Invitation letter

To help expedite the visa application process for its trade show customers from the countries concerned, Deutsche Messe AG issues letters of invitation free of charge.

This letter of invitation informs the responsible German office abroad (embassy or general consulate) of the applicant’s plans to visit an international trade fair in Hannover, Germany. In addition, the letter includes the following information about the applicant:

• Complete name
  
• Date and place of birth
  
• Passport number
  
• Company address
  
• Position at company
  
• Length of sojourn

Please note!

Deutsche Messe AG maintains a network of representative offices in numerous countries. For a list of representatives, see Section D "Representative offices". If you are a citizen or if you have a resident status of one of the countries in this list, please contact the appropriate Deutsche Messe AG directly. In this case, please skip the following procedures ?they are irrelevant for you!

To submit the necessary information about yourself to Deutsche Messe AG, please use the form in Section E, "Invitation form". Please do not use this form if Deutsche Messe AG has a representative office in your country, in which case you should contact the representative.

Our invitation letter does not guarantee you will receive a visa. The final decision on whether or not to grant a visa rests with the German office abroad.

Application procedure

Applicants can obtain a visa application form free of charge from the German embassy or general consulate responsible for their country of residence. The original copy of the visa application must be submitted in person, and must include all the required documents.

The type and scope of documents required may vary from country to country. Applicants should therefore contact the responsible German embassy or general consulate as early as possible to find out about the specific information requirements for their country. Along with your visa application, the following documents are generally required:

• A passport photo
  
• Your passport
  
• Proof of a temporary health and accident insurance policy for abroad
  
• Evidence of the purpose of the trip
  
• Invitation letter
  

In some cases you must also provide the

• Destination address (place of residence)

If you would like some assistance in finding hotel accommodation and/or accommodation in private quarters, please contact the exhibition travel agency "Travel2Fairs GmbH" (www.travel2fairs.com). Further information is also available at this website under the category of "Travel + Accommodation" as well as below in Section F: "Useful addresses".

Normally around 2 to 10 working days are required to process your order, although this can take longer during peak travel periods or due to local or international political developments. Please contact the responsible German office abroad in good time.

Useful addresses

General visa information
Federal Foreign Office
11013 Berlin / Germany
Phone: +49 (0)30 50000 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)30 50000 - 3402
www.auswaertiges-amt.de

Visa extensions
Ordnungsamt Hannover
Foreign Visitor Services
Leinstr. 14
30159 Hannover (Downtown District) / Germany
Phone: +49 (0)511 168 44871/-45801
Fax: +49 (0)511 168 41190/-41191

Travel and accommodations
Travel2Fairs GmbH
Göttinger Chaussee 115
30459 Hannover / Germany
Phone: +49 (0)511 33644 510
Fax: +49 (0)511 33644 512
info@travel2Fairs.com
www.travel2fairs.com