Visa and the Embassy in Nairobi

National visa (type D), waiting lists, TLScontact, online portal, fee, processing time.

How the Embassy organises appointments

• Waiting lists instead of booking: the Embassy states that appointments for national visas can no longer be booked directly; registered applicants get appointments in the order of registration (Embassy page: appointments). The page speaks of three waiting lists but describes two. The first covers all national visa categories except the TLScontact categories below and except family reunification to persons entitled to protection, so it applies, for example, to spouses of Kenyans.
• TLScontact in Nairobi handles, among others: vocational training, advanced vocational training, internships and training programmes, higher-education studies, recognition measures, skilled workers with a vocational qualification or a university degree, research, EU Blue Card, personnel on passenger ships and short-term quota-based employment. Schengen visas also go through TLScontact (since 1 May 2022) (same page).
• Online portal: the Opportunity Card and the visa for seeking a training place are submitted online via the consular services portal digital.diplo.de (same page).
• Which of the two lists applies to spouses of Kenyans in Germany, and current waiting times, are not stated on the pages we read; check the Embassy page before you register.

Fee and time

• National visa: €75, payable in Kenyan shillings in cash or by credit card (Embassy visa page); minors half; spouses, children and parents of Germans pay no fee (§ 46 and § 50, AufenthV). Fees are not refunded if the visa is refused.
• The Embassy may verify documents at an extra fee (see Documents). TLScontact service fees are not stated on the Embassy pages we read.
• On a fiancé(e) visa page the Embassy says processing usually takes four to six months because the German immigration authority must agree first. No processing times for other categories were found.

Tips from the Embassy

• Documents should be in German or come with a German translation. Whether English documents are accepted without translation is not confirmed; ask first.
• Do not book flights or resign from a job before the visa is issued.
• Nobody can speed up or guarantee a visa for money: Avoiding scams.

Who may apply in Nairobi

The Embassy page for fiancé(e) visas names Kenya, Burundi and Eritrea; applicants from the other countries must hold a residence title of their country of residence. Other categories and further countries (Somalia, Seychelles) are not confirmed on the pages we read.

Official site: nairobi.diplo.de.