Visa Information

There are different types of visa regulations for Germany. Please find below the most important information. Please contact the German embassy in your home country for details. You can find the address on the homepage of the German Federal Office: www.auswaertiges-amt.de

Visa Service of BWS Germanlingua: We can provide a special visa service for our students at an additional charge of 110 Euro. Therefore, we issue an invitation letter and contact the embassy or the aliens department in case there are problems with the visa applicaton. This service does not include the visa issue fee which has to be paid directly to the embassy. Please note that it is only a service to help you getting the visa. However, we cannot guarantee that you will be successfull. In case the visa is denied by the respective embassy and you do not want to try again and thus cancel the course, the visa service fee will not be reimbursed.

The following information is given without any guarantee, since legal issues may change any time. Therefore, the first step for you is always to contact the embassy first before making your travel arrangements:


1. No visa ist required for:
EU members (also the new ones), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.


2. Entry without visa, stay up to 3 months, prolongation possible:
Members of the following countries can enter Germany without a visa and stay up to 3 months. They can prolong their stay on arrival at the aliens department up to 48 weeks (for language course).

Australia, Canada, Honduras, Israel, New Zealand, USA, Japan, Korea (South-Korea)

Please note: The aliens department requires several documents in case you want to prolong your stay. Besides a confirmation of our school, you need to prove financial security (bank account with around 600 Euro per month for living, health insurance (you can buy one through our school) and of course a valid passport.


3. Entry without visa, stay up to 3 months, prolongation is not possible:
Members of the following countries can enter Germany without visa and stay up to 3 months. They cannot prolong their stay on arrival. In case they want to stay longer, they have to apply for a long-term visa at the German embassy already in their home country.

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Croatia, Guatemala, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Rumänien, Singapore, Uruguay


4. Entry with visa:
Members of all other countries (e.g. Russia, China) have to apply for a visa at the German embassy or consulate:

a) For a stay up to 90 days: Schengen Visa
Please note: The Schengener visa cannot be extended on arrival in Germany. If you want to stay longer you have to apply for a National Visa. With the Schengen visa it is allowed to travel also into the Schengen States.

b) For a stay longer than 90 days: National Visa
Please note: On arrival in Germany the national visa is to be prolonged at the aliens department. The maximal duration for language course is 48 weeks. The National visa is also valid for the Schengen States. The maximal duration for a stay in a Schengen State is 90 days.

The following States have signed the Schengen Treaty: Austria, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands

The embassies require in general: