1. How do I apply for a work visa? (Guide 2024)

In most cases, a work visa is required to work in Germany. Below you will find out how to apply for such a work visa for Germany .

1.1 How to apply for a visa

You must obtain a work visa in the same way as any other residence permit. You can apply for a residence permit to work at the German embassies (if you are still abroad) and at the immigration authorities (if you are already in Germany).

The application documents required for this can always be found on the website of the embassy of the respective country (see e.g. Applying for an EU Blue Card in India ; see also the list of all embassy websites of the Federal Foreign Office ). The actual application form is the VIDEX form . This must be filled in, printed out, signed and then submitted at the embassy appointment. Please note that long-term stay must be selected on the VIDEX form and that you must also sign the necessary declarations attached to the VIDEX form (e.g. declaration in accordance with Section 54 of the Residence Act). In some countries, other application forms also exist. The relevant information can be found on the embassy website.

1.2 Employer's Responsibilities in the Visa Process

In addition to the VIDEX form, you will need a number of other documents. In particular, when applying for a work visa, you will need the cooperation of your employer , who must support you in the application process (see also our VISAGUARD article for employers on human resource compliance in skilled immigration law ). Although there is no classic “sponsorship procedure” for issuing visas in Germany, employers do have certain obligations in the visa process. For example, they must fill out the so-called “ declaration of employment relationship ” (with an additional sheet if necessary), sign it and send it to the Federal Employment Agency (see Section 39 Paragraph 4 of the Residence Act ). This can be done before the visa process begins (so-called “pre-approval procedure”). The employer can also use the so-called “accelerated skilled worker procedure” to go through the visa process particularly quickly (see also our VISAGUARD guide to the accelerated skilled worker procedure in accordance with Section 81a of the Residence Act ).

1.3 What happens at the visa appointment?

As soon as all documents have been compiled in cooperation with the employer, you must apply for the visa at the relevant embassy by booking an appointment . You can do this via the official digital appointment booking system of the federal government (RK-Visa) . At the visa appointment, you must present all documents that the respective embassy requests on the website (usually in duplicate). It is advisable to have these documents checked beforehand by an expert (e.g. a lawyer specializing in immigration law ). If the documents are incomplete or incorrect, your visa application will usually be rejected and you will have to start the entire visa process from the beginning.

At the visa appointment, the embassy employee will first check that your documents are complete . If the documents are complete, he or she may have a short conversation with you. The visa interview is a short conversation in which the embassy employee checks your application for “plausibility” . This is to prevent fraud (e.g. through an employment contract from a non-existent employer) and to validate your visa application. The visa interview usually only takes a few minutes and does not cause any particular problems if all documents are complete and correct. The detailed procedure for the visa interview can be found in the “ Visa Handbook ” of the Federal Foreign Office.

1.4 Processing time of the work visa

After the visa appointment, the embassy will process the application for a work visa. The processing speed varies greatly from embassy to embassy and can vary between a few days or weeks (eg in Manila) and several months or even years (eg in Tehran). In general, it can be said that the better the documents are prepared and sorted, the faster the processing time (see our VISAGUARD guide on reducing the processing speed of visa applications ). The documents should therefore be checked before the appointment.

In principle, the embassy has three months to process the application ( Section 75 of the Administrative Court Act ). According to the German Administrative Court Act, a lawyer can file a lawsuit before the administrative courts if an application has not been processed after three months and there is no reason for the delayed processing (so-called action for failure to act, see also our VISAGUARD guide on action for failure to act in naturalization ). The embassies are aware of this, which is why they usually process applications from lawyers more quickly. In most cases, faster processing of the application can be achieved this way.

As soon as the visa has been processed and issued, you can pick it up from the embassy or have it sent to you by express . With the issued visa, you can then enter Germany, register an apartment here and apply for a residence permit. You can find more information on this in our VISAGUARD guide to applying for a residence permit .