VISA Information
Whenever you are travelling to Europe, we highly recommend applying for a Schengen visa (if needed) as soon as you receive confirmation that you have been selected to participate in the event.
The information below is meant to help you in your visa application process, but is not exhaustive. WECHANGE eG explicitly emphasizes that all information is supplied without liability and all obligation is excluded due to faulty, incomplete or outdated information. To ensure your application is complete, please visit the official embassy websites for official guidelines.
Please select your country and destination, in order to receive information on your VISA application process!
Please note: Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, there might be changed travel and VISA regulations in each country. Make sure to check them regularly during the project planning process.
Armenia
Citizens of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine can travel to Armenia with a valid travel passport without a visa and stay at its territory for a period of 90 days, during six months from the moment of the first entry.
For more information on the entrance and stay regulations, please check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.
Azerbaijan
Citizens of Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine can travel to Azerbaijan with a valid travel passport without a visa and stay at its territory for a period of 90 days, during six months from the moment of the first entry.
The Government of Azerbaijan bans the entry of citizens from Armenia, as well as citizens of any other country who are of Armenian descent, to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
For more information on the entrance and stay regulations, please check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Belarus
When staying in Belarus for more than 5 working days, foreign citizens need to register on the unified portal of e-services www.portal.gov.by. When staying in hotels, hostels, sanatoriums and other collective accommodation facilities the registration of foreign citizens is carried out by the administrations of such facilities by default upon check-in.
Citizens of Russia travelling to Belarus
Citizens of Russia can travel to Belarus without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period with national passport.
They can stay in Belarus without registration up to 90 days. If the planned stay is longer than 90 days, registration is required.
Citizens of Ukraine travelling to Belarus
Citizens of Ukraine can travel to Belarus without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period with national passport.
They can stay in Belarus without registration up to 30 days. If the planned stay is longer than 30 days, registration is required.
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova travelling to Belarus
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova can travel to Belarus without a visa for a 90-day stay during a calendar year period with valid travel passport.
Foreign citizens of 74 countries can enter Belarus for up to 30 days and exit from the territory of Belarus only through the State border checkpoint of the Republic of Belarus “Minsk National Airport”.
The given order of visa-free movement through the airport does not extend to persons coming to Belarus by plane from the Russian Federation, as well as to those who intend to fly to the airports of the Russian Federation (such flights are considered as internal ones and do not have border control).
To enter the Republic of Belarus in the visa-free regime via the checkpoint “Minsk National Airport”, foreign nationals should have the following documents:
— a valid ordinary passport. The passport must be valid at least 90 days beyond intended date of departure from the Republic of Belarus;
— financial means: amount equivalent to not less than 2 base rates for each day of stay (approximately 22 euros) or 50 base rates (approximately 526 euros) if the stay is full 30 days, in Belarusian rubles or foreign currency;
— a medical insurance policy with coverage for at least 10 000 euros, valid in Belarus during the whole duration of stay.
For more information on the entrance and stay regulations, please check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
Georgia
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine can travel to Georgia without a visa and stay at its territory for one year with valid travel passport.
Citizens of Member States of the European Union may enter Georgia with a travel document, as well as with an identity card issued by a Member State of the European Union. The identity card shall contain the name, surname, date of birth and a photo of the person.
Ukrainian citizens travelling to Georgia
As of March 1, 2019, citizens of Georgia and Ukraine, according to the agreement between Georgia and Ukraine, may use ID cards to freely visit both countries and can stay on the territory of the state of the other party without visas for 90 days each year.
Moldova
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine can travel to Moldova without a visa for a 90-day stay during six months period from the moment of the first entry with valid travel passport.
Citizens of Ukraine travelling to Moldova
Citizens of Ukraine can travel to Moldova without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period with national passport.
For more information on the entrance and stay regulations, please check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
Russia
Citizens of Georgia travelling to Russia
Citizens of Georgia travelling to Russia must apply for a visa.
In order to apply for a Russian visa, you must book an appointment online on the website and submit all your documents to the Russian Federation Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed, with inserted recently taken photo.
— A valid travel passport. Should be valid for at least six more months beyond the date you plan to return to Georgia.
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side (depending on the type of visa: business or personal).
— Health insurance.
— Proof of sufficient amount of money to support yourself during all period of stay in Russia (for example, certificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salary or bank statement).
Please note! A visa normally costs from 70 to 210 Euros.
For detailed information on the visa procedure, please check the website of the Embassy of the Russian Federation Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia.
Citizens of Belarus and Ukraine travelling to Russia
Citizens of Belarus and Ukraine can enter the territory of the Russian Federation without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period with national passport.
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova travelling to Russia
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova can travel to Russia without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period with a valid travel passport.
Ukraine
Citizens of the EU and CIS countries (with the exception of Turkmenistan) can enter Ukraine without a visa.
Starting from 01 January 2019 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine introduced extended range of Ukraine electronic visas (e-Visa) categories (business, private, tourism, medical treatment, cultural/scientific/educational/sports activities) for 52 countries.
Russian citizens travelling to Ukraine
Russian citizens travelling to Ukraine do not need a Ukrainian visa and can enter Ukraine on their valid travel passport.
However, as of April 2019, male Russian citizens in the age from 18 to 60 years can enter Ukraine only with invitation issued by a Ukrainian citizen or a legal entity. Otherwise, they will be banned entry.
To enter Ukraine, the following documents may additionally be required:
— booked return ticket to Russia;
— paid travel voucher;
— legally verified invitation;
— proof of financial resources.
Belorussian citizens travelling to Ukraine
Citizens of Belarus can enter the territory of Ukraine with national passport without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period.
Georgian citizens travelling to Ukraine
Citizens of Georgia can enter the territory of Ukraine with valid travel passport without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period.
As of March 1, 2019, citizens of Georgia and Ukraine, according to the agreement between Georgia and Ukraine, may use ID cards to freely visit both countries and can stay on the territory of the state of the other party without visas for 90 days each year.
Moldovan, Armenian and Azerbaijan citizens travelling to Ukraine
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova can travel to Ukraine with valid travel passport without a visa for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period.
Germany
Citizens of Armenia
Citizens of Armenia travelling to Germany must apply for a Schengen visa.
In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website and submit all your documents to the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Erevan.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed and signed in German or English.
— Two recently taken biometric photos.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— A valid travel passport. Not older than 10 years and should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave the Schengen area.
— Copy of all pages of the travel passport which have marks, stamps and visas. Also, copies of previous travel passports.
— For non-Armenian citizens, proof of legal stay in Armenia valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to return from the Schengen area.
— Round trip reservation.
— Proof of accommodation.
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation that they will be financially supporting your trip to Germany.
— For self-employed: previous three months’ bank statement.
— Proof of rootedness in Armenia (may include, but not limited to: certificate of employment from your current employer which indicates your position in the company and your monthly salary, previous three months’ bank statement, proof of ownership of property, marriage certificate, passport of your husband/wife/children).
Please note! A visa normally costs 35 Euros. However, as a participant of the international conference your application fee might be waived with proof of invitation.
For detailed information on the visa procedure, please check the website of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Erevan.
Citizens of Azerbaijan
Citizens of Azerbaijan travelling to Germany must apply for a Schengen visa.
In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website and submit all your documents to the visa application center — VisaMetric.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed in German or English and signed.
— A valid travel passport. It should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Schengen area and have at least 2 blank pages.
— Copy of all pages of the travel passport which have marks, stamps and visas.
— ID-card (original and copies of both sides).
— Recently taken biometric photo.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— For not Azerbaijan citizens proof of the legal stay in Azerbaijan, valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to return from Schengen area.
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation of financial support of your trip to Germany.
— Payed application fee.
— Round trip reservation.
— Proof of accommodation.
— Proof of rootedness in Azerbaijan (certificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salary, proof of ownership of properties, marriage certificate, passport of your husband/wife/children).
Please note! A visa normally costs 35 Euros. However, as a participant of the international conference your application fee might be waived with proof of invitation. Although, you must pay a 21 Euro fee for processing of your documents at the VisaMetric office.
For detailed information on the visa procedure, please check the website of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Baku.
Citizens of Belarus
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus travelling to Germany must apply for a Schengen visa.
In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website and submit all your documents to the visa application center at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Minsk.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed in German or English and signed.
— A valid travel passport. It should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Schengen area and have at least 2 blank pages.
— Copy of all pages of the travel passport which have marks, stamps and visas.
— Recently taken biometric photo.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— For non-Belorussian citizens proof of the legal stay in Belarus (for example residence permit and one copy).
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation of financial support of your trip to Germany.
— Certificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salary.
— Round trip reservation.
— Proof of accommodation.
Please note! A visa costs 60 Euro.
For detailed information on the visa procedure please check the website of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Minsk.
Citizens of Georgia
Citizens of Georgia who possess a biometric passport do not need a visa for travel to Germany and the Schengen area.
You can find more information about visa free travel to the EU countries on the website of the Federal Republic of Germany in Tbilisi.
Georgian citizens who don’t have biometric passport must apply for a Schengen visa. In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed in German or English and signed.
— A valid travel passport. It should be valid for at least six more months beyond the date you plan to enter Schengen area and have at least 2 blank pages. Copy of the page with passport photo.
— For non-Georgian citizens, proof of the legal stay in Georgia (for example residence permit).
— Recently taken biometric photo.
— Copies of all previously issued Schengen visas.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— Proof of economic situation (certificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salary).
— Proof of social/familial situation (marriage certificate, passport of your husband/wife/children).
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation that they will be financially supporting your trip to Germany.
— Round trip reservation.
— Proof of accommodation.
Please note! Visa costs 60 Euro.
For detailed information on the visa procedure please check the website of the Federal Republic of Germany in Tbilisi.
Citizens of Moldova
Citizens of Moldova who possess biometric passports can travel to the EU countries, including Germany, visa free!
More information about visa free travel to the EU countries you can find on the website of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chisinau.
Moldovan citizens who don’t have biometric passport must apply for a Schengen visa. In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed in German or English and signed.
— A valid travel passport. It should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Schengen area and have at least 2 blank pages.
— National passport (original and copy). For non-Moldovan citizens, proof of the legal stay in Moldova (for example residence permit).
— Recently taken biometric photo.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation that they will be financially supporting your trip to Germany.
— Certificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salary
— Round trip reservation.
— Proof of accommodation.
Please note! Visa costs 35 Euro.
For detailed information on the visa procedure please check the website of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chisinau.
Citizens of Russia
Citizens of the Russian Federation travelling to Germany must apply for a Schengen visa.
In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website of the Embassy of the German Federal Republic in Moscow. You can apply for a Schengen visa in one of the official visa center offices – VisaMetric – or directly via the Embassy of the German Federal Republic in Moscow.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed in German or English and signed.
— A valid travel passport. Not older than 10 years and should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Schengen area and have at least 2 blank pages.
— Copy of all pages of the travel passport which have marks, stamps and visas (copies of all previous expired travel passports).
— Two recently taken biometric photos.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— National passport (original and copy).
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation that they will be financially supporting your trip to Germany.
— Сertificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salaryю
Please note! A visa normally costs 35 Euros. Although, you must pay a 21 Euro fee for processing of your documents at the VisaMetric office.
For detailed information on the visa procedure, please check the website of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow.
Citizens of Ukraine
Citizens of Ukraine who possess a biometric passport do not need a visa for travel to Germany and the Schengen area.
When you travel visa-free, make sure you have the following documents with you at the customs:
— A valid biometric travel passport.
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation of financial support of your trip to Germany.
— Booked return ticket.
You can find more information on visa-free travel to EU countries on the website of German Embassy in Kyiv.
Ukrainian citizens who don’t have biometric passport must apply for a Schengen visa. In order to apply for a Schengen visa for Germany, you must book an appointment online on the website.
You can apply for a visa in one of the official visa center offices – VisaMetric – in Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv or Dnipro. Or you can apply directly via the German embassy in Ukraine.
Documents required for application:
— Visa application form. Fully completed in German or English and signed.
— A valid travel passport. Not older than 10 years and should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Schengen area and have at least 2 blank pages.
— Copy of all pages of the travel passport which have marks, stamps and visas (copies of all previous expired travel passports).
— Two recently taken biometric photos.
— Health insurance for the whole Schengen territory, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros (original and copy).
— Official invitation letter from the receiving side with confirmation that they will be financially supporting your trip to Germany.
— Round trip reservation.
— Proof of accommodation.
— Proof of rootedness in Ukraine (certificate of employment from your employer which would indicate your position in the company and your monthly salary, proof of ownership of properties, national passport).
Please note! A visa normally costs 35 Euros. However, as a participant of the international conference your application fee might be waived with proof of invitation.
For detailed information on the visa procedure, please check the website of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kyiv.
Finances
The information presented here shall be for information purposes only and are not maintained or periodically updated. If you have any questions please have a look in the Emails you have received regarding your project funding or contact the responsible staff in the Federal Foreign Office or the Federal Administrative Office “Bundesverwaltungsamt” in Cologne.
This section is dedicated to those that already got accepted in the second phase.
Financial plan
For the application you need to hand in a financial calculation. This has to be done by the German applicant. Therefore you need to calculate the costs for the project.
Reimbursement
Collateral clauses
All following regulations for the accounting can be taken from the German travel expenses act “Bundesreisekostengesetz”, the German Ordinance on Official Travel Abroad “Auslandsreisekostenverordnung” and the “Besondere Nebenbestimmungen des Auswärtigen Amts(BNBest-AA) für die Gewährung von Zuwendungengem. Nr. 15.2 VV zu § 44 BHO” so special Ordinances by the German Federal Foreign Office regarding the finances.
Travel costs
The travel costs can be reimbursed with the help of the special Ordinances of the Federal Foreign Office mentioned above (BNBest-AA) and the German travel expenses act. So you can look up the latest lump sums for the countries in the following document:
Download 1 – Bundesreisekostengesetz
Download 2 – BNBest-AA
Hotel expenses
Costs in hotels can be reimbursed. Here you have the possibility to spend a certain lump sum (without a reciept) and another sum with reciept in all countries of the Eastern Partnership and Germany.
Download 3 — Auslandsreisekostenverordnung
Download 4 — Bundesreisekostengesetz
Personnel costs
The costs for the staff can also be handed in. Please have a look at BNBest-AA
Bills from subcontractors and fees
How to spend money for fees? You have to fullfill the German law for that. Here you have an example of a bill for a fee: https://lexikon.fastbill.com/honorarrechnung/
Download 5 – example of a bill
Bills from subcontractors and fees
Bills from subcontractors and fees
How to spend money for fees? You have to fullfill the German law for that. Here you have an example of a bill for a fee: https://lexikon.fastbill.com/honorarrechnung/
Download 5 – example of a bill
Funding retrievals
To actually get money from the German state physically you have to hand in a “Mittelabruf”. Here you can find an example of how that could look like:
Download 6 – Example of a “Mittelabruf”
Financial reports with deadlines
The financial report and the general report must be handed in by the end of June of the next year (after the funding period)
Logistics
First choice you must do, is how nature friendly your trip will be: plane, bus or train. As far as politics of our company (and common cense of a responsible member of society) is concerned, we recommend you choose train for bearable distances.
For example, you can get by train from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and even to Austria.
If you consider travelling by plane, we recommend you use flight search engines, such as Scyscanner, Hipmunk, Momondo or Kiwi. Consider flights with layover. They can often be cheaper than direct flights.
Numerous trains connect Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine between each other and beyond. Trains are cheap and comfortable way to travel responsibly. Especially if you do it overnight.
Official websites of national railways:
Armenia ukzhd.am
Azerbaijan ady.az
Belarus rw.by
Georgia railway.ge
Moldova railway.md
Russia rzd.ru
Ukraine uz.gov.ua
For cheap travels through Europe you can check FlixBus and FlixTrain.
Sustainability
By now climate change caused by CO2 emission is not any longer a fancy word heard from the TV screens occasionally or a last item on the political agendas with the aim to attract voters. We are at the point when we can observe climate change from our window: storms are becoming more frequent, average temperatures rise, heat gets more intense, droughts last longer.
We believe in personal responsibility for climate change. We, as a team, devoted ourselves to sustainable development of our society and raising awareness and responsibility of other NGOs.
So try to be as sustainable as possible in your projects. You can order your needed office materials in Germany e.g. at memo.de. Online you can try to use ethical correct Online-Tools that use green energy for their servers. There are many more possibilities to keep your project as green as possible. Be creative!
So try to be as sustainable as possible in your projects. You can order your needed office materials in Germany e.g. at memo.de. Online you can try to use ethical correct Online-Tools that use green energy for their servers. There are many more possibilities to keep your project as green as possible. Be creative!
Use of our Community in the course of a running project
Do you want to organize effective online collaboration, make remote work of your team more effective, keep track of time and deadlines? However, you are unable to do it without software solutions from international companies with questionable data security conditions? We change this.
Community.civilsocietycooperation offers you an easy-to-use online platform for online cooperation and organization of your own network.
Check out or tools! They will help you to structure your project management:
Collaborative Tools
Our online platform provides you with a wide range of tools to make your online collaboration comfortable, overarching and easy. Have a look
Text editor
For mutual development of text documents where thanks to the colored marking you can see who did which remark.
Allocations
Keep track of how your colleagues manage their tasks and assign them new ones when they are ready.
Surveys
Let the project group members vote for your activities and appointments.
Map
See the German-Russian exchange programs on an interactive map.
Shared calendar
Overview, events and team events for all in one calendar.
Online repository
Encrypted online repository with redundant back-ups.
601-oepr@diplo.de