Bundeseinheitliches Merkblatt zur Verwendung des bundeseinheitlichen Formulars der Verpflichtungserklärung zu § 68 i. V. m. § 66 und § 67 AufenthG - (englisch) (Seite 2)
Receipt of the formal obligation
The need for a formal obligation
Credit risk assessment
Assessment standard
A formal obligation can meet the requirement of sufficient support only if the third party can meet this obligation based on his/her income or other funds within the federal territory. If the third party is abroad, the authority must be certain that his/her income and funds can fulfil the requirement within the federal territory if necessary. It is not possible to enforce the recovery of funds abroad. If the aliens authority or diplomatic representation does not know whether the third party can meet this requirement, he/she must provide sufficient supporting documents. When checking the ability to pay, adequate attention should be paid in particular to the reason for or purpose of the foreigner’s intended stay, the planned length of stay, the temporal limits of the formal obligation and the consolidation of the third party’s residence status in federal territory.
The authority responsible for receiving the formal obligation will assess the credit risk on the basis of the information provided voluntarily and will note the result on page 2 of the form. If there is no explicit confirmation that the third party's creditworthiness has been proven or substantiated, the formal obligation is to be disregarded.
The following options are possible for noting the result of the credit risk assessment:
In the case of intended stays of up to three months (within a six-month period) with no employment and of stays requiring the approval of the aliens authority (Section 31 ordinance on residence), appropriate evidence to demonstrate creditworthiness is required (see no. 3.2).
Substantiation will constitute an exception. If the aliens authority/diplomatic representation has no reason to doubt the creditworthiness of the person submitting the formal obligation, in particular on the basis of previous information (e.g. experience with earlier formal obligations and/or previous credit risk assessments), it may be sufficient in the case of intended short stays for the third party to substantiate his/her creditworthiness.
In principle, the credit risk assessment will be more thorough when there is a greater chance of the foreigner having recourse to public funds. The relevant criteria may include the length of stay, the number of previous stays, or the relationship between the foreigner and the third party.
In this case, a schematic assessment is not advisable; it is crucial that, following its assessment, the authority is convinced that the third party is able to fulfil the obligation entered into.