Visa issues

The Federal Office of Administration supports the German missions abroad in processing visa applications by checking the applicants’ data against various registers and by consulting other agencies. It quickly provides missions abroad with a comprehensive basis for decisions so that they can take an appropriate decision on the submitted applications.

Logo European Union with the inscription "Co-funded by the Internal Security Fund of the European Union"

Whether someone wants to enter Germany to visit relatives, to study, to work, to rejoin family members or for other reasons – when foreigners apply for a visa to enter Germany at a German mission abroad (embassy or consulate-general), we are consulted electronically.

The Federal Republic of Germany, with its geographical position in the heart of Europe, is an important country of destination and of transit for tourists from all over the world. They generally need a residence permit issued by a German mission abroad before entering Germany. Worldwide, almost 200 German missions abroad of all sizes are authorized to grant visas.

The BVA serves as a communication and service interface between German missions abroad and numerous agencies in Germany which have to be consulted depending on the circumstances. These include foreigners’ authorities, International Placement Services (ZAV) of the Federal Employment Agency and national security agencies. Pursuant to the Visa Code, also Schengen partners are consulted with respect to any reservations regarding entry or security prior to the issue of a Schengen visa according to their security interests.

Furthermore, applicant’s data is checked against various national and European registers, including the Central Register of Foreigners, the Visa Warning Database, the wanted property data file ISAD, as well as the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the wanted property data file SIS-SF at European level.

On average, the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) receives a request from the missions abroad approximately every ten seconds – around the clock, seven days a week. Each year, about two million visa applications are processed at the BVA, most of them fully automatically, within a few seconds. The complex German visa procedure requires the use of modern technology in order to meet the high demand for efficiency and security. For this purpose we use a biometric procedure to identify photographs, for example, and an alphanumeric search procedure.

As a data exchange point in visa procedures, the BVA makes an important contribution to economic, personal and intercultural transnational exchange while protecting national and European security interests.