Germany – Consulates and Immigration Authorities Experience Long Wait Times
Currently, many German Embassies and Consulates are offering appointments for entry visa applications that take about 3-5 months to obtain. Foreign nationals that have previously resided in Germany result in longer processing of about 3-6 weeks as they would require the approval of the immigration authority of their future place of residence, resulting to up to 4 months or longer. The relevant files between the local immigration offices can take several months to be received by the immigration authority in the new place of residence.
Due to inadequate staffing at the relevant departments, the German authorities are facing a high number of new applications for entry permits as they continue to deal with a significant backlog related to existing asylum seeker applications.
FGI recommends a 6 month lead time when planning assignments to Germany or local hires. Employees who do plan to be hired locally in Germany should not terminate any work or housing contracts in their current country of residence unless the approval of their entry visa for Germany is given. Choosing the same place of residence in Germany as during the previous stay can avoid the long processing times of 4 months to instead 4 weeks.