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FAQ: Visa Application Procedure
FAQ
Korean nationals
Korean nationals do not require a visa for tourist visits of up to 90 days within a 180‑day period.
If you would like to stay in Germany for more than 90 days and/or for purposes other than tourist visits, a visa or residence permit is required.
If you want to stay for more than 90 days and/or for purposes other than tourist visits, you may apply to the responsible foreigner’s authority for a residence permit within the first 90 days of entering Germany or apply to the competent mission for a visa before your arrival. For more information, please consult the fact sheets available on our website, which provide detailed information on the respective visa types.
Citizens of the Republic of Korea as well as Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and the United States of America may enter and reside in Germany without a visa if the stay is not a short-term stay. The required residence permit can be obtained in Germany.
The same applies to citizens of Andorra, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Monaco and San Marino who do not intend to engage in employment.
Other nationals
Please check the Federal Foreign Office website to find out whether you are subject to a visa requirement for Germany.
If this is the case, you have to apply for a visa before entering the country. The competent authority for issuing the visa is the German mission responsible for the area in which you have your ordinary residence or domicile. If your stay in Korea is only temporary, the mission of your ordinary residence or domicile is responsible: German Missions
Your passport must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from Germany. You are advised to take out travel insurance which is valid in Germany. The entry requirements of the Borders Code have to be met.
It depends on what type of visa you apply for. Please read the fact sheets on the respective visa types to obtain information on this.
For visa applications and other matters, you have to make an appointment via our website.
Generally, the German Embassy in Seoul takes between four and ten working days to process short-term-visas.
The same applies to applications for a Working Holiday Visa.
If you apply for a long-term residence permit or an employment visa, the processing time will be several weeks.
However, the processing time for guest scientists/scientific staff and their families is just a few working days. In individual cases the processing time may take up to several months, depending on the field of study. Please refer to the information regarding scientists and researchers here.
Please include the waiting time for an appointment as well as the processing time in your plans.
The cost of a Schengen visa is currently 90 euros, a national visa costs 75 euros. The fee can be paid in cash in KRW or via credit card (Visa/MasterCard) in euros.
For the purpose of simple processing, please leave your passport at the Embassy. If you urgently need your passport during the processing period, e.g. for a planned trip, you may take it with you.
No, posting it is not possible.
You can authorise a trusted person (in writing) to pick up the passport.
No, the visa is issued by the Embassy in Seoul. Sending it to Germany is not possible.
No, this is not possible.
If you lose your visa, you have to reapply for a new one. Residence permits can only be issued in Germany. If you lose your residence permit and need a visa to enter Germany, you have to apply for a visa at the Embassy in Seoul. We recommend contacting the responsible authority in Germany if you lose your residence permit.
A valid Schengen visa can be transferred under the conditions of the visa codex if the old passport had no free pages left and a new passport is submitted.
In general, you don’t have to do anything. Applications for visas can be withdrawn upon request. An issued visa can be made invalid upon request. In this case, please contact the responsible visa authority.
Visa fees will not be reimbursed in either case.