Important information:

Make sure to read carefully the information leaflet for your travel purpose. They can be found at the bottom of this page.

Sri Lankan and Maldivian citizens as well certain third country nationals residing in these countries need a visa to travel to Germany.

The purpose of your intended travel and other facts will determine what type of visa is required under EU and German law. As a visa applicant, you will have to

• make sure that you meet all requirements to receive the category of visa for which you are applying.
• make yourself familiar with the different services and different types of visa, as explained on this webpage.
• make sure that you hand in with all documents and copies required

During your visa appointment we will collect your completed application form and the documents you need for your type of visa as mentioned in the leaflets.

Please note:

• The Embassy will not accept your application without a completed application form! You would have to book a new appointment!
• Please submit ALL the documents you need for your type of visa as mentioned in the leaflets during your visa appointment! Presenting incomplete documents or not submitting them during your visa appointment can lead to
  • a prolonged processing time of your application or
  • the refusal of your application.

General Information

Copy services are NOT available on the premises of the German Embassy.

Please note that mobile phones and bags are not allowed in the German Embassy.

Generally, the processing time for the decision on long term visa applications is about three months. Visa applications for family reunion involve a document check of Sri Lankan documents and usually take approximately six months, in some cases even longer. Please refrain from enquiries on the status of your visa application during the general processing time.

Appointments

Please note that applications can only be submitted with a prior appointment.

Booking an appointment is free of charge. Before making an appointment make sure to read carefully the Information leaflet which applies to your case.

Please book an appointment via the website for the following categories:

Family reunion, fast track for skilled workers, Au-Pair, Volunteers, Language Course, employment (if not Online-Portal, see below).

For the following categories please register through the Online-Portal:

Blue Card, § 18a and § 18b AufenthG, Opportunity card, § 19c AufenthG, § 16d AufenthG, Students.

Think about others: please cancel your appointment as soon as you know that you are not going to use it. You will enable other applicants to use that slot! “No-shows” (applicants who do not use booked appointments) will be monitored and if necessary registered. Late arrivals will be asked to reschedule.

So called “visa agents”

There is no need to use an “agent” to apply for a visa.

Please be informed that the German Embassy is not related to “visa agents” in any way. They neither work for nor work with the consent of the German Embassy. There is no such thing as “registered visa agent” for Germany. Their service may be expensive to you, but without any value to your case and certainly in no case will bind the German Embassy in their decision making process.

No “visa agent” can:

• influence the outcome
• fast-track the processing period
• guarantee you a visa

Family reunion to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection

Since 1 August 2018 close family members (spouses, minor single children and parents of minor children) of persons with subsidiary protection status living in Germany are entitled to apply for a family reunion visa. Since there is a Germany-wide quota of 1000 persons per month a preliminary procedure at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has to be passed first before applying for a visa.

To start the procedures at IOM, register online on the central website of the Federal Foreign Office: Central registration link

Applicants who have registered there for an appointment for a family reunification visa to a subsidiary protection holder in Germany will be contacted by IOM – the UN Migration Agency in the framework of the Family Assistance Programme (FAP).

If you are uncertain if your appointment request is still valid or if you have changed contact details since booking the appointment (phone numbers and emails), you should register again with your new data or contact IOM:

+49 30 2902245500, info.fap.de@iom.int

Please check your mail account (spam box included) regularly.

After successful registration and completion of the preliminary procedure at IOM, the German Embassy Colombo will allocate an appointment to applicants in chronological order of registration. Applicants will be informed promptly by the Embassy about the appointment. Please consult the information leaflet in the table at the end of this page regarding the necessary documents to apply for a visa at the Embassy.

Please note:

• Do not make an appointment via the Embassy’s website. The Embassy will allocate an appointment to you!
• Applicants with this family background who book a regular appointment for family reunion will not be allowed to apply then. They will be asked to complete the preliminary procedure at IOM first.
• Refrain from telephone and e-mail enquiries regarding the appointment.

Information leaflets