Germany visa guideA German business visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for meetings, negotiations, training, conferences and trade fairs, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You fill in the form on VIDEX and lodge the file at a VFS centre such as Chandigarh, Jalandhar or New Delhi. The German Consulate General in Mumbai decides, usually within about three weeks of receiving it.
Germany's checklist asks what most countries never put in writing: what exactly links the company inviting you to the company sending you. It also draws a firm line between visiting and working, and short-notice trips have their own urgent appointment category.
Earliest slot we saw · Manually checked
Manually checked by LifesetHistorical observation
Last manually checked: 12 October 2026 at 12:14 PM IST. Availability can change at any time.
- Mumbai
- 19 Oct
- Bengaluru
- 26 Oct
Tourist / short-stay appointments only. A manual observation of the portal at the time above, not a real-time feed. Slots move hour to hour and we never hold or sell them. All Germany centres & earliest dates
Do Indians need a visa for a business trip to Germany, and which one?
Yes: a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, applied for under the business category. It covers meetings, negotiations, training, conferences and trade fairs for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and those days count across the whole Schengen area. There is no e-visa: you apply before you travel. The form is filled in online on VIDEX, and every German Schengen file lodged in India is decided by the German Consulate General in Mumbai.
Germany draws the line between visiting and working more sharply than most. German Missions say a Schengen visa is generally issued with the condition "employment is not permitted", and that whether the German side pays you is generally not what decides if an activity counts as gainful employment. Some activities need approval from German authorities before the visa can be issued. That is covered further down.
Germany business visa at a glance
- VisaForm filled online on VIDEX
- Schengen short-stay visa, type C, business category
- Stay allowed
- Up to 90 days in any 180-day period
- Decided by
- German Consulate General, Mumbai
- Lodged atChandigarh, Jalandhar, Gurugram and New Delhi are closest to Punjab
- VFS Global
- Visa feeExhibitors with an individual exhibitor pass may be exempt
- €90
- Short-notice tripsTravel within four weeks of booking; no extra fee
- Urgent business and trade fair urgent appointments
German Missions in India and VFS Global Germany, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
Through VFS Global. The German centres closest to Punjab are Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Gurugram and New Delhi, all open Monday to Friday, and German Missions accept Schengen files at any of the 16 VFS centres in India. State jurisdiction matters for national visas, not for a Schengen business application. In any case Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi all sit under the Embassy in New Delhi.
Germany runs two appointment categories for trips that cannot wait:
- Urgent business is for business meetings, training, conferences, guest scientists, work and paper presentations, when no regular business appointment is free.
- Trade fair urgent is only for trade fair exhibitors.
Neither costs extra, and both come with conditions. You must travel within four weeks of booking the appointment, or VFS will not accept the application. An application for any other purpose booked under one of these categories is treated as cancelled, and a new appointment is needed. And the category does not speed up the decision: German Missions put average processing at up to 15 days either way. A spouse going along for tourism can join your urgent appointment, but only with the same travel dates.
At the centre you give fingerprints and a photo. If your fingerprints were taken for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months, a representative can lodge the file for you with your signed authorisation letter and a copy of their own passport. The VFS service charge is paid when you book, and the visa fee at the end of the appointment. Our Germany appointment availability page tracks how dates are opening up.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist sits further down this page. On top of it, Germany's business checklist asks for two things "in all cases". First, an original signed covering letter from your company in India on its letterhead, naming you, your passport number, the purpose and length of the trip and a short itinerary. Second, behind that letter, the company's Certificate of Incorporation, GST registration and proof of company registration. After that, the papers depend on your role.
Employee sent by an Indian company
- What to add
- Payslips for the last 3 months, employment contract, leave sanction letter, 3 months of your own bank statements stamped by the bank, and ITR acknowledgements for two assessment years or Form 16
Owner, partner or director
- What to add
- Company registration certificate with its GST number, your ITR acknowledgements for two assessment years or Form 16, and 3 months of your own stamped bank statements
Indian company paying for the trip
- What to add
- The company's ITR acknowledgements for the last three years, latest first
German company paying
- What to add
- A sponsor letter with the sponsor's passport copy, plus their German residence permit if they live in Germany and are not German citizens
Trade fair exhibitor
- What to add
- Exhibitor pass, or the stand confirmation with proof of payment for the stand
Trade fair visitor
- What to add
- Visitor pass from the organiser
Consultant serving a German client
- What to add
- A confirmation letter from the German client
Staying more than 30 days
- What to add
- A detailed schedule of your business meetings
Meetings in other Schengen states too
- What to add
- A signed invitation from each of those partners on letterhead, giving the purpose, itinerary and your personal details
What the German invitation must answer
Germany's checklist tells your host what to put in the invitation, which may be in German or English:
- What activities are planned.
- How the inviting and the sending company are connected. Are they in the same group? Which one supplies the other? What exactly do they trade: machines, equipment, merchandise?
A letter that says "we invite Mr Singh for business discussions" answers neither question. One that says the German firm buys CNC components from his company, and he is coming to inspect the new line and agree next year's volumes, answers both in a sentence. If the German company arranges your accommodation, it should say so in the invitation, and the separate hotel proof can then be left out. If you need a multiple-entry visa, the invitation or assignment letter should also explain why you will travel repeatedly.
How much is the Germany business visa fee for Indians?
The fee is €90 per applicant, paid in rupees at the end of the VFS appointment. On 14 October 2026 German Missions listed ₹9,900 for it while the VFS fee tab showed ₹10,100, so carry the higher sum. Trade fair exhibitors can be exempted, but only if the individual exhibitor pass is handed in with the application; a pass sent later brings no refund, and visitor-pass holders always pay. The VFS service charge of ₹2,126 is paid when you book, the visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused, and our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
Count on up to 15 working days at the Consulate, plus the days the file spends in transit. The German Missions FAQ says complete applications are usually decided within 15 calendar days of reaching Mumbai, extendable to 45 days; the checklist and VFS say 15 working days. Plan around the longer figure. A file lodged in Chandigarh, Jalandhar or New Delhi needs 2 to 3 days to reach Mumbai, and up to six working days around public holidays.
Neither the start date of a trade fair nor a booked flight gets your file processed sooner. You may apply up to six months before the trip and must apply at least 15 calendar days before it. If the Consulate sees that you mean to travel within 15 calendar days of the file arriving, it sends the passport back unprocessed and refunds the fee. So book the appointment as soon as the meeting or fair is fixed. For a trip that comes up suddenly, the urgent business category is the official route, as long as you travel within four weeks of booking.
Why do Germany business visas get refused for Indian applicants?
German Missions say most rejections come from incomplete or unverifiable documentation. On business trips they add a warning of their own: problems arise again and again because the planned activities are not explained, or explained badly, in the application. In practice that looks like one of these.
An invitation that says nothing (reasons 2 and 10)
"Business discussions" does not justify a trip. If the invitation does not say what you will do and how the two companies are linked, the officer cannot verify the purpose. German Missions want the activities described clearly enough for an outsider, without internal technical terms or abbreviations.
Work dressed up as a visit
If the activity needs approval from the Federal Employment Agency and you cannot show it, Germany's business checklist calls that grounds for rejection. The host company has to obtain it directly from the Agency, so it cannot be fixed at the VFS counter. Settle the question with your host before you book.
A sending company the officer cannot verify
The covering letter must be an original, signed, on letterhead, with your passport number. Without the Certificate of Incorporation, GST registration and proof of registration behind it, the letter carries little weight. Make sure the name on the GST certificate matches the letterhead.
Your own finances left out (reasons 3 and 13)
Many applicants assume the company's papers are enough. The checklist says your own proof of economic status is needed even if the trip is sponsored: payslips, contract, leave letter, stamped bank statements and ITRs or Form 16. Without them the officer can doubt both your means and your return.
The numbered reasons are explained on our Schengen refusal reasons page. Germany ended remonstration in India on 1 January 2024. After a refusal you can reapply at any time, with no waiting period, or file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court in Berlin within one month, where the fee is currently €483.
Tips for a stronger file
- Treat the company letter as evidence, not courtesy. Traveller's name, passport number, purpose, dates and a short itinerary, on letterhead, signed in original. Say who pays.
- Mirror the two letters. Dates, purpose and the people you will meet should match between your Indian covering letter and the German invitation.
- Show the trade. A purchase order, an invoice or a supply contract with the German firm makes the relationship real. The checklist lets you add documents that prove your purpose, but keep it to a few clear ones.
- Owners file personal papers too. Your own stamped bank statements and ITRs are required even when the company pays for everything.
- Exhibitors: pass with the file. Hand in the individual exhibitor pass with the application, not later, or the fee exemption is lost.
- Over 30 days? Attach the meeting schedule.
- English or German only. A Hindi or Punjabi document without a proper translation counts as missing.
- Copy every original. The visa section keeps originals that come without a copy.
- Insurance from an approved Indian insurer, at least €30,000, valid across the Schengen area for the whole trip.
When does a business trip need work approval in Germany?
When what you will do counts as gainful employment. German Missions explain that some professional activities must be reported to German authorities, or need their pre-approval, even for stays under 90 days. Employed activities go to the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). Self-employed activities need the consent of the immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde) where the inviting business is based.
On the business checklist, international staff exchanges and contracts for work and services are the two named cases that need Federal Employment Agency approval. If you are going to install, commission or repair equipment at the client's site, the checklist's advice is to check with the inviting company whether a pre-approval is needed. German Missions recommend that the host company obtain the pre-approval (Vorabzustimmung) itself before you apply, so you can hand it in with the visa file, because obtaining consent during the procedure delays it. Paid work needs a work visa, not a business visa.
Can a frequent business traveller get a longer visa?
Yes, if the need is shown. Ask for it on the form (for example "one year" for validity, "90" for days of stay and "MULT" for entries), and have the invitation or assignment letter state why you must travel several times. German Missions add that where the visits involve employment, the allowance on an annual multiple-entry visa can be reduced to 90 days per year, instead of 90 days in any 180.
Indian nationals living in India also benefit from the EU's 2024 rule for Indians. German Missions say they issue a two-year visa (C2) after 2 lawfully used Schengen visas within the past 3 years, and a five-year visa (C5) after that, if the passport is valid long enough. None of this is an entitlement. Our Germany tourist visa page covers the cascade in more detail, and the Germany country page links every German visa we cover.
Official sources
- Schengen Visa, German Missions in India
- Schengen Visa FAQs, German Missions in India
- Priority appointments for urgent business travelers and trade fair exhibitors, German Missions in India
- Employment/ work on a Schengen visa?, German Missions in India
- Visa fees for Schengen Visa, German Missions in India
- Submission of Schengen visa application at a Visa Application Centre, German Missions in India
- My visa application got rejected. What can I do?, German Missions in India
- Information on Travel Medical Insurance, German Missions in India
- VFS Global Germany India: New Delhi jurisdiction, fees and processing
- VFS Global Germany India: visa application centres
- European Union adopts more favourable Schengen visa rules for Indians, EU Delegation to India
