German visa – visa types and application process in 2026

At the very basic level, there are two German visa types: short-term and long-term. If you stay in the country for less than 90 days, pick the short-term option; otherwise, apply for a long-stay visa. In this guide, you’ll find descriptions of the main entry options for non-EU citizens, required documents, and application steps.

All data is correct as of June 9th, 2026. However, regulations are flexible and may change by the time you apply. Always check the official sources that we listed in this article.

Short-term German visas

Germany issues A-type visas (airport transit) and C-type visas (Schengen), which are accepted across all 29 Schengen countries. If you’re planning a European trip with stops in several countries, e.g. Germany, Spain, and Italy, apply at the embassy of the country where you will spend the most time. Let’s imagine that you’ll stay for five days in Germany, three days in Italy and two days in Spain. Then, go to the German embassy to apply.

• A visa (Airport transit visa): For those who change flights in Germany and stay at an airport’s transit area for a maximum of 12 hours. You can’t enter German territory or pass through border control. This visa is only required for citizens of 20 countries (Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and others). The list of countries is subject to change.
• C visa (Schengen visa): Once you get it, you can stay in Germany and other Schengen countries for up to 90 days within a 180-day period*. Beyond tourism, a C visa is also granted for business trips, visiting family, or short medical treatments.

*Citizens from over 60 countries (including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the UK) can travel to Germany visa-free for short stays of up to 90 days – check your country status on the German Federal Foreign Office list (Updated on June 3rd, 2026).

Visa fee is 90 EUR for adults and 45 EUR for children (6-12 y.o.) in 2026. Paying the charge doesn’t guarantee that your application will be accepted, and yes, you have to pay again each time you apply. So, always check the up-to-date rules in your country and prepare documents carefully.

One more key requirement: You must purchase travel health insurance with a minimum coverage of 30,000 EUR, as of 2026.

Long-term visas: A quick overview

Germany offers six main national (D-type) visa categories: EU Blue Card, work visa, Opportunity Card, student visa, family reunification, and vocational training. Apply if you plan to stay in Germany for more than 90 days, and make sure that the visa type matches your specific reason for moving. National visas are your entry ticket issued for the first 3-12 months of your stay. Right upon arrival, you must register your address and convert the visa into a residence permit at the local Foreigners' Authority (Ausländerbehörde). To apply, pay a visa fee of 75 EUR (as of 2026, may change).

Here are six main types of national visas:

Below is a detailed description of each type.

EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card is a work visa for highly skilled academics and professionals who have received a job offer from a company in Germany.

• Salary requirement 

Your gross annual salary must be at least 50,700 EUR (as of 2026). However, if you work in a shortage occupation (e.g., IT, engineering, medicine, teaching, architecture, nursing) or graduated within the last three years, the minimum salary drops to 45,934.20 EUR for you.

• IT specialists without degrees: 

Typically, you must hold a degree that matches your job to qualify for the Blue Card. That’s not the case with IT professionals. They pass even without a formal academic degree if they have worked in the field for at least three of the past seven years. Salary threshold – 45,934.20 EUR in 2026.

• Perks

Holding a Blue Card makes travelling around Europe simple – you can visit other EU countries for up to 90 days visa-free. If you have a Blue Card of another member state and have spent 12 months there, you can move to Germany long-term without a visa. Getting a settlement permit for permanent residence is fast too: just 27 months, or 21 months if you speak B1 German.

Feel like you can pass? For more details, head to the Federal Government Blue Card’s page for the most recent information.

Work visa for qualified professionals

The work visa for qualified professionals requires a recognised degree or vocational training. This regular work visa serves as your backup plan if your salary falls short of the Blue Card minimum, so you still have options.

‘We are making sure that we can attract the workers and skilled workers our economy has urgently needed for years.’ – Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser.

• Job flexibility

Germany no longer requires your job to match your degree exactly. This opens up your options across the job market, meaning you can explore a different professional field if you get a good offer – unless you work in a regulated profession like medicine.

• Age limits

If you are over 45 and moving to Germany for the first time, the authorities want to know you can support yourself later in life. This means your contract must pay at least 55,770.00 EUR gross a year (as of 2026), or you will need to prove you already have enough pension savings.

• Permanent residence

In some cases, you can apply for a settlement permit after three years of working. If you graduated from a German university or finished your vocational training inside the country, that timeline drops to just two years.

Interested? Read more on the Federal Government’s work visa page.

Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte)

The Opportunity Card (upgraded job seeker visa) gives you one year on the ground in Germany to find a job, letting you handle interviews in person rather than chasing recruiters from home. To pay your bills while searching, you can work 20 hours a week and take on two-week job trials to test out an employer before signing a contract. Just note that the authorities require proof of funds of at least 1,091.00 EUR net monthly to support yourself (as of 2026).

• Direct route

If Germany fully recognises your qualification, you skip the points system entirely and qualify automatically. To check the recognition status, open the ANABIN database and follow the hints from this Opportunity Card article.

• Points system

If your degree is only valid back home, you must score at least 6 points to get through:

You don’t have to count points yourself, just visit the official Self-Check platform and enter your data.

‘We’ve finally done what a number of countries have already accomplished before us: introducing a modern points system that reflects the strengths of individual applicants. Instead of making blanket stipulations about which certificates they still need.’ – Foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock.

To get the freshest data on this visa type, go to the Chancenkarte website.

Visas for studying in Germany

To get a student visa, you need an official admission letter from a state-recognised university in your hand before you can even start the process. To secure it, you have to have a savings of 11,904 EUR a year – or 992 EUR a month – in a blocked account (as of 2026), which is a massive chunk of money.

The upside is that covering your bills is easier now that work rules are more flexible since 2023: you can log up to 140 full days or 280 half days a year, or simply work 20 hours a week. Once you finish your degree, you get an 18-month job-seeker visa, giving you a year and a half to find a proper career without any pressure to rush home.

Students from India, China and Vietnam additionally need an APS certificate on their local diploma or school certificate.

• Visa to seek a study place

If you have a valid high school diploma but don’t have a university acceptance letter yet, Germany gives you up to nine months on the ground to pick a programme or join preparatory courses. The rules are tighter because you aren’t officially enrolled yet: you usually need B1 German, you must be under 35, and you have to prove you have 1,091 EUR a month to support yourself. Luckily, you are allowed to work 20 hours a week during this period, which means you can start offsetting those living expenses immediately while you figure out your next steps.

More details on the student visa page.

Visas for vocational training

To apply, you need B1 German and proof of funds of 959–1,091 EUR/month, depending on your case (as of 2026). Vocational training means you don’t have to choose between studying and working – you spend part of your week in a classroom and the rest earning a wage at a company. You need B1 German for this, simply because you have to understand what your instructors and colleagues are telling you.

• Income and proof of funds

In 2026, if the training is purely school-based and you get no company wage, you must prove you have 959 EUR net a month for living costs. For company-based spots, your contract must guarantee 1,048 EUR gross (822 EUR net) monthly. If it falls short, you must cover the gap with a blocked account. To help pay bills, you can work a secondary job up to 20 hours a week.

• Seeking a training place

To search for a place to study while staying in Germany, you can apply for a seeking visa, which is valid for up to nine months. You must be under 35, speak B1 German, and have 1,091 EUR a month to live on while searching (as of 2026).

Read more on the official vocational training visa page.

Family reunification visas

Eligible professionals can bring their spouse and minor children to Germany under a family reunification visa. Holding an EU passport is even better – your partner can live and work here without a visa.

If you are from outside the EU, your spouse may need to prove basic A1 German, but this requirement is waived if you hold a high-level title like a Blue Card. Either way, your partner is legally allowed to start working immediately.

• Parents and parents-in-law

If your first residence permit was issued on or after 01.03.2024, you can now bring your parents to Germany – and your parents-in-law, if your spouse already lives here. The authorities have also dropped the strict rules about proving you have a large flat for certain workers, which removes a huge hurdle, given how difficult it is to find big apartments to rent in Germany.

Explore more on the family reunification visa page.

Tip: While your family is still home waiting for their visa, you can easily support them by sending money from Germany with Profee quickly and easily.

Required visa documents in 2026

Most German visa applications require the same core documents: a valid passport, completed application form, biometric photos, proof of accommodation, travel health insurance, and proof of financial means. Even though every visa has its own checklist, these items appear across nearly all types. Here is what you will almost certainly need to show:

1. Visa application form: Unique for each visa type.
2. Valid passport: It must be under ten years old, valid for three months beyond your departure, and have two blank pages side-by-side so they have space for the stamp.
3. Biometric photos: They must be exactly 35mm x 45mm, under six months old, and your neutral face must cover 70–80% of the frame (requirements may change, verify with the embassy). Miss even one metric, and the system automatically rejects them.
4. Proof of accommodation: The authorities just want to know you have a guaranteed place to sleep via a confirmed hotel booking, a rental agreement, or an official invitation letter.
5. Travel health insurance: You need a 30,000 EUR safety net covering you right up until you register for a proper German health plan.
6. Proof of financial means: Germany checks this closely to ensure you will not rely on state benefits. You can prove you have enough money via:

• Blocked account (Sperrkonto): Mandatory for students and job seekers. The bank locks your deposit and releases a strict monthly allowance so you don’t spend it all at once.
• Employment contract: If you are applying for a work visa, your signed contract showing your salary serves as proof.
• Declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung): A simple note from a friend will not work. This is a legally binding document where a sponsor in Germany proves their own income and takes full financial responsibility for you.

Visa application process: Step-by-step

German visa applications follow four mandatory steps: eligibility check and document gathering, online submission (usually via the Consular Services Portal), an in-person biometric interview (fee: 75–90 EUR), and a decision period of 15 days to 6 months depending on visa type.

•  Step 1: Check your eligibility and gather documents 

Pick the exact visa that matches your reason for moving before you do anything else. Germany relies heavily on formal qualifications, so you need to check the Snabin or ZAB databases to ensure they recognise your degree. Get every piece of paper translated into English or German by a certified professional, as standard translations will get rejected.

• Step 2: Submit the application 

You can now skip the paper forms for most national visas – including skilled worker, student and family reunification routes – and start the process digitally through the Consular Services Portal. Freelancers and researchers are not on the digital system yet, meaning you still have to fill out the VIDEX form and apply the traditional way.

• Step 3: Attend the visa interview and pay fees 

You still have to show up in person to hand over your physical files, give your biometric data and answer a few routine questions about why you are moving. This is also when you’ll be charged – 75 EUR for a national visa or 90.00 EUR for a Schengen visa.

• Step 4: Wait for the decision

Since July 1st, 2025, the government no longer allows you to appeal a visa rejection. If they say no, your only real option is to start a completely new application with better paperwork, unless you are willing to take them to court.

When you finally get the approval, remember that the sticker in your passport is just a temporary ticket to cross the border. The finish line is inside Germany: you have to register your local address (Anmeldung) within a few weeks and visit the Foreigners' Authority to swap that entry visa for a proper residence permit card (Aufenthaltserlaubnis).