National visas are issued for long-term stays for a particular purpose. Usually issued for 90 days, such visas may be issued for up to a year in certain cases. After entering Germany, visa holders must apply for a residence permit as a general rule.

Preparing your application

You should start preparing your application as soon as you have plans to stay long term in Germany. The entire visa application process can take several months.
Please prepare your application as follows:

Find out, what kind of visa you need.

To find the right visa for your stay, use our Visa Navigator!

After you have the information about the correct type of visa:

• Please fill out and print the visa application form and bring a copy of it to your appointment. You can fill out the application form online hier or use the pdf-version as download. Please not that our Office in North Nicosia does not accept applications for long-term visas. Please contact our Embassy or consulates in Turkey, if you cannot cross the demarcation line to apply at the Embassy in Nicosia.

• Please compile the documents you need to submit with your application. If documents or supporting documents are missing, your application may be rejected. You will find a checklist for each type of visa at the bottom of the page.

Important Information

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 the complete documentation (original and two copies) with you to your appointment.

Making an appointment

You have to make an appointment in order to apply for a visa at the German Embassy.

Book your appointment here

Submitting your application

In order to submit your application, please attend your appointment at the Embassy in person. Please hand in your complete documentation and pay the fee. The Embassy will ask you questions about your planned trip and take your photograph and fingerprints.

Please note that due to the Corona pandemic only applicants can be admitted to the Embassy and facial masks have to be carried.

What happens during processing?

The Embassy will review your application and forward it to the competent aliens' authority (Ausländerbehörde) in Germany. The aliens' authority will consider the application and give its opinion. To this end, it will check whether your application meets the legal requirements in Germany. Depending on the purpose of your trip, it can take several months to check your application. The Embassy will contact you as soon as the competent aliens' authority has made a decision on your application. We hope you will understand that we are not able to answer any questions on the status of your application during this processing period, which generally takes three months. After that, enquiries are only 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 a decision on your application,has been reached, you should collect your passport in person. If you are not able to collect it yourself, you can authorise another person to do so for you. In order to do so, please fill out an authorization letter for the person who will collect your passport.
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.

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 number of days you can stay and the period of validity, that is, the time by which you must have received your residence permit for Germany.

Therefore, please do not forget to register at the residents registration office shortly after you arrive in Germany and to make an appointment with the Aliens Authority.

Your entry visa will allow you to travel within the Schengen area.