Who needs a visa?

For stays longer than 90 days, foreign citizens generally require a visa. Excluded from this are EU citizens (European Union), citizens of the EEA (European Economic Area) and citizens of Switzerland.

Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the United States of America and the UK and Northern Ireland can also obtain a required residence permit after entering Germany from the immigration authorities responsible in Germany. You do not need to apply for a visa before moving to Germany.

For all other nationals residing in France, the following applies: visas for a long-term stay must be obtained from the Embassy in Paris before entering the country.

How do I get an appointment to submit my application?

Under the following link you can register free of charge on the waiting list for an appointment to apply for a visa at the Embassy in Paris: Visa section Appointment waiting list

Please expect a waiting time for an appointment. Approximately two weeks before your appointment, you will receive an e-mail with the date and time.
In the meantime, please refrain from making written or telephone appointment requests. Due to the high volume of applications and limited processing capacities, it is not possible to shorten the waiting time.

Which documents are required?

Please bring the following documents:

• one complete printout of your electronic visa application: VIDEX
  
  Using VIEDX speeds up the processing time at the Embassy. If you cannot fill out the application online, you can download the application form here:
  Form: Application for a national visa (German/English)
  Form: Application for a national visa (German/French)
  Form: Application for a national visa (German/Arabic)
• one current biometric passport photo: photo template
• valid passport, original and one copy (the passport must have at least two blank pages)
• valid French residence permit and one copy
• Contract/arrangement for your voluntary service in Germany
  Federal Voluntary Service (BFD): Your contract must be signed by you and the Federal Office of Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions (BAFzA), as well as the placement department, headquarters and, where applicable, by the institution implementing the voluntary service.
  Voluntary Social Year (FSJ)/ Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ):
  Your contract must be signed by you and the respective institution, as well as, where applicable, the placement department.
  European Voluntary Service (EFD):
  Your contract must be signed by an Erasmus+ Youth in Action National Agency and the coordinating organisation. The volunteer agreement, which describes the tasks and planned learning outcomes, must be signed by the coordinating organisation and the volunteer.
• Evidence of sufficient funds to cover your living expenses in Germany
  In most cases your volunteering sponsor will cover the cost of accommodation and board and possibly pocket money. In case the sponsor does not cover your living expenses, we will need to sight evidence that your have personal funds to cover your living expenses.
• Only for BFD/FSJ/FÖJ: Confirmation from the placement location/organisation that German language skills are not required initially or that you can acquire the language skills through language courses after arrival.
• Confirmation of health insurance cover (including accident insurance, Unfallversicherung) commensurate with the level of statutory German public health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) (must be presented at the latest when picking up the visa)
• Curriculum vitae and one copy
• Motivation letter explaining your reasons for taking part in an volunteering programme and what you expect to achieve through this programme and one copy

Occasionally, the submission of additional documents may be required.

Fees and costs

The processing fee for a national visa is 75,00 euros in most cases. The fee is to be paid in cash when the application is submitted to the Embassy. Please bring the correct amount with you.

The processing fee cannot be reimbursed, this applies also when the visa has been denied.

Important : Apart from the processing fee mentioned above payable to the embassy in Paris, there are no further fees (e.g. for arranging an appointment). Only expenses for e.g. returning your passport containing the visa by post must be borne by the applicant.

How long does it take to obtain a visa ?

The mbassy in Paris will decide on your application after the responsible immigration authorities in Germany have been involved. On average, the processing time from the day of your appointment is a few months. Please refrain from making inquiries regarding the developement during this time.

We will contact you once your visa application has been processed. If your application is approved, we will email you when and how to submit your passport to obtain the visa.

If your visa application has been rejected, there can be various reasons. We will tell you these reasons in a rejection notice. You can submit a new application with complete, meaningful and verifiable documents at any time.

For how long is the visa valid?

If you are granted a visa to enter Germany, it will be valid for three months from the date of being issued.

Your visa will contain your full name, passport number and photo. The number of days of stay and the period of validity of the visa are specified, i.e. the time you have until you receive your domestic residence permit.

Please remember to register with the residents' registration office immediately after entering Germany. The visa allows you to travel within the Schengen area.

Privacy policy

Information in accordance with Art. 13 and 14 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) on data protection in the visa application process can be found here: Information on data protection (in German language)