For Students: How to Apply for German National Visa

Important Information for Master, doctoral and post-doctorate Students, scholarship holders and certain highly skilled professionals! Certain applicants can now submit their application for a German National Visa directly at the Service Provider VFS Global, thus skipping the wait time for an interview appointment at the German Mission.

If you hail from the jurisdiction of the German Embassy in New Delhi or the German Consulate General in Mumbai, Chennai or Bengaluru, and you

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• want to pursue doctoral, post-doctorate or Master studies and have a binding, unconditional admission letter from a German University or
• have been awarded a full scholarship by an official German Institution for higher studies in Germany or
• have a binding contract for a highly qualified employment in Germany and a binding approval letter issued by the competent German labor Authorities -“ZAV-Zustimmung”- (applicants and dependants from the New Delhi Embassy jurisdiction only)

you can schedule an appointment for the submission of your visa application and submit it at the Visa Application Centre in New Delhi or in Mumbai.

Note: Applications will still be processed by the German Mission itself! An interview at the Mission might still be necessary in case of further questions or unclear documentation. The Service Provider (VFS) will neither be able to provide status updates or a success forecast for the applications.

For further information, please visit the VFS Global Website and follow the procedure described below, as applicable.
If you do not meet the above criteria, for example if you want to pursue Bachelor studies, or are applying for preparatory classes (also language classes) with the intent of entering a German University later, you have to submit your application directly at the competent German Mission. Please note that any applicant who does not meet the above mentioned criteria and schedules an appointment at one of the mentioned Application Centres will not be attended, losing valuable time and means.

Please note: In order to ensure your timely arrival in Germany, you should schedule your appointment at the competent German Mission as early as possible. Due to restricted slots and high demand, it may well take several weeks between scheduling and the actual date of your interview at the German Mission.

Read Also: Guide for International Students to Start your Studies in Germany

STEP 1: Choose your university in Germany

Tip: In many Indian cities, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provides – free of cost – counselling on universities for students who want to study in Germany.

Please note: No VISA queries can be answered by DAAD!

Read more

STEP 2: Start with the enrollment process

For enrollment at the university, you will require certified copies of your academic mark sheets and certificates. You can obtain these certified copies at the German Missions. Please schedule your appointment here.

STEP 3: Open your blocked account

When applying for a visa, you can provide evidence that you are able to meet your living costs by opening a blocked bank account. You have free choice of provider. To the best of the Embassy/Consulate General’s knowledge, the Kotak Mahindra Bank offers blocked accounts in India that meet the requirements of the visa procedure.

These are the providers for Blocked Account

• Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Deutsche Bank
• Coracle
• Fintiba
• X-Patrio

STEP 4:

As soon as you have received the admission letter from your German university, please prepare the necessary documentation for your visa application using the Checklist for Student Visa

STEP 5:

Kindly procure photos which meet biometric photo requirements. These photos can be obtained, among others, at the following photo studios:

STEP 6:

Please fill out the application form, print it out, sign it and submit it along with the other documents.

To complete your documentation, please print out the following declaration and sign it:
Declaration on true and complete information

STEP 7:

Now you can schedule an appointment for your visa interview at your German Mission.

STEP 8:

Shortly before your appointment, please verify the current exchange rate for your visa fee on this website and obtain the Demand Draft.

The visa fee has to be paid at the time of the visa interview.

Demand Drafts with incorrect amounts will not be accepted. Please note that the fee is not refundable, even when the visa is rejected.

Information on Demand Drafts
The German Missions accept Demand Drafts from all nationalised banks.
Please make sure that the Demand Draft is issued as follows:

The Demand Draft must not be older than 2 months.

For Applicants from Mumbai

Please fill out the Demand Draft form and submit it together with your Demand Draft.

Demand Draft Form

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