Please prepare your application in the following three steps:

1. Fill in the application form in English or German
2. Compile the required documents according to your travel purpose/category: 
   
   • Checklist Visit (Family/friends)
   • Checklist Tourism
   • Checklist Business / Business  Trade Fair
   • Checklist Family members of non-German EU citizens
3. Schedule an appointment to hand in your application at one of the  Visa Application Centres of the external service Provider TLScontact .

The German Mission checks your application and makes a decision. They ensure that your application meets the legal requirements. As a rule, this takes up to 15 days. Please understand that no questions about the processing status can be answered during this processing time.

Thereafter, the following applies: Only inquiries in writing from the applicant himself, his legal representative or a person authorized can be answered.

During the processing of your application your passport has to remain with the German Mission and cannot be withdrawn.

Once the German Mission has made a decision regarding  your application your passport will be returned to the external service provider where you can collect it.

Should your visa have been declined, you will receive a refusal letter from the competent German Mission notifying you about the reasons for the refusal and the legal remedies.  You will receive a refusal notification along with your passport. It is possible to submit a new application at any time with complete, verifiable documents.

If your visa has been issued, please check all the visa data for possible mistakes as soon as you receive your passport! Pay particular attention to

• the visa’s validity (start and end dates)
• the number of days of stay
  (this is the maximum number of days you can stay in the Schengen area during the validity period)
• the correct spelling of your name
• the number of entries you were granted

The external service provider and the visa section must be informed of possible mistakes immediately and cannot be held responsible for any problems that occur as a result of incorrect data or a missing signature in the travel document.

Once all the information on your visa is correct, nothing will stand in the way of your trip.

For annual or multi-year visas, please note that you cannot exceed the maximum stay of 90 days within 180 days.

Issuing a Schengen visa does not entitle you to entry. The final decision is made by the border police when checking entry into the Schengen area. Even though you a have your passport with a valid visa it is possible that the border police will ask you to provide  further documentation , information about your financial means, the duration and purpose of your stay, as well as health insurance coverage. You should therefore take a set of your visa documents (including an invitation from Germany, hotel reservation, and travel health insurance) with you on the trip.)

Please consult the following Website regarding visa and service fees:

•  External service Provider TLScontact

Details regarding biometric specifications for photographs can be found here.