Schengen-Visa

The Schengen visa is a residence permit that allows you to enter and stay in Germany for a short period of time. As a rule, the Schengen visa is issued for up to 90 days. It can also be issued for a longer period, but this does not necessarily mean that a stay of more than 90 days is permitted. In this respect, a stay of up to 90 days in a period of 180 days is permitted, which either means that the applicant can choose the date of entry and arrival or that multiple entries and exits are possible (so-called multi-entry Schengen visa). 

Schengen visas can be issued for many different purposes. What almost all versions of the Schengen visa have in common, however, is that gainful employment (i.e. dependent employment in particular) is not permitted. In principle, the Schengen visa can also be applied for in order to carry out gainful employment (so-called hybrid visa), but this requires a special permit from the Federal Employment Agency. However, there are exceptions to this rule (e.g. for business trips (see below)).

In most cases, the Schengen visa is issued for one of the following purposes:

 

• Tourism,

• Visiting visas (e.g. family members),

• Cultural and sporting events,

• visits to trade fairs,

• business trips.

Depending on the type of Schengen visa, other requirements must be met and other documents must be submitted to the embassy. 

 

Schengen visa for visits

Schengen visas are often issued to visit friends and family or for tourism purposes. However, you should first determine whether you need a Schengen visa for tourism purposes as a national of your country. For example, travelers from the USA and the United Kingdom are generally exempt from the visa requirement for visits and can stay in Germany without a Schengen visa. However, the passport requirement naturally also applies in these cases. You can find out whether nationals of your country require a Schengen visa to enter Germany in the overview of visa exemption provided by the Federal Foreign Office.

According to this, travelers from the following countries in particular need a Schengen visa if they want to visit relatives in Germany or go on vacation here:

 

• Egypt

• China

• India

• Iran

• Qatar

• Kosovo

• Kuwait

• Russia

• Saudi Arabia

• South Africa

• Thailand

• Turkey

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If you come from one of these countries, you must apply for a Schengen visa at the relevant embassy. In principle, the embassy closest to your place of residence is responsible. You can find details on responsibility, the application process and the required documents on the homepage of the embassy responsible for you. A list of all German embassy websites can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

 

Schengen visa for work

The Schengen visa is often also used for short-term business trips (e.g. for formal meetings and trade fair visits). In principle, a national visa is required for such activities, as the Schengen visa does not generally permit the exercise of a profession in Germany. However, the legislator has created an exception for business trips (so-called non-employment fiction). However, it should be noted that these exceptions really only apply to business trips. If activities are carried out that no longer constitute a business trip but rather dependent employment, the limits of the business trip are exceeded. In this case, it is illegal work, which automatically makes the stay in Germany illegal. There is a risk of heavy fines and, in serious cases, a ban on entering Germany.

In principle, only the following activities may be carried out during a business trip:

 

• Formal meetings and contract negotiations

• Visits to trade fairs

• Attending company training courses and seminars

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In order to ensure that it really is still a business trip and not work, the Schengen visa application should be accompanied by an activity description or an invitation letter describing the planned work activities. The embassy will then use the description to check whether a special work permit is required or whether the business trip can be carried out with a normal Schengen visa. If in doubt, a lawyer specializing in immigration law can also advise you on this.