German visa from India — the whole picture
Every visa type, what it really costs, and how the process works in 2026. Last checked: 15 September 2026.
Start here. Germany has two completely different visa families, and most confusion comes from mixing them up.
- Schengen visa (type C) — for stays up to 90 days. Tourism, visiting family, a business trip, a conference. It does not let you work or settle, and it cannot be turned into a residence permit from inside Germany.
- National visa (type D) — for stays longer than 90 days. Study, Ausbildung, work, job search, family reunion. After you arrive you convert it into a residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde.
If someone tells you to come on a tourist visa and "change it later" in Germany, they are telling you to waste your money. It does not work that way.
1. Which visa do you need?
2. What each visa costs
| Visa | Official fee | Who pays less |
|---|---|---|
| Schengen, up to 90 days (type C) | 90 € | 45 € for children aged 6 to 11; free under 6 |
| National visa, over 90 days (type D) | 75 € | 37.50 € for anyone under 18 |
| VFS service charge | roughly 1,800 to 2,500 ₹ | Courier and SMS extras are optional — you can decline them |
| Residence permit after arrival | usually 56 € to 100 € | Paid in Germany, not in India |
The visa fee is not refunded if you are refused. Fees are paid in rupees at the mission's exchange rate, so the amount changes slightly through the year.
3. How much money you must show
This is where most applications actually fail. These are the 2026 figures.
| Purpose | Proof required |
|---|---|
| Student | 11,904 € for the year in a blocked account (992 € per month) |
| Looking for a university place | about 1,091 € per month |
| Chancenkarte (job seeking) | about 13,092 € for the year, roughly 1,091 € per month |
| Ausbildung | Often covered by the training salary. A top-up may be asked for if the salary is low. |
| Work with a contract | The salary itself is the proof. No blocked account. |
| Visiting family | A Verpflichtungserklärung signed by your host in Germany, or your own funds |
A blocked account is your own money, not a fee. It sits in a German account and you withdraw it monthly after you arrive. Use a provider the German missions themselves name, and check the website address letter by letter — fake blocked-account sites are a real business.
4. The process, step by step
5. The visitor visa — what actually decides it
For parents and relatives coming for 90 days, the officer is answering one question: will this person go back?
- Verpflichtungserklärung. Your relative in Germany signs it at their local Ausländerbehörde. It is a real financial liability — the signer promises to cover living costs and medical costs. Take it seriously before you sign one.
- Travel health insurance with at least 30,000 € cover, valid for the whole Schengen area.
- Ties to India. Property papers, a pension, a running business, a job with approved leave, dependent family. This is what is really being weighed.
- A believable plan. Flight reservation, dates, where you stay, who pays. Dates that do not match each other kill the file.
Bank statements that suddenly jump the week before the application do more harm than good. Show a normal, explainable balance.
6. If you are refused
You will receive a written refusal with numbered reasons. Read those reasons carefully — they tell you exactly what to fix.
- Remonstration — a formal written objection to the mission, within the deadline stated in the refusal letter (usually one month). Free, but slow.
- A new application with the weak point repaired is often faster than an objection, and for a Schengen refusal it is usually the better choice.
- The fee is gone either way. A refusal is not a ban: people are refused once and approved the next time with a better file.
- Never lie or submit a fake document to fix a refusal. That turns a "no" into a multi-year entry ban.
7. After you land: the visa is not the permit
Your national visa is valid for a few months only. Inside that window you must:
- Register your address (Anmeldung) within two weeks of moving in.
- Get health insurance and a bank account.
- Apply at the Ausländerbehörde for the residence permit before the visa expires. Book that appointment the week you arrive; do not wait for a reminder, none will come.
Letting the visa run out while waiting for an appointment is one of the most common serious mistakes. If no appointment is available in time, apply in writing before the expiry date and keep proof that you did.
8. The lies to walk away from
- "Guaranteed visa." No agent, no consultancy, no lawyer can guarantee a visa. Nobody.
- "Come on a tourist visa, we will convert it." A Schengen visa cannot be converted into a residence permit.
- "We have contacts in the embassy." They do not.
- "Express appointment for an extra fee." Appointments are free and first come, first served.
- Fake documents, fake bank statements, fake job offers. The missions check, and the punishment is an entry ban across the whole Schengen area.
- Handing over originals to anyone who is not the mission or the visa centre.
9. Questions people ask
Honesty note. Fees and amounts checked on 15 September 2026 against the German Federal Foreign Office and the Consular Services Portal. Each German mission publishes its own checklist and can ask for more, and every case is decided individually. We are a private information site in Hamburg. We are not agents, we take no commission, and we cannot apply, represent or intervene for anyone.