German Student Visa Processing Time ⏳ Free Guide (2024) 🎓

As you might probably know, if you want to study in Germany and you are from outside of Europe, you will most likely need a visa. Below, you can find out whether you need a visa to study in Germany.

Group 1 (EU + 4)

No visa or residence permit needed.

Group 2 (USA, UK, Canada, South Korea, Brazil, El Salvador +8)

No visa needed, but residence permit (after arrival).

Group 3 (rest of the world)

Always need a student visa.

Hence, if your case falls into the "Visa required" category, it is crucial to know how much time the German student visa processing takes. Why? Because this will be extremely helpful for you to plan the entire visa application procedure correctly.

Our goal is to inform you honestly and accurately. Therefore, we need to add a DISCLAIMER:

You should use this text as a general guide, but it cannot be a legal consultation. The visa regulations are made and executed by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), and the local Foreigners’ Offices (Ausländerbehörde). Please be aware: Some rules and procedures can vary from embassy/consulate to embassy/consulate (even within one country), and from Ausländerbehörde to Ausländerbehörde in Germany. That is why we highly recommend you also consult the German representation abroad near you, and the local Foreigners’ Office in Germany (which Ausländerbehörde is responsible for you depends on your residence in Germany) for information that applies to your case.

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How long does the German Student Visa processing take?

German student visa processing time may take approximately 4-12 weeks! The processing time depends on the local German Embassies and Consulates. In fact, except for some outliers on the lower end (China: 5 weeks, Iran: 4-6 weeks), the typical case is rather 2-3 months (e.g. India, Nigeria, Colombia). Interestingly, in some countries, the processing time for students who have a scholarship from a German public institution (e.g. DAAD) is significantly reduced.

We collected information about the processing times provided by the German Embassies and Consulates around the world, which you can find in the table below.

Table 1: German student visa processing time in different countries

	Approximate Processing Time	Source
China	5 weeks	Link
India	12 weeks	Link
Syria*	5-12 weeks	Link
Russia	6-8 weeks	Link
Iran	4-6 weeks	Link
Turkey	Min. 4 weeks	Link
Cameroon	2 months	Link
Tunisia	Up to 3 months	Link
Ukraine	12-15 weeks	Link
Pakistan	5-10 weeks	Link
Morocco	Up to 3 months	Link
Egypt	Min. 4 weeks	Link
Vietnam	6 weeks - 3 months	Link
Nigeria	Up to 3 months	Link
Bangladesh	Min. 6 weeks	Link
Ghana	Min. 8 weeks	Link
United Arab Emirates	7 working days - 12 weeks	Link
Sri Lanka	3 months	Link
Nepal	8 – 10 weeks	Link
Indonesia	8 weeks	Link
Mexico	6-8	Link
Colombia	Up to 3 months	Link

* As the German Embassy is closed in Damascus, the residents of Syria can apply for a student visa among others at the Consulate General of Germany in Istanbul. The processing time is based on the information provided by the Consulate.

As you can understand from the table, there is no universal processing time that applies to all cases. For example, an approximate German student visa processing time for India is 12 weeks, while in the case of Iran, the process might take only 6 weeks. In general, one can say that the German visa processing time usually might take from 4 to 12 weeks, depending on the country.

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