The following questions have been addressed in the article; How much is Germany visa in Nigeria? How to apply for a German visa in Nigeria? How long does it take to get a visa from Nigeria to Germany? Is Germany giving visas now? So read on to get value.
Germany is a country located in Western Europe and it has an awesome landscape of rivers, ranges of mountains, nice beaches and forests. Indeed, it is a country worth visiting and just in case you are planning on travelling to Germany and wish to know what is involved, you need not search any further as this article contains everything you need to know in that regard.
In order to travel to any country, the first thing that you must do is to apply for visa (this is with the assumption that you already have an international passport). Travelling to Germany is not an exception. You have to apply for a visa to Germany first and make all the required payments for it. Once you have successfully done this, there isn’t anything that will hinder you from going to Germany.
Basically, a visa (having its etymology from the Latin word visa, which means “a paper which has been seen”) is a document showing conditional and authorized grant by a country to a foreigner, which allows them to gain entry, to remain in, or to leave that particular country.
This article brings to light all that you need to know about how to apply and get a visa to Germany, including the necessary fees you will be required to pay and all the necessary procedures which are involved.
By standard, the German’s Consulate General (headed by Dr. Stefan Traumann) in Lagos is responsible for handling every application for visa processing to Germany.
There is equally the Embassy of Germany located in Abuja where issuance of visa is done but it rarely happens there except on special cases. Their office in Abuja is located at number 9, Lake Maracaibo Close, Maitama. And their official contact information can be seen below:
- Fax: +00234-9220-8009
- Tel: +00234-805-880-8800
- +00234-9220-8011,
- +00234-9-220-8010,
- +00234-70-6410-8800
The German’s Consulate as mentioned earlier has an office in Lagos which is located at number 15 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos in Nigeria.
A comprehensive list of their contact information is as shown below:
- Tel & Fax: +00234-1-280-9966
- Web address: www.lago.diplo.de
- Email:info@lago.diplo.de
German Visa Fee in Nigeria
First, before we delve into talking about the visa fee to Germany, I want to address a question that keeps popping up in the mind of readers on an article such as this one. The question is “what is a visa fee”?
A visa fee is that charge(s) which you would be required to pay in order to process your visa when you apply for it. It is a mandate directly from the immigration authority of Germany to all applicants who wish to be granted visa into the country except on a few special cases.
Having known what a visa fee is, you can now see the important role it plays and why it has to be paid before your application can be accepted. The amount for the visa fee is fixed in this case and it is €60 (Sixty Euros) which, when converted to Naira, is about N26,500 working with the exchange rate at the moment which is €1(one Euro) to N440 (four hundred and forty Naira).
This visa fee payment doesn’t actually apply to infants (that is, those ones who fall between the age bracket of 5 years and below). For those children who fall between the age bracket of 6 – 12 years of age, they are required to pay an amount of €35(thirty-five Euros) for their visas.
If the applicant is opting for visa for a long term and they are children who fall under the age of 18 years old, then the fee for the visa is €30 (thirty Euros).
Making payments for visa into Germany comes with some exceptions. For instance, if the parents or the spouse of the applicant is/are German(s), then the applicant is not required to pay any amount for visa.
When the processing unit is done with processing your visa application entry, they will send your passport along with all your other documents back to you through their courier service.
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Your documents would be returned to you at your physical location through courier service because it is possible for you to choose that option in a case where you would not want to come back to the Consulate (for one reason or the other) to retrieve your passport and documents.
By standard, if you as an applicant want to make use of the courier service, you will be the one who will inform the courier service provider, telling them to assist you in picking up your package from the Consulate General office in Lagos.
Using the courier service is very advantageous in that it saves you a lot of stress via moving up and down. But it is equally important to note that if you opt in for it, an implication is that the Consulate General office takes no responsibility if your documents are lost in transit.
Different Types of German Visa for Nigerians
The visa you are applying for could either cover long term or your short term visit to Germany. For some countries such as Nigeria, you must apply for a visa whether you are coming to stay for a short while or a longer while. The type of visa you apply for depends on why you are visiting and on how long you intend to stay.
Different type of visas to Germany exists and it is important for you to know and choose the exact one that suits your need because you will be disqualified for a period of six months if you apply into the wrong type.
I have put up a list of the different kinds of visas to Germany as seen below:
Students Visa
If you are a student and wish to travel to Germany to either study there or to go to any of their universities in order to conduct one form of research or the other, then this type of visa is right for you. Let’s say you want to go there to study a particular language as a course and the duration of that course is longer than three months, then it falls into this category and you should apply for this type of visa.
If you wish to apply for the student visa, then when coming to the Consulate, you should come with:
- A document or a letter, showing proof of admission into that particular school (university, Studienkolleg, or language school).
- Photocopies of your passport’s data page.
- A document presented as confirmation either that your blocked account has been opened, or of a scholarship, or of Verpflichtungserklarung
You should note that the student visa can only be booked during the winter session and by mail, not on a website. The email address for bookings is student@lago.diplo.dc
Another point to note is that if your enrolment date is close (say from the time you are applying to the time of your actual enrolment into that particular school is less than six weeks), then you will be denied application.
Visa for Short term
This is a type of visa that is given to you if you have only come for a short stay and do not intend to stay long in Germany. That is to say, it applies only for short term visits (for a period of less than ninety days). This visa is for those applicants who wish to come visit either their family members, friends, or maybe for those who wish to attend a business related meeting.
Visa for Long term
This type of visa is given to you if you intend to stay in German for a longer period of time. The long term visa spans a period of more than ninety days and it is suitable for those who want to go to Germany to work or those who wish to move over there and join a family member. This visa does not apply to those who wish to go there and study (students).
Work Visa
Germany is a very nice and great place to work in as they boast of being one of the few countries that have the lowest number of unemployed citizens. If you wish to travel to Germany for work purposes, then you should consider applying for this type of visa.
Au Pair Visa
An au pair mustn’t be below 18 years of age. Minors are required to produce a written note as consent from an adult legal representative. An au pair mustn’t be above 24 years of age by the time of requesting for this visa.
In an event that you would like to go to Germany as an au pair, or probably to engage in some form of voluntary work or sorts for a period of one year, then you should consider applying into this category.
Guidelines for Nigerians on how to Apply for a German Visa
By standard, it only takes a few minutes to book for an appointment online. While placing a booking, it is of essence that you feed in the correct information because if you fail to do so, you might stand the risk of having a cancelled appointment.
In an event where you wish to make visa application for both you and your family members, each person has to book separately for an appointment.
After applying, it is very important that you mentally note down the scheduled date for the interview and show up on the set date because if you miss it, you will be barred by the Consulate General office from trying to applying again. This ban will span up to a period of six months.
You should equally keep in mind that if you show up with incomplete documents, your application will not be accepted. All documents must be correct and complete as required.
Earlier in this article, I made mention that every foreigner coming into Germany must apply for visa but with some exceptions. There are those who are exempted from applying for visa before they can be granted entry into the country. These people are:
- Those who are on official duties (only for note verbale holders)
- Those with transit visas
- Those who have travelled to either the USA, Canada, the Schengen states, not less than three times within a period of twenty-four (24) months.
- Those who are expert practitioners in such areas as academic or scientific fields, for conferences or programs (that is if the visa has a section provided for this)
- Those travelling on medical treatment based on an emergency.
Additionally, an interview waiver can be applied for on the condition that the applicant has travelled to the Schengen States (and of course has a Schengen visa) not less than three times for a time span of 2 years, or at least once, having a 1-year entry visa (for multiple occasions) which was issued to them by the Consulate General office. And the applicant must’ve submitted an application previously to the Consulate General’ office on the 14th of March, 2013 or after that date.
It is required of you to place a booking for an appointment but it is not mandatory that you come by yourself to the Consulate to make submission of your application. You can choose tosubmit your visa application through a third party, and in such a case, you would be required to send in a letter showing that you gave the third party the authority to submit the application on your behalf.
In a case where you wish to follow the normal procedure, you will be required to place an online booking on completion of the application form provided for you.
You will equally be required to bring the application form which has been duly filled along with other required documents (photocopies and originals – to check).
It is quite essential that you get to the Consulate office very early so as to beat the queue that might be there for those who come late and also because there are limited numbers of applicants that will be attended to per day. But by standard, if you get there with your application form duly completed, you will be attended to.
Lastly, you should bear in mind that there are usually so many applicants to be attended to at the visa office during summer period. So if you wish to travel during that period, you have to place your appointment way earlier.
Wrapping-Up
I believe from above details, we have done justice to german visa fees (how much it cost in Nigeria), the application form requirements, the visa processing time, embassy appointment, agreement letter pdf etc. Also stay tuned and bookmark this particular website page, because we will keep updating it with other necessary information like; how to get german citizenship with descent residency permit, what transit airport course entails, full information regarding to emigrating and immigrating, as well as job seekers tips, tourist etc.
Moving to Germany or living there comes with many benefits especially when you master the countries nationality language (for some zone). Anticipate our next post update on visa for india, USA, UK, Canada etc. Also endeavor to share this article to friends and family.
