Annually, Germany faces a shortage of a minimum of 400,000 skilled laborers. 400,000 bright thinkers and even more nimble hands to maintain our nation’s operations – in the skilled trades, in the caregiving industry, in technology firms.
To remove postal deliveries and reduce long waits for appointments. Following an initial stage, the Federal Foreign Office linked all outstanding visa sections to the Consular Services Portal through four cycles, digitizing the relevant visa applications for employment, education, training, and family reunification.
On January 1, 2025, the consular portal was enhanced to offer global service and allow individuals around the world to submit their German visa applications online. The path for this transition was established more than two years ago. What began with a single visa application and three pilot visa sections will now turn into a digital reality across all 167 visa sections at German missions globally. Now, 28 types of national visas can be applied for online.
Regardless of whether individuals wish to work or study in Germany, pursue a training course, or reunite with family members, they can now apply for these national visas online through the Consular Services Portal from any visa section worldwide.