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National visa

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If you wish to stay in Germany for more than 90 days, please apply for a German National visa. National visas are sometimes also referred to as “long-term visas” or “D visas”.

Passports with various visas
Visa © Colourbox

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.

Feel free to contact the local immigration authority in Germany in advance in order to find out about the application procedure.

Please note that visa applications have to be lodged at the competent Embassy or Consulate in which jurisdiction you reside. If you have been legally residing in Australia or in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu or Nauru for over 6 months you can apply at the Consulate General in Sydney. If you are only temporarily staying in the above-mentioned countries for a short period of time (under 6 months), we cannot accept your visa application.

We advise you to lodge your visa application no earlier than 3 months prior to your intended travel date.

The Consulate General will contact you as soon as it has made a decision on your application. Please note that we are not able to answer any questions on the status of your application during this processing period.

If your individual case does not fit into one of the visa categories, please feel free to contact us via our contact form.

If you are a resident of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands or Nauru please contact the German Consulate General Sydney via the contact form before booking an appointment.

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