Bundeseinheitliches Merkblatt zur Verwendung des bundeseinheitlichen Formulars der Verpflichtungserklärung zu § 68 i. V. m. § 66 und § 67 AufenthG - (englisch) (Seite 1)

The appropriate version of the official, forgery-proof and nationally standardized form is to be used for formal obligations.

School exchange organizations are not required to use the official form.

If, in an exceptional case, more than one person submits a formal obligation on behalf of the same foreigner (e.g. to avoid unreasonable hardship), each person submitting a formal obligation should use a separate form and should note on the form that several persons have submitted formal obligations as joint and severally liable.

If the foreigner is able to support him- or herself, no formal obligation needs to be submitted.

Presenting a formal obligation is not a condition for approving a visa application.

The person submitting a formal obligation (third party) is to be explicitly informed of the extent and duration of liability before submitting the formal obligation. The third party is to be informed that in addition to living expenses, he/she will be responsible for expenses in case of illness, departure expenses and deportation expenses in case of deportation.

The third party is to declare that he/she has not entered into any other obligations that would endanger the guarantee effect of the present formal obligation.

The third party is to be informed of the voluntary nature of the information and supporting documents he/she provides, that providing inaccurate or incomplete information may be a criminal offence under Sections 95 and 96 of the Residence Act, and that his/her data will be stored in accordance with Section 69 (2) no. 2h of the ordinance on residence.

The third party should also be informed that the existence of sufficient health insurance cover will be checked independently of the formal obligation as part of the visa procedure and is a prerequisite for issuing a visa. The legal basis for this is provided by Council Decision 2004/17/EC of 22 December 2003 (cf. Part V, point 1.4, of the Common Consular Instructions) introducing the requirement to be in possession of travel medical insurance as one of the supporting documents for the grant of a uniform entry visa for stays of up to three months (within a sixmonth period). The third party is to be informed that he/she is also responsible for expenses arising in case of sickness which are not covered by health insurance or exceed the insured amount.

The information sheet is to be signed by the person submitting a formal obligation and added to the file, with a copy being given to that person.