General information

A visa for a long-term stay in Germany generally has to be applied for in advance with the respective German mission abroad. Usually it requires the approval of the local foreigner's office in accordance with the intended place of residence. If the foreigner's office's approval is necessary, the visa procedure can take three months or longer. Sometimes further authorities like the Federal Employment Agency have to be consulted. The German Mission can only issue the visa with the approval of the foreigner's office.

Citizens from Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America can apply for their residence Permit after entering Germany.

The duration of the visa procedure varies, please apply for a visa as soon as you have specific plans. After the visa office notifies you of the positive decision on your application, you must travel to Germany within 3 months.

Competence for the visa procedure

Competent is the German mission in whose consular district you are residing. The term residence usually requires a stay of 6 months in the respective location.

If this is within Saudi-Arabia, please submit your application to the German Embassy in Riyadh.

Abolition of the remonstration procedure from 1 July 2025

The Federal Foreign Office has decided to abolish the remonstration procedure for visa rejections worldwide from 1 July 2025. This eliminates a legal remedy in the visa application procedure that is not statutorily prescribed and which up to now has been granted voluntarily.

This decision is based on a pilot project conducted in several German visa sections, where suspension of remonstrations for both Schengen visas and national visas was tested from 1 June 2023.

Evaluation of the pilot project has shown that Dispensing with the remonstration procedure has released considerable staff capacity in visa sections in some cases, freeing up staff to process more visa applications. As a result, it has been possible to process both more national and more Schengen visa applications and to reduce waiting times compared to the same period in the previous year.

The processing of a greater number of visa applications and a reduction in waiting times benefits all applicants. Adequate legal protection will also be guaranteed in the future, for judicial review under law will not be limited by the abolition of the remonstration procedure. Furthermore, it goes without saying that all applicants have the option of submitting a new visa application at any time in the case of a rejection.

With the general option to apply for national visas for skilled workers, apprentices, students or for family reunification purposes online via the Consular Services Portal available worldwide since 1 January 2025, applicants also receive clear and intuitive step-by-step guidance through the application process to ensure that they submit complete (digital) applications. Experience from the online application pilot project has shown that this significantly improves the quality of the procedure and avoids delays caused by incomplete applications.