Visa application
For every stay longer than 90 days and for any work you need a national visa (D visa) from the German mission in your country. Visa-free entry does not replace it, see Visa-free travel.
The missions
| Country | Mission | What we found (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | Embassy Tirana | Western Balkans rule only through the external service provider; the Embassy works with no intermediaries. |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Embassy Sarajevo | Visametric; appointment after pre-approval, no lottery. Passport valid for 18 months asked for. Parts of the page are outdated. |
| Kosovo | Embassy Pristina | Visametric, Rr. Kaçaniku 25. Visa fee €75 in cash, passport valid for 9 months. Appointments free, no paid priority. No status enquiries in the first 3 months. |
| Montenegro | Embassy Podgorica | Not checked. Use the Embassy's own page. |
| North Macedonia | Embassy Skopje | Visametric since 28 August 2023 with an extra service fee of €37.50 (secondary source, not confirmed). |
| Serbia | Embassy Belgrade | Visametric, Makedonska 30. Service fee €40, paid in dinars. "Usually several weeks"; written enquiries only after 10–12 weeks. Bring an interpreter if you speak neither Serbian nor German. |
Which channel
- Western Balkans rule: the employer gets the BA pre-approval first, then you book with Visametric. See Western Balkans rule.
- Other categories (skilled work, Opportunity Card, study, Ausbildung): several missions use the Federal Foreign Office portal digital.diplo.de for some of them. Which channel applies at your mission for your category was not confirmed for all six – follow the mission's page.
- Registering on a platform or booking an appointment is not yet a visa application. The file must be complete, in the order of the mission's checklist.
Fees
- National visa €75; minors €37.50 (§ 46, § 50 AufenthV).
- Service-provider fees on top, as published by the mission. Nothing else is official.
Waiting times
No mission publishes fixed processing times. Old reports of waits over a year (2018/2019) predate the pre-approval procedure and are outdated. Do not book flights or give notice at work before you have the visa.
If the visa is refused
- The remonstration (an informal objection to the mission) was abolished on 1 July 2025. Some mission pages still describe it; that text is outdated.
- The remedy is a lawsuit at the Administrative Court of Berlin (Verwaltungsgericht Berlin) within 1 month of service of the decision (§ 74 VwGO); if the decision lacks instructions on legal remedies, within 1 year (§ 58 (2) VwGO).
- Alternatively you can apply again with a better file. For a lawsuit, see a lawyer for migration law.
A question this page does not answer? Contact us. Free orientation only, no legal advice for individual cases.