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The German embassy or consulate responsible for where you live

The national visa application (VIDEX), field by field

A national visa (category D) is what you apply for before moving to Germany; the residence permit itself is issued later, inside Germany. The application is completed in VIDEX, the Federal Foreign Office's own online form, then printed and signed. VIDEX is a form filler, not a submission system — nothing reaches the mission until you hand the printout in at your appointment.

Official name: Antrag auf Erteilung eines nationalen Visums (VIDEX)
Who needs it: Anyone applying from abroad for a German visa for longer than 90 days — work, Blue Card, study, job search, family reunion.

Where to get the official form

We don't host government forms — they are revised without notice, and an outdated copy gets rejected. These links go to the issuing authority.

  • VIDEX — official national visa form ↗

    The Federal Foreign Office's own tool. Fill it in, then print the signed application with its barcode. Do not use third-party sites that offer to “file” it for you.

  • Your German mission's own checklist ↗

    Requirements, appointment booking and fees are set per mission. Find the embassy or consulate for your place of residence and follow its checklist exactly.

Have these ready before you start

  • Your passport, normally valid for the whole intended stay plus a margin
  • Recent biometric photos to the German specification
  • Your employment contract, university admission or family documents, depending on the purpose
  • Proof of health insurance covering the period from arrival
  • Any recognition or approval decision the visa category requires

Identity and passport

Familienname / Geburtsname / Vornamen

Surname / name at birth / given names

Character for character as in the machine-readable zone of your passport.

Watch out: Any difference between the form and the passport — a missing middle name, a dropped diacritic — has to be corrected at the counter.

Geburtsdatum, Geburtsort, Geburtsland

Date, place and country of birth

As in the passport.

Derzeitige Staatsangehörigkeit / Staatsangehörigkeit bei Geburt

Current nationality / nationality at birth

Both, if they differ.

Reisedokument: Art, Nummer, Ausstellungsdatum, gültig bis, ausstellende Behörde

Travel document: type, number, issue date, expiry, issuing authority

Copy from the passport data page.

Purpose and stay

Zweck des Aufenthalts

Purpose of stay

Employment, study, training, job search, family reunion. The category decides the entire document checklist, so match it to the evidence you actually have.

Angaben zum Arbeitgeber / zur Universität / zur einladenden Person

Employer / university / inviting person

Full name and address in Germany, and a contact. Copy it from the contract or admission letter rather than from memory.

Vorgesehene Dauer des Aufenthalts, Einreisedatum

Intended length of stay, date of entry

Your planned first entry and how long you intend to stay. An estimate is fine; it is not binding to the day.

Finanzierung der Lebenshaltungskosten

How living costs are covered

Salary, scholarship, own funds, a blocked account, or a formal declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) by someone in Germany.

Frühere Aufenthalte in Deutschland / Visumsanträge

Previous stays in Germany / previous visa applications

Including refusals. Missions can see the history; omitting it looks worse than the refusal itself.

Finishing the form

Belehrung nach § 54 AufenthG

Legal notice on false or incomplete statements

You confirm you understand that false or incomplete statements can lead to refusal or later expulsion. Read it before ticking.

Ausdruck mit Barcode und Unterschrift

Printout with barcode and signature

Print the completed form — it carries a barcode the mission scans — and sign it by hand. Bring the printout; a form only saved online has not been submitted.

Watch out: Print in good quality on plain white paper. A barcode that will not scan means re-doing the form at the appointment.

The mistakes that cost people

  • Assuming that finishing the form in VIDEX submits the application. It does not — the appointment and the paper printout are the application.
  • Names entered as they are usually written, rather than exactly as in the passport.
  • Choosing a visa purpose that does not match the documents, which restarts the process.
  • Booking travel before the visa is issued. Processing times vary widely by mission and category and are outside your control.
  • Insurance that only starts after arrival, when the mission asks for cover from the day of entry.

How to submit it

  1. 1Complete the form in VIDEX and print the signed copy with its barcode.
  2. 2Book an appointment with the German mission responsible for your place of residence — slots are the real bottleneck, so book as early as possible.
  3. 3Bring the printout, your passport, photos and the mission's checklist documents, in the number of copies the checklist demands.
  4. 4Pay the fee at the appointment and keep the receipt with the tracking reference.

What happens next

Decisions come from the mission, sometimes after consultation with the German immigration authority and, for some jobs, the Federal Employment Agency. Timelines differ far too much between missions and categories for any honest single figure — use the mission's own published range and plan your notice period around the worst case, not the best.

Common questions

Is the visa the same as the residence permit?

No. The national visa lets you enter and start; the residence permit is applied for at the Ausländerbehörde after you arrive and register. Plan for both steps.

Can I work as soon as I arrive?

Only within what the visa itself allows — the sticker states it. Check it before your first working day and do not rely on the job offer alone.

Do you submit visa applications for clients?

No. We explain forms and requirements; the application is filed by you at the mission, and we do not act as a representative in immigration procedures.

Next

Last checked 2026-07-25. Practical guidance on filling in a form — not legal advice, and we do not submit applications on anyone's behalf. Forms and requirements change; the issuing authority's own page is always the authority.