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Long-term stays (longer than 90 days)
For long-term stays (more than 90 days, e.g. to attend University, work or join a Family member) in Germany, non-EU-nationals need a visa.
National Visa
For long-term stays (more than 90 days, e.g. to attend University, work or join a Family member) in Germany, non-EU-nationals need a visa.
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.
Please note that visa questions/applications will be handled in Copenhagen only. Our honorary consuls cannot help you in this matter.
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.
In the visa navigator of the Federal Foreign Office you will find an overview of the different visa categories.
Prepare your application in the following three steps:
- Please fill out the visa application form and bring two printouts to your Appointment.
If processing via VIDEX does not work, you will also find the application form here
- Please compile the documents you need to submit with your application. If documents or supporting documents are missing, your application may be rejected. We have compiled the appropriate information sheet for you, depending on the purpose of your trip.
- Please book an appointment to submit your application. Continue to appointment booking
Online applications
Online applications can be submitted via the consular services portal (Auslandsportal) here.
- Entry Visa Blue Card - without family
- Skilled Workers, Academic Degree - without family
- Skilled Workers, Vocational Training Qualification - without family
- Opportunity Card (online version)
Applications at the embassy
- Entry Visa Blue Card - with family
- Skilled Workers, Academic Degree - with family
- Skilled Workers, Vocational Training Qualification - with family
- Visa to work as an Au-Pair
- Visa for IT Specialists
- Opportunity Card
- Visa for Language Course
- Visa for Research
- Visa for doctorate/PhD students
- Student Visa
- Visa for Internship
- Visa to perform voluntary service
- Visa for the purpose of self-employment PDF / 921 KB
- Visa for professional drivers
- Zusatzblatt C for professional drivers
- Visa for vocational training
- Vander Elst-Visas to provide temporary service in Germany
- Working Holiday Visa
- Family reunion
- Proof of knowledge of basic German for spousal reunification (German, English, Arabic)
- Exemption from language requirements
- German Courses/Examinations
- Sample Photo and requirements
- Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis
Submitting your application
In order to submit your application, please attend your appointment at the German Embassy in Copenhagen in person. Please hand in your complete documentation and pay the fee.
- Visa fees are fixed by law in €. Cash payments are to be made in DKK (at the official embassy exchange rate).
- Fees can also be paid with a credit card (MasterCard or Visa). Please note that only the credit card owner can sign for the payment. Cards will be debited in €.
- As the credit card payment does currently not function in a stable way, you are kindly requested to provide for cash payment in DKK as a default.
The Embassy will ask you questions about your planned trip and take your photograph and fingerprints.
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 check whether your application meets the legal requirements. Depending on the purpose of your trip, it can take several weeks/ months to check your application. The Embassy will contact you as soon as it 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.
Delivery of the visa
As soon as the Embassy has reached a decision on your application, you can collect your visa upon presentation of your passport. The embassy will send you an e-mail.
If your visa application is rejected, you are welcome to submit a new application at any time with complete, informative and verifiable documentation.
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 foreigners authority. Your entry visa will allow you to travel within the Schengen area.
You can also use the Ankommen app, which can accompany you in your first few weeks. You can even learn German here. You can learn a lot about Germany, what rules apply here and what you should pay attention to. You will get the most important information about the asylum proceedings and ways to find a vocational training position and job. In five languages, free of advertising, free of charge and which you can use offline.
Further information
Upon receiving an official letter rejecting a visa application the applicant has three possibilities:
- The applicant, at any point of time, may apply again for a visa.
- Request for a re-assessment of the visa application. This procedure is called remonstration. It is free of charge. You have to submit a signed remonstration letter to the competent mission within a month upon receiving the rejection. It has to be clear that the letter was sent by you. You have to give reasons for your request for the re-assessment and submit new and/or supplementary information/documentation.
- The applicant may file a law suit against the refusal. The application will then be re-assessed by the administrative court in Berlin.
One way of proving in the visa application procedure that you have sufficient financial means is a blocked bank account.
Cash sums totalling 10,000 or more euros on trips to and from Germany must be declared to the customs authorities. This applies to both cash and equivalent means of payment.
Obligation to declare cash when travelling to or from Germany