The submission of a travel document by the visa applicant is one of the main and crucial requirements for a Germany visa application. As per every other requirement, there are strict specifications on the criteria a passport should fulfill in order for it to be acceptable for the German embassy in your country of residence.

A passport is among the first documents checked out of your visa application. If you passport is not as required, then the visa consular will not proceed further with the rest of the documents, but will automatically reject your application.

To begin with, the main criteria your passport must fulfill are as follows:

1. It must have three more months of validity on the day you leave Germany.

It is a rule not only for Germany, but also for the whole Schengen Area, that visa applicants must have three more months of validity beyond their planned trip in order to obtain a visa to any of the member states.

Passport with extended validity will not be accepted.

2. It must be no older than 10 years, on the day you plan to leave Germany.

Your passport may have a validity longer than 10 years, i.e. 15 years. However, the German authorities will not accept it, if on the day you plan to deport from Germany, you passport is even one day older than 10 years.

3. It must have at least two blank pages.

This requirement exists because the embassy needs to affix the visa in your passport. If your visa is still valid and is less than 10 years old, the embassy will still not accept it in case it has no blank pages left. Some embassies require these blank pages to be consecutive, but most of them do not. You will have to check with the German embassy in your home country for specific information in this regard.

Passports with additional pages (added later on the document) will not be accepted as well.

4. Passports that contain illegible data cannot be accepted.

Your passport data must be clear enough to be read and understood by the embassy officials that process your visa application.

5. Your passport must not be damaged.

The embassies will reject any passport that is torn or burnt, or has torn or burnt pages.  Passports with wet pages, or huge marks, as drinks spills and others will not be accepted as well.

Please pay attention to these rules. If your passport does not comply with them, you will need to obtain a new passport before applying for a visa. The rules apply to nationals of all world countries applying for a visa, adults and children.

Source: https://www.germany-visa.org/

Step 1 – Prepare your visa application

Depending on the purpose of your visit to Germany please check with our site the appropriate visa type you need to apply for, the visa fees and all the required documents. Complete and sign the application form and collect all the required documents before applying. 

If you are eligible for a job seeker Visa, Station Germany will gladly help you complete the application form and ensure you have all the required documents.

* Please ensure that you complete the form in full, – please also print, sign and bring with you when attending for your Visa appointment. Handwritten forms will not be accepted.

Step 2 – Make an appointment

It is mandatory that you book an appointment before you can go to the Application center to submit your documents for a German VISA. All visa applications are accepted only if you have made prior appointment.

Step 3 – Go to the Application Center

After you arrive at the Application Center, your appointment letter will be verified and you will be issued a token. Please be on time, the embassy may not be able to process your visa request if you are late for more than 10 minutes.

Step 4 – Visa application submission

The submission process generally takes 10 minutes to complete. Your documents and visa application form will be checked and verified. Please make sure that:

• All your documents are arranged in the order stated on the checklist
• Your application form is complete and signed

You will be asked to collect another token if the visa application form is incomplete, you have not arranged the documents in the required order or you have not provided all the necessary photocopies of documents.

If the application is complete your passport, application form and documents will be held temporarily by the application center. Please note that you can not take the passport during the application process with you, if you have to take your passport for whatever reason the application will be canceled and you will need to re-apply.

Step 5 – Entering of application information

After the verification of your application, all the application form information will be entered into the on-line system of the German consulate and you will receive a printed copy of your application. This process usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. After you get the printed form please make sure to verify all the details are correct and sign the form.

Please note that forms for minors (up to 18 years) have to be signed by both parents.

After you pay for the visa you will be issued a receipt which you have to keep in order to collect your processed application.

Step 6 – Biometric data collection

Once the application has been completed, biometrics will be collected using a quick process that captures a 10-digit fingerprint scan with a digital finger scanner. This will usually take 7-8 minutes per applicant.

Congratulation, you have now completed the visa application process. This application will be sent for processing the next working day to the Consulate. Make sure to keep the payment receipt as this is required to collect your passport.

Source: https://www.germany-visa.org/

To apply for a job seeker visa in Germany, you must follow the steps below:

1. Find out if you meet the eligibility requirements.
2. Locate your application office.
3. Schedule an appointment.
4. Prepare your documents.
5. Pay the visa fee.
6. Submit your application.
7. Retrieve your visa.
8. Enter the country.

Find out if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Before applying for a job seeker visa, you must ensure you meet the visa’s eligibility criteria. Such as, if you graduated from university with a degree recognised in Germany, have taken the required steps to have your degree recognised, or have the required work experience.

Locate your application office.

If you meet the eligibility criteria for a job seeker visa in Germany, you must find out where in your country you should submit your visa application. You’re most likely to submit your application at an embassy or consulate.

Schedule an appointment.

After you locate the appropriate embassy or consulate for your job seeker visa application, you have to schedule an appointment. Please note that you must make the appointment first, as you cannot visit the embassy or consulate without prior approval. Keep in mind that it may take several weeks before you can get an appointment for your visa submission, depending on the workload of the embassy or consulate.

Prepare your documents.

While you wait for your appointment day, you must prepare several documents (you can find the complete list below). You have to make sure all documents are per the embassy’s requirements, and some may require translation into German and legalisation to be eligible for submission.

Pay the Visa fee.

You must also pay the visa fee and attach the payment slip to the rest of your application. Please note that your application won’t be considered without paying the visa fee.

Submit your application.

Finally, on the day of your visa appointment; you can submit your application at the embassy or consulate. You may also be asked to sit down for an interview related to your application. The embassy or consulate staff will most likely ask you why you have applied for a job seeker visa, what you plan on working in Germany, how long you are planning to stay, etc.

Retrieve your visa.

If your visa application is positive, you can retrieve your visa and enter Germany and stay for the duration of your visa. During that time, you’re required to actively look for employment if you want to continue your stay. If your visa is denied, you will receive a notification from the embassy or consulate with the reason for your denial and what you can do next.

Enter the country with a job seeker visa.

After you obtain your visa you can enter the country and start looking for a job so that by the end of your visa validity period you can apply for a German work visa. Please keep in mind that as soon as you enter the country you must register your temporary address in Germany at your local registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt)— you’re required to do this two weeks after entering the country.

Additionally, you must also obtain your temporary residence permit for a job seeker person which you can obtain from your local foreigners’ authority (Ausländerbehörde)  in Germany. Please note that you’re also required to obtain valid health insurance after your arrival in Germany as travel insurance is for only emergencies.

Source: https://www.germany-visa.org/

• Your qualification must be recognised in Germany or comparable to a German degree. If you want to work in a regulated profession, such as a healthcare profession, you will need a licence to practise. 
• You have a specific job offer from an employer in Germany. It is important that the job you are offered is a qualified position. This means that you will usually need a degree or qualified vocational training to do the job. Auxiliary tasks will not be sufficient for this purpose.
• Your job does not have to be related to your professional qualifications. However, you will need a licence to practise if you want to work in a regulated profession.
• Are you over the age of 45 and coming to work in Germany for the first time? In this case, the job you intend to take in Germany must enable you to earn a gross annual salary of at least €49,830 (as of 2024) or you must be able to prove that you have adequate pension provision.

Source: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/

German: Berufsausübungserlaubnis

The licence to practise includes the legal authority to exercise the profession and the permission to use the professional title. In  the case of third-country nationals wishing to work in regulated professions, a professional license to practice must be obtained before a residence permit for the purpose of taking up employment can be issued.

Source: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/

You may only work in regulated professions in Germany if you have certain qualifications. This applies to many professions in the health service, legal advice, teaching in state schools and engineering. There are also regulations for certain master craftworkers who run a business.

If you want to work in one of these regulated professions, then you will always need the certificate of official recognition of your foreign professional qualifications – regardless of your country of origin. In the case of regulated professions, the decision on official recognition is generally taken during the procedure required for the granting of a licence to practise the profession.

Source: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/

Most professions in Germany are not regulated. These include occupations requiring qualifications earned in the dual system of vocational training and many professions requiring a university degree. In order to be allowed to work in Germany as a business economist, computer scientist or baker, for example, you do not need to have your foreign qualifications recognised. The recognition of foreign professional qualifications or the comparability of a university degree is usually a prerequisite for the issuance of a visa to citizens of third countries (i.e. countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland).

There is no recognition procedure for higher education qualifications which do not lead to a regulated profession – such as biologist, physicist or linguist – as there is for regulated professions or qualifications earned in the dual system of vocational training. People from a third country with higher education qualifications of that kind are required to prove that their foreign academic qualifications are recognised as equivalent in Germany in order to be granted a residence title.

Source: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/

German: Duales Berufsausbildungssystem

The dual system of vocational training comprises parallel training in a company and in a vocational school.

Source: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/

The Statement of Comparability is an official document which describes your foreign academic qualifications and indicates the level of the German academic qualification to which your foreign qualification is comparable. The individual statement can be requested from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) in Bonn. You must request an individual Statement of Comparability if your university is listed in the anabin database as ” H + “, but your degree in particular is not listed.

An individual Statement of Comparability can be helpful. It is advantageous when applying for a job, changing jobs, or negotiating salary. With a statement in the German language, employers can better classify the foreign university degree. The Statement of Comparability can also be used when applying for a visa.

Source: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/