Schengen visas allow people to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days every six-month period. 
As a German Embassy we are responsible for processing your application if Germany, Belgium, Iceland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway or Denmark  is your main destination.

Preparing your application

Please prepare your application as follows:

•  Please fill out the visa application form.
  https://videx.diplo.de/videx/desktop/index.html#start or
  in pfd-format
• Please compile the documents you need to submit with your application. If documents or supporting documentation are missing, your application may be rejected. We have prepared a checklist for each type of visa.
• Please make an appointment to submit your application. You can arrange your appointments at www.nikosia.diplo.de/appointments.
  You may submit your application six months before the start of your planned trip at the earliest.

Important Information:

Not all countries of the European Union are members of the Schengen area! If you hold a residence permit of a EU country (temporary or permanent) which is not a member of the Schengen area (e.g. Cyprus) you need a visa to travel to the Schengen area!

Please note: A Schengen visa does not entitle its holder to permanent residence in the above mentioned countries, whether for study, employment or settlement. If you plan to stay in one of the above-mentioned countries for more than 90 days, please contact the Embassy of the country in question for further Information.

Once the visa has been issued or after having arrived in the Schengen territory, the purpose of the journey may not be altered. If your purpose of stay is any other than tourism or business please contact the relevant Embassy to find out about the requirements for the appropriate visa.

Please do not send the Visa Section any documents unless requested to do so, particularly not before you have applied for a visa. We are not able to store such documents and will not know to which application they belong. Please always bring all the necessary documents with you to your appointment.

Submitting your application

In order to submit your application, please attend your appointment at the Embassy in person. During this appointment, we kindly ask you to submit all of your application documents, pay the fee and answer questions about your planned trip. Your photograph and fingerprints will also be taken on this occasion.

The following documents should be submitted in original plus one photocopy:

• recent photograph (full frontal picture, light background, size of face min. 34 mm, no tinted glasses)
• passport with at least two blank pages, the validity date of which must exceed the visa’s validity for at least three months, and which may not be older than 10 years at the expiry of the visa

• the Residence Permit Card of the Republic of Cyprus, which must exceed the visa’s validity for at least three months
  

• proof of valid individual or group travel health insurance to cover any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention and/or emergency hospital treatment and valid throughout the territory of the Member States applying in full the provisions of the Schengen acquis and cover the entire period of the person’s stay. The minimum coverage shall be EUR 30.000,-.
• proof of sufficient financial funds (e.g. bank statements of the last 6 months, bank letter, information on salary, or declaration of support of the host)
• proof of the applicant’s employment/educational and/or residential situation in Cyprus
• invitation letters
• declaration of support of the host (in case sufficient funds are not proven by applicant), according to Section 66-68 Aliens' Act
• registration of the company; letter from the employer in Cyprus stating position in company and reasons for travel
• proof of accommodation in case of tourist visa (e.g. hotel voucher)
• flight reservation
• for students: results of studies in Cyprus of the past semesters (transcript)
• Documents issued not in German, English or Greek, please submit a translation for every document.
• Minors (children under 18 years of age) must submit the written consent of both parents or of other persons having the care or custody of the minor. If those persons are not living in Cyprus, they should send the written consent legalized by an EU-Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence.
• Family members of EU-citizens, who have the residence permit MEU1, who travel together with this EU family member and have themselves the residence permit MEU2 ('Yellow Slip'), generally do not need a visa. If a visa is necessary, they will only have to present an application form, their passport, passport photograph, residence permit MEU2, marriage or birth certificate and passport plus copy of passport of the EU-citizen they are dependent on.
  Family members of German nationals who are travelling to Germany in all cases need a visa. They will have to provide a travel health insurance for their trip in addition to the a.m. documents.

Family members of EU nationals, who have an EU residence permit in Cyprus (MEU 1/3, 'Yellow Slip'), that travel together with their family member that have a residence permit MEU 2/3 'Yellow Slip' or a residence card 'Family Member EU Art. 10 Dir 2004/38/EC' , generally do not need any visa. Should a visa be necessary, you only need to provide the application form, your passport, a biometric passport photo, the residence permit ('Yellow Slip' or residence card, see above), marriage or birth certificate as proof of familiy relation and the passport and residence permit of the EU national (each original and 1 copy).

Should you be unclear if you need a visa, please check our FAQ or contact the Embassy with the details.

Please note: Additional documents may be required. Submitting a complete application does not guarantee a visa.

What happens during processing?

The Embassy will review your application and make a decision on whether or not to grant you a visa. To this end, it will assess whether your application meets the legal requirements. Processing generally takes 2 weeks (or 4 weeks if you apply at the Visa Application Desk in North Nicosia). We hope you will understand that we are not able to answer any questions on the status of your application during this processing period. After that, enquiries can only be answered if they are made by the applicant, his/her legal representative or another person authorised in writing by the applicant.

Return of your passport

As soon as the Embassy has decided on your application, you can collect your passport. You should collect your passport in person. If you are not able to collect it yourself, you can authorise another person to collect it for you. In order to do so, please fill out an authorization letter.

There are various reasons why your visa application may be rejected. The reasons will be stated in the letter notifying you that your application has been rejected.
You are welcome to submit a new application at any time with complete, informative and verifiable documentation.

Visa application desk in the British Compound in North Nicosia

All applicants who are able to cross the "green line" (demarcations line) to the Southern part of the island, are obliged to come to the Embassy for visa application.

Applications at the Visa Application Desk in North Nicosia are restricted to applicants who cannot cross to the South.

Submission of Schengen Visa applications, information and consular matters only with APPOINTMENT! Appointments can no longer be made via email.

NEW! Appointments can be made via internet at

www.nikosia.diplo.de/appointments

The visa procedure takes 20 working days (4 weeks).

Due to the scanning of fingerprints processing the visa application is more time-consuming.

Please apply in due time!

Only applicants with the online videx form will be admitted to submit their applications.

Please fill in the form correctly and print it out to present it at the Embassy with all other documents. You will see that there is a barcode on the application form. This facilitates the entering of the data in the Embassy's computer system, however, please have it printed in good quality and not from a scan. With this method we hope to be able to reduce the waiting time at the Embassy.

Longterm national visas for Germany (e.g. students, work or family unification) can only be applied for at the German Missions in Turkey.

Have a good trip! Information for visa holders

If all the information on your visa label is correct, you are free to travel. Please check the information on the label as soon as your passport is returned to you. You should let us know immediately if there are any mistakes so that we can issue you a new visa.
Your visa will state your full name and passport number and include your photo. It will also state the period of validity. This is the time period in which you can travel. In addition, it will state the maximum number of days you can stay in the Schengen area during the period of validity of your visa.

Please note that being granted a Schengen visa does not guarantee that you will be allowed to enter the Schengen area.

The final decision on whether or not you will be allowed to enter the Schengen area will be made by the border police on your arrival. When you arrive, the border police may ask you to present additional documentation alongside your passport and valid visa with information on your financial means, the length and purpose of your stay, and your health insurance cover. You should therefore take a copy of your visa documents (including an invitation from Germany, hotel reservation and travel health insurance) with you on your trip.

Complaints about the Schengen visa application process

Schengen visa applicants may submit complaints about the conduct of the consulate's staff or the visa application process via email at

schengenvisacomplaints@niko.auswaertiges-amt.de

Please note that complaints may only be submitted in German or English. We are unable to follow up on complaints in languages other than German or English. Please enter one of the following options as “Reference”:

• Complaint about the conduct of consulate staff
• Complaint about the visa application process

We will follow up on your complaint once it has been received.

Important information: No legal remedies against decisions to refuse, annul or revoke a visa – in particular no remonstrations – may be submitted via the complaints contact form.