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Germany · Official Resources

Government portals

Banks

  • Deutsche Bank — Germany's largest bank — European investment banking leader, global financial services for corporates and high-net-worth clients

Embassies in Germany

Official forms

  • Schengen Visa Application Form — Unified application form for short-stay Schengen visa
    Checked against the official page on 2026-08-09
    How to file
    1. Use VIDEX only for a Schengen short-stay visa — a stay of up to 90 days in the Schengen states
    2. Get your papers together before you start: travel document, travel or flight schedule, an address in Germany, and the hotel booking or letter of invitation if you have one. The form deletes your data if you leave it for more than 10 minutes
    3. Check the travel document: valid at least 3 months beyond the end of the planned trip, and issued — not extended — within the past 10 years
    4. Choose the form language, English or German, and answer every question in Latin letters; dates go in year-month-day with hyphens
    5. Save the file to your own computer once you have entered at least family name and date of birth
    6. Answer every relevant question, then print: the application form, the instruction under Section 55(2)(1) of the Residence Act, and the barcode sheet holding your encrypted data
    7. Sign the application form and the instruction — on all pages
    8. You cannot submit online. Book an appointment and hand in the printout, the barcodes and the supporting documents for your visa type at the German mission or the external service provider it uses
    9. The responsible mission is the German embassy or consulate-general in whose district you habitually reside
  • German Residence Permit Application — Permit for long-term stay, work or study in Germany
    Checked against the official page on 2026-08-09
    How to file
    1. A national visa (D visa) is the route to a residence permit for a stay of more than 90 days
    2. Nationals of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Korea (Republic), New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States may apply for the residence permit at the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) after arrival, without obtaining a visa first
    3. Nationals of Andorra, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Monaco and San Marino may also do so, provided they do not intend to take up employment; otherwise a visa is needed
    4. Register your new address (Anmeldung) with the registration authority (Meldebehörde) within 2 weeks of moving in
    5. Apply to the local Ausländerbehörde for the residence permit within the first 90 days of your stay
    6. Everyone else applies for the D visa at the German mission abroad before travelling; selected category-D visas can now be filed online through the Consular Services Portal
    7. Allow time: D-visa processing runs from about 2 weeks for some employment categories to as much as six months for self-employed professionals
    8. An ICT Card can only be applied for at a German mission abroad
    9. Take up employment only once you hold a residence permit that expressly authorises it