Visas for Germany from the United States

Visa for Germany
Most people reading this need no visa at all. A US passport gets you 90 days in Germany within any 180-day period, for tourism or business.

Germany is in the Schengen area, so the rules that matter are Schengen rules. The line that decides everything is 90 days: below it, US citizens travel visa-free, and above it the application is a national visa handled by the mission that covers your state.

When you do not need one

A US passport holder can enter for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa, for tourism, family visits or business meetings.

The 180 days roll: the clock is not calendar-based, and it counts days anywhere in the Schengen area rather than in Germany alone.

Green card holders are not covered by that. Your nationality decides whether you need a visa, and your US residence decides which mission handles it.

Do you need a visa for Germany?

When you do

Anything over 90 days is a national visa, and so is anything involving work, study or joining family, even for a shorter stay.

The application goes to the mission that covers the state you live in, and the consular districts here are not negotiable. Applying to a mission that does not cover you wastes the appointment.

An airport transit visa is a separate category and applies to a short list of nationalities passing through a German airport without entering.

None of this touches German citizenship. If a German parent or grandparent is the reason for the trip, check citizenship by descent first: a German passport removes the visa question entirely.

What decides the timeline

National visa decisions involve authorities in Germany, so they take considerably longer than a Schengen visa would. Months, not weeks.

Appointment availability is the first bottleneck and it varies a great deal between missions. Houston, for instance, runs its visa hotline for ninety minutes a week.

Start with the mission's own page for your category. Requirements for a work visa and a student visa overlap only partly.

Which route applies

Your plan What you need
Tourism up to 90 days, US passport No visa
Business meetings up to 90 days, US passport No visa
More than 90 days National visa, from your consular district
Work or study of any length National visa
Joining a family member in Germany National visa
Not a US citizen, living in the US Depends on your nationality; the mission is decided by where you live

Which case applies to you

I want to stay four months over the summer
That is over the 90 day limit and needs a national visa. Applying after arrival is not an option: the visa has to be in hand before you travel.
I have a green card and a Brazilian passport
Your nationality decides the visa question, not the green card. Check the Schengen list for Brazil, and apply to the German mission covering your US state.
I was in France for six weeks in March
Those days count. The 90 in 180 rule is a Schengen total, not a German one, so subtract them before planning a long trip.
I am transiting through Frankfurt
Most nationalities need nothing for transit without leaving the international zone. A short list does need an airport transit visa, which is applied for separately.
 The 90 days are Schengen-wide and the 180-day window rolls backwards from any given day. Time spent in Spain or Italy comes off the same total. 
What to have ready
  • A passport valid for at least three months beyond your departure
  • Proof of the purpose: enrolment letter, employment contract, family papers
  • Proof of health insurance valid in Germany
  • Proof of accommodation and of means of support
  • The application form for your specific visa category
All procedures
Book an appointment
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