Why does Germany require a Schengen visa applicant to possess a?
Most of visa applications are supposed to be made from a country that youre a resident of. Some allow for visitors under certain circumstances, too. Just helped a Russian friend, staying in Serbia as a perma-tourist and doing visa runs to Bosnia or Montenegro, get a Spanish Schengen visa. It was possible almost exclusively because shes well off, is a former high profile journalist, and has a rich travel history. Why do they need you to be a resident or at least legally allowed to stay as a visitor (under certain circumstances, that mostly entail having plenty of cash and having traveled extensively in the past)? Because, well, it signals you wont overstay your visa and that youll either come back to wherever you applied for a visa from or that youll keep on traveling.