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Parent Category: Entry

Created on Monday, 24 November 2008 02:58

Last Updated on Sunday, 16 November 2014 18:51

List of Countries (not) Requiring a Visa to Enter Germany

Generally, foreigners need a visa, i.e. a permission, to enter Germany. For correct understanding, understand as "visa" the permission to enter the country – for at most six months. Residence permit is the permission to enter and live in a country – for an indefinite period. Please keep this in your mind because this is essential legalese! Well knowing, that many countries do not distinguish between both in their legalese but here it is vitally important.

Citizens of member states of the European Economic Area (marked with the EU flag) do not need residence permits and do not need anymore to obtain a formal “residency stamp” in their passports or certificate of their status in Germany. All they have to do is report their physical address at the competent registration office (Meldebehörde). Some accession states still have some restrictions.

Third countries generally must have a visa to enter. But some do not. This differentiation is related with paragraph 5 of the preamble to the Council Regulation (EC) No EC 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 "listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement". The determination of those third countries needing a visa to enter Germany a mix of criteria to

• willingness to return – based on objective criteria (and never by blinking blue eyes of a blonde),
• illegal immigration,
• public policy and security,
• and to the European Union's external relations with third countries,
• consideration also being given to the implications of regional coherence, and
• reciprocity.

However, “Buddy” country citizens (marked with “”) may apply for a residence and/or work permit after entry – unless stated differently.

Citizens of countries marked with “***” may enter without a visa but apply for a residence permit for any reason except for employment or business from home.

So, you need to apply for a visa. Click here to be forwarded to online application form of Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. N.B. Filling out the application form online does not mean that you do not have to personally visit the consulate! When you visit the competent consulate, you are present all the papers supporting your application. Filling out the application online does not guarantee any kind of decision. It will only speed the proceedings. Please be aware that an application cannot be processed until these papers have been submitted.

As a special service from LG2G, learn your country's name in German when you hold the mouse over your country's flag!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Country	Visa required?
A	top
Afghanistan	Yes
Albania Citizens of this country are only then eligible for visa free entry, when they have a biometric passport.
Algeria	Yes
Andorra	***
Angola	Yes
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia	Yes
Australia (with Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island)
Austria
Azerbaijan	Yes
B	top
Bahamas
Bahrain	Yes
Bangladesh	Yes
Barbados
Belarus	Yes
Belgium
Belize	Yes
Benin	Yes
Bermuda	No
Bhutan	Yes
Bolivia	No
Bosnia-Herzegovina Citizens of this country are only then eligible for visa free entry, when they have a biometric passport.
Botswana	Yes
Brazil	***
British Virgin Islands	No
Brunei Darussalam	No
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso	Yes
Burundi	Yes
C	top
Cambodia	Yes
Cameroon	Yes
Canada
Cap Verde	Yes
Cayman-Islands	Yes
Central African Republic	Yes
Chad	Yes
Chechnya	Yes
Chile	***
China (VR)	Yes
Columbia	Yes
Comoros	Yes
Congo, Democratic Republic	Yes
Congo; Republic of	Yes
Costa Rica	***
Croatia	***
Cuba	Yes
Cyprus
Czech Republic
D	top
Denmark
Djibouti	Yes
Dominica	Yes
Dominican Republic	Yes
E	top
Ecuador	Yes
Egypt	Yes
El Salvador	***
Equatorial Guinea	Yes
Eritrea	Yes
Estonia
Ethiopia	Yes
F	top
Falkland Islands	Yes
Fiji	Yes
Finland
France (including French-Guyana, French-Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, RéUnion, St. Pierre and Miquelon)
G	top
Gabon	Yes
Gambia	Yes
Georgia	Yes
Ghana	Yes
Greece
Grenada	Yes
Guatemala	No
Guinea	Yes
Guinea-Bissau	Yes
Guyana	Yes
H	top
Haiti	Yes
	***
Hong Kong holders of SAR-passports	Yes No
Hungary
I	top
India	Yes
Indonesia	Yes
Iran	Yes
Iraq	Yes
Ireland
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast	Yes
J	top
Jamaica	Yes
Japan
Jordan	Yes
K	top
Kazakhstan	Yes
Kenya	Yes
Kiribati	Yes
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of (North Korea)	Yes
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
Kuwait	Yes
Kyrgyzstan	Yes
L	top
Laos	Yes
Latvia
Lebanon	Yes
Lesotho	Yes
Liberia	Yes
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxemburg
M	top
Macao	No
Macedonia
Madagascar	Yes
Malawi	Yes
Malaysia	No
Maldives	Yes
Mali	Yes
Malta
Marshall-Islands	Yes
Mauritania	Yes
Mauritius	***
Mexico	No
Micronesia	Yes
Moldova	Yes
Monaco	***
Mongolia	Yes
Montenegro – only with a biometric passport	***
Montserrat	Yes
Morocco	Yes
Mozambique	Yes
Myanmar (Burma)	Yes
N	top
Namibia	Yes
Nauru	Yes
Nepal	Yes
Netherlands
New Zeeland (including Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau)
Nicaragua	No
Niger	Yes
Nigeria	Yes
North Mariana Islands (Federated States of Micronesia, Mariana Islands, Caroline, including Palau-Islands)	Yes
Norway
O	top
Oman	Yes
P	top
Pakistan	Yes
Panama	No
Palestine Areas	Yes
Papua-New Guinea	Yes
Paraguay	No
Peru	Yes
Philippines	Yes
Pitcairn Islands	Yes
Poland
Portugal
Q	top
Qatar	Yes
R	top
Romania
Russia	Yes
Rwanda	Yes
S	top
Salomon Islands	Yes
Samoa	Yes
San Marino	***
Sao Tomé und Principe	Yes
Saudi-Arabia	Yes
Senegal	Yes
Serbia	Yes
Seychelles
Sierra Leone	Yes
Singapore	No
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Somalia	Yes
South Africa	Yes
Spain (including Spanish territories in North Africa with Ceuta and Melilla)
Sudan	Yes
Surinam	Yes
Swaziland	Yes
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria	Yes
T	top
Taiwan	***
Tajikistan	Yes
Tanzania	Yes
Thailand	Yes
Togo	Yes
Tonga	Yes
Trinidad and Tobago	Yes
Tunisia	Yes
Turkey	Yes
Turkmenistan	Yes
Tuvalu	Yes
U	top
Uganda	Yes
Ukraine	Yes
United Arab Emirates	Yes
United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland (incl. Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Bermuda)
United States of America (including American Virgin Islands, American-Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico)
Uruguay	No
Uzbekistan	Yes
V	top
Vanuatu	Yes
Vatican City	No
Venezuela	No
Vietnam	Yes
W	top
Western Samoa	Yes
Y	top
Yemen	Yes
Z	top
Zambia	Yes
Zimbabwe	Yes