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National Visa - Family Reunion and Re-Entry
Visa © GKSP/Canva.com
National visa are issued for long-term stays for a particular purpose (e.g. family reunion or re-entry). Usually issued for 90 days. After entering Germany, visa holders must apply for a residence permit.
Registration on the Appointment Waiting List
To submit your national visa application, an appointment for personal appearance at the Visa Section is required. Appointment booking or registration on the waiting list for appointment allocation is done through the visa section's appointment booking system. Register here for your appointment: Registration for an appointment
Preparing your application
You should start preparing your application as soon as you have plans to stay long term in Germany. The entire visa application process can take several months.
Please prepare your application as follows:
- Please complete the VIDEX application form and bring a printout to your appointment.
- Please compile the documents you need to submit with your application. Please see below for a checklist for the visa categories:
All copies must be submitted in colour and in DIN A4 form. The copies must not be stapled, glued or tacked. The copies will be scanned. If documents or supporting documents are missing, your application may be rejected.
Timely notification to family reunification with a family member who is entitled to asylum or has been recognised as a refugee can be submitted to the Website www.fap.diplo.de
Please note that the processing of applications for those with subsidiary protection is suspended until July 23, 2027. You can find answers to frequently asked questions here:
Registrations on the waiting list, in addition to applications that have already been submitted, will remain at the processing stage reached at the time of suspension. Processing will resume following the expiry of the suspension, subject to any amendments to the law. No action is required on the part of the applicant in this regard.
During the suspension period, no new registrations can be added to the waiting list and no applications pursuant to section 36a of the Residence Act are possible.
This new legal situation does not affect sections 22 and 23 of the Residence Act. It will still be possible to claim cases of hardship pursuant to these (exceptional) provisions. International law and urgent humanitarian grounds within the meaning of section 22 sentence 1 of the Residence Law are particularly important in this respect, and the circumstances of the individual case are decisive.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) provides support for processing cases of hardship as part of its Family Assistance Programme (FAP), which has been successfully established for many years. From 26 July 2025, Cases of hardship must be reported by email to info.fap.hardship@iom.int, stating the reasons why it is a unique individual case.
Submitting your application
In order to submit your application, please attend your appointment at the Visa Section (all nationa visa categories except family reunion) or our external service provider (only family reunion) in person. Please hand in your complete documentation and pay the fee. The Visa Section or our external service provider will ask you questions about your planned trip and take your photograph and fingerprints. Your passport will not be retained for the duration of the process.
You only need to travel to the host country (Pakistan or Iran) shortly before your confirmed appointment. For long-stay visa applications, you do not need to be present in the host country either during the visa processing or to collect the visa, as an authorized person can do so for you.
Fees
The fees for a national visa are 75 Euro - converted to Pakistani Rupies this amounts to 25.000,- PKR. Due to short-term currency exchange rate fluctuations, the actual amount can vary slightly.
Please be advised that the visa section only accepts cash payments in PKR.
What happens during processing?
The Visa Section will review your application and make a decision on whether or not to grant you a visa. To this end, it will check whether your application meets the legal requirements. Depending on the purpose of your trip, it can take up to six months to check your application. The Visa Section will contact you as soon as it has made a decision on your application. We hope you will understand that we are not able to answer any questions on the status of your application during this processing period. After that, enquiries are only answered if they are made by the applicant, his/her legal representative or another person authorised in writing by the applicant.
Approval
Once the Visa Section has decided on your application, you will be notified to submit your passport for visa collection.
The visa collection must be done in person by the applicant or an authorized person. The original passport of each applicant (including all minor children) used for the application must always be brought to the Visa Section for collection. This applies even if the collection is made by an authorized person.
If an authorised person collects the visa, they must present the following documents (+ 1 copy each) upon collection:
- Passport of the authorized person
- Original passport of the applicant
- Original power of attorney signed by the applicant
- Photo of the applicant with the passport of the authorized person (only for Visa Collection in Islamabad)
Visa collection for minor children is possible with a parent without a power of attorney or a third person with a power of attorney from the parents.
Power of attorney
Power of attorney (children)
Rejection
There are various reasons why your visa application may be rejected. The reasons will be stated in the letter notifying you that your application has been rejected.
As of 1 July 2025, it is no longer possible to object to a visa rejection by filing a remonstration with the mission abroad. Remonstrations submitted to the mission have no legal effect whatsoever and will no longer be processed. This means that no confirmation of receipt will be sent, and queries about the status of the remonstration will not be answered. If you have submitted a remonstration against a visa rejection dated before 1 July 2025, this will still be processed in full.
As of 1 July 2025, you have the following options after a visa application is rejected:
- You may submit a new visa application at any time; this will generally be subject to the usual fee.
For this new visa application, you will again have to present all relevant documents and documentary proof. The application will be reviewed neutrally on the basis of the current legal situation. - You may appeal against the visa rejection by filing an action with the Berlin Administrative Court at your own expense.
Further information regarding the suspended remonstration procesure.
More than ever: Reduce the risk of rejection by submitting all required documents at once. If the Visa Section requests additional documents, please provide them within the given deadline.
Have a good trip! Information for visa holders
If all the information on your visa sticker is correct, your travel is clear to proceed. Please check this as soon as you have your passport with the visa at the Visa Section. Any errors should be reported immediately so that a new visa can be issued.
Your visa displays your full name, passport number, and photo. It also indicates the number of days of stay and the validity period of the visa – the time you have until receiving your residence permit. Shortly after your arrival in Germany, schedule an appointment to register with the responsible Foreigners Authority (Ausländerbehörde) to obtain the necessary residence permit.
With the entry visa, you can travel within the Schengen Area
Contact the Visa Section in Islamabad
You can reach the Visa Section Afghanistan in Islamabad quickly and easily at any time via the contact form: Contact form for the Visa Office for Afghanistan in Islamabad
