lucky, you can probably repair your broken TV with a bit of research on google and youtube. If you miss one tiny yet important detail though (i.e. unplug the TV before you start with the repair), you might also end up killed by the electricity.
Even though visa extension is not generally that dangerous :), having your visa denied is nothing pleasurable either. So, asking for help might be useful if you feel a bit lost.
We offer different options from one-time consultation (free or paid) where we put you on the right tract, to a full service where we grab your hand and walk you through the entire process with ease.
Fill in the form below, tell us a bit more about your situation and let’s see what we can do for you 🙂
