Visas cover both short term and long term stays in Germany. For some nationalities, a visa is always required to enter Germany, regardless of whether you’re planning a short or long term stay. The type of German visa you apply for depends on the purpose of your visit. This page looks at everything you need to know about getting a visa for Germany.
Your nationality and how long you intend to stay determine whether you need a visa to enter Germany.
Nationals from the European Union (EU), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Sweden do not need a visa to enter Germany, regardless of the length of stay. If you wish to study or work, you will need to register your address.
For many nationalities, the Germany has also abolished the visa requirement for stays of up to 90 days in a 180-day period. This includes countries like Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Federal Foreign Office provides an overview of visa requirements for entry into Germany.
If your country has been exempted from visa requirements, you can enter Germany without a visa and stay for up to 90 days. If you wish to stay longer or to work, you will need to apply for a long stay visa before you travel and a residence permit once you are in Germany.
Note that from 2025, a new system will apply for visitors coming to Europe from visa exempt countries: ETIAS. ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System. This electronic system keeps track of visitors from countries who do not need a visa to enter the Schengen Zone. The system involves a detailed security check for each applicant to determine whether they are allowed to enter the Schengen Zone. ETIAS is expected to be in place by mid-2025 and will be mandatory for all countries that are Schengen visa-free.
If your country is not exempt from visa requirements, and your stay in Germany will be 90 days or less, you must apply for a Schengen (short stay) visa.
Even if your country is exempt from visa requirements, if you intend to stay longer than 90 days you will need to apply for a long stay visa from your home country before coming to Germany. Exceptions to this are nationals of Australia, Canada, Iceland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Citizens from these countries may enter Germany without a visa and then apply for a residence permit from inside Germany.
Citizens of Andorra, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Monaco and San Marino may also enter Germany without a visa and apply for a residence permit after arriving, so long as they do not take up employment until their residence permit application has been approved.
Citizens of all other countries planning to stay in Germany longer than 90 days must first apply for a long stay visa at their local mission before travelling to Germany.
You must meet certain requirements to enter Germany, even if you do not require a visa:
There are three different kinds of visa in Germany:
If your country does not have a visa exemption agreement with Germany and you are coming to Germany for a short stay, for instance for a business trip, holiday or to visit relatives, you will need to apply for a Schengen visa. This short stay visa (category C visa) is valid for up to 90 days within a 180 day period in Germany and the entire Schengen area. The day you enter Germany or another Schengen country marks the start of the 180 day period.
The Schengen area is an area comprised of 26 European states that have abolished passport control at their shared borders and have adopted a common visa policy.
| Austria | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|
| Belgium | Lithuania |
| Czech Republic | Luxembourg |
| Denmark | Malta |
| Estonia | The Netherlands |
| Finland | Norway |
| France | Poland |
| Germany | Portugal |
| Greece | Slovakia |
| Hungary | Slovenia |
| Iceland | Spain |
| Italy | Sweden |
| Spain | Switzerland |
The Schengen visa comes in three different forms, depending on the holder’s reason for travel: it can be used for one, two or multiple entries into the Schengen area. You can, therefore, use it for one, unbroken 90-day stay, or for two or more stays not exceeding 90 days within 180 days. For frequent travellers, it is also possible to extend the validity to 90 days within one, three or five years.
If you will be leaving and re-entering the Schengen area during your visit (e.g. if you want to travel to the UK, which is not part of the Schengen area), you will need to apply for a double or even multiple-entry visa. The Schengen visa application form asks you to specify which type you are applying for.
If you stay for the whole 90 days, you will need to exit the Schengen area for another 90 days before you will be eligible for another Schengen visa.
If you have a multiple-entry Schengen visa, you may need to calculate how many days you have spent in the Schengen area to ensure you do not go above the 90-day limit. This Schengen calculator is a handy tool to check how many days you have spent in the Schengen area.
You will need an airport transit visa (category A visa) if you are making a stopover at an airport in Germany and your final destination is a country outside the Schengen area.
The airport transit visa does not permit you to leave the airport. If you need to exit the airport to pick up your baggage, check in again or continue your journey via another means of transport, you will need to apply for a Schengen visa. Check if you require an airport transit visa.
If you want to stay in Germany for longer than 90 days, and your nationality requires you to obtain a Schengen visa, you will need to apply for a national visa (category D visa) before you travel.
The national visa (nationales Visum) grants entry to Germany on the basis that you will be applying for a residence permit. It enables you to enter Germany as a potential resident and stay while you apply for residency. You will need to convert your visa into a residence permit within three months of arriving in Germany. You can find out more about this process on our residence permit page.
The German national visa is most commonly granted for the following purposes:
It is important to note that the national visa is linked to the specific purpose of your stay in Germany and can be converted only into the corresponding type of residence permit. For instance, a student visa must be converted into a student residence permit. Once you have completed your studies, you will be given the option to apply for a different type of residence permit (e.g. a working residence permit).
If the purpose of your trip changes before it has been "fulfilled" (for instance, before you complete your university course), you will most likely need to leave Germany and apply for a different kind of visa from your home country. This is why it is important to first carefully consider the reason you give on your visa application. If you are not sure which situation best applies to you, check with your local mission (consulate or embassy).
Depending on your reason for applying for a German national visa, you will need to fulfil certain criteria and present different documents at your visa interview. Your local German mission can advise you as to which visa best suits your purpose and what you need to prepare for your application.
Unless your country has been exempted from visa requirements, you must apply for a visa before you travel to Germany.
For both short stay and long stay visas, you need to apply in person at the German mission in your home country. You can contact a German mission in a neighbouring country if there is no German mission in your country. You can find a list of German missions on the Federal Foreign Office’s website.
Some missions now offer the option of submitting your visa application documents (at least initially) online. Check with your local mission to see if this option is open to you.
Your visa application must be submitted together with specific documents. It is advisable to check with your local mission before your visa appointment so you know exactly what you need to prepare.
If you are applying for a long stay visa and you won't have any income in Germany, you need to prove you will be able to support yourself financially for the duration of your stay. The most common way of doing this is to open a blocked bank account in advance of your visa appointment. This is a special type of bank account that requires the account holder to deposit a predetermined lump sum of money, which can then only be withdrawn in small monthly amounts.
To submit your visa application, you will need to make an appointment at your local German mission. You must bring all the required supporting documentation to this appointment.
| Type of visa | Fee |
|---|---|
| Schengen visa single entry (90 days) | 90 euros |
| Schengen visa multiple entry (90 days) | 90 euros |
| Schengen visa children 6-12 (90 days) | 45 euros |
| Schengen visa children 0-6 (90 days) | 0 euros |
| Transit visa (ages 12 and above) | 90 euros |
| Transit visa children (6-12 years) | 45 euros |
| Transit visa children (0-6 years) | 0 euros |
| National visa (aged 17 and above) | 75 euros |
| National visa minors (0-17 years) | 37,50 euros |
Note: Services such as legalisation of documents may incur extra costs.
The EU has agreed to grant nationals from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine a reduced fee of 35 euros for short stay and transit visas.
For short stay visas, the average processing time is between two and 10 working days. If you apply for a long stay visa, you should expect a longer waiting time of up to several months, so make sure to submit your visa application with plenty of time. Expect longer waiting times during the holiday period.
It depends on the type of visa you apply for. As a foreign national, you are not permitted to work in Germany unless your expressly stated purpose when applying for a visa was employment.
German visas are valid for anywhere between three and 12 months, depending on the type of visa you applied for:
In exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to extend your visa (see below). Otherwise, if you wish to stay longer in Germany, you will need to return to your home country and apply for a national visa.
It is possible to extend the validity of visas only in exceptional cases, such as a natural disaster. This must be done at the foreigners’ office (Ausländerbehörde) covering your area of residence.
If your German visa extension is on the grounds of compelling personal reasons or late entry, it costs 30 euros. You do not have to pay fees if your visa extension is due to a force majeure (e.g. natural disaster) or for humanitarian reasons.
If your German visa application is rejected, you will be notified by your mission that your application has been unsuccessful. You will be informed of the grounds on which it was rejected and have one month to appeal the decision by writing to the German mission. Your application will then be reconsidered.
If the mission still finds reasons why you do not meet the conditions for obtaining a visa, it will set these out in writing. You then have the option to appeal this decision by filing an action within one month at the Administrative Court in Berlin.