Germany visa guideA German family and friends visit visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You fill in the form on VIDEX, lodge the file at a VFS centre such as Chandigarh, Jalandhar or New Delhi, and the German Consulate General in Mumbai decides, usually in about three weeks once it has the file.
Much of the file comes from your host: an original signed invitation with your passport number and a brief itinerary, proof of their legal residence, and a formal obligation letter if they pay. Germany adds two lines other checklists lack: extra proof when visiting your child through someone else's invitation, and the Mutterpass when visiting a pregnant relative.
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 to visit family in Germany, and which one?
Yes. Parents, siblings, children and friends visiting someone in Germany apply for a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, in the category for visiting family and friends. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across the Schengen area. A family tie, even to a German citizen, does not remove the visa requirement or the 90-day limit. The form is filled in on VIDEX, the file goes in at VFS, and the German Consulate General in Mumbai decides it.
A longer stay with family, such as moving to Germany to join a spouse, needs a national visa for family reunion. That is a separate procedure with its own rules.
Germany family visit visa at a glance
- Visa
- Schengen type C, visit of family and friends
- Longest stayExtensions only in exceptional cases
- 90 days in any 180-day period
- Key host documentWith the host's passport or ID and residence permit
- Original signed invitation
- If the host paysSigned at the host's local authority in Germany
- Formal obligation letter (Verpflichtungserklärung)
- Decided by
- German Consulate General, Mumbai
- Visa feeFree for spouses of German nationals, with proof
- €90 adult, €45 child aged 6 to 11
German Missions in India, Federal Foreign Office and VFS Global Germany, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
At a German VFS centre. Chandigarh and Jalandhar serve Punjab, Gurugram is close for Haryana, and Delhi residents use New Delhi, all open Monday to Friday. German Missions accept Schengen applications at any VFS centre in India, so a family can book wherever a date is free and the file still goes to Mumbai.
Every traveller needs a separate application, appointment and set of biometrics, and the charges apply per person. Points that matter for families:
- Elderly parents may bring one friend or relative to help at the centre. VFS allows this for disabled, elderly and child applicants.
- Children under 12 give no fingerprints, but every applicant under 18 needs a birth certificate and must come with an adult.
- Repeat visitors. A parent whose fingerprints were taken for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months can have a representative submit the file, with a signed authorisation letter and the representative's passport copy. That helps when a son or daughter in India handles the paperwork.
- Payments. The VFS service charge is paid when booking, the visa fee at the centre.
Our Germany appointment availability page shows how dates are opening up.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist further down covers your own papers. What sets a family visit file apart is the host's side. Germany's checklist asks for an original, signed invitation from the family member or friend in Germany, containing:
- their address and contact details;
- the intended period and duration of your stay;
- your name and your passport number;
- the purpose of the trip and a brief itinerary of the visit;
- evidence of their legal residence: a copy of their passport or national ID card (first and last pages if it is an Indian passport), plus their residence permit if they have one.
Hosts most often forget your passport number and the itinerary. A scan will not do, because the checklist asks for the signed original, so the host posts it from Germany.
Visiting your child, but someone else signs the invitation
- What Germany's checklist adds
- Your child's legal residence too: passport or ID copy and residence permit
Visiting a pregnant daughter or daughter-in-law
- What Germany's checklist adds
- Her Mutterpass, the German maternity record
Staying in the host's home
- What Germany's checklist adds
- The host's proof of sponsorship and/or private accommodation, their signed confirmation, proof of address and passport or German ID copy
Host in Germany paying for the trip
- What Germany's checklist adds
- Sponsor letter, the host's passport copy, their residence permit if they are not German, the Verpflichtungserklärung if provided, and a marriage or birth certificate if the host is your spouse or parent
Family in India paying
- What Germany's checklist adds
- Sponsor letter with passport copy, the sponsor's 3 months of stamped bank statements, and a marriage or birth certificate where the sponsor is your spouse or parent
Retired parents
- What Germany's checklist adds
- Pension statements for 3 months and/or proof of income from property or business, plus 3 months of your own stamped bank statements
Children travelling
- What Germany's checklist adds
- Form and declarations signed by both parents, birth certificate, both parents' passport copies, and a notarised authorisation from a parent who is not applying
Even when the host pays for everything, Germany wants the traveller's own proof of economic status. For a retired parent that means pension statements or rental income, and bank statements in the parent's own name, stamped by the bank.
How much is the Germany visa fee for Indians visiting family?
The fee is €90 for each adult and €45 for children aged 6 to 11, while children under 6 and spouses of German nationals (with proof of the marriage) get the visa free. Everyone pays in rupees at VFS first, and on 14 October 2026 German Missions listed ₹9,900 and ₹5,000 while the VFS fee tab showed ₹10,100 and ₹5,100, so bring enough for the higher figure; a fee the Consulate waives is refunded by VFS afterwards. The VFS service charge of ₹2,126 per person is paid at booking, and the visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
The Consulate in Mumbai usually decides a complete file within 15 calendar days of receiving it, according to the German Missions FAQ. The checklist and VFS still print 15 working days, so plan on the longer figure. Add 2 to 3 days for the file to reach Mumbai from a northern centre, more around public holidays, and remember the Consulate can take up to 45 days when it needs a closer look.
For a fixed event such as a birth, a wedding or a graduation, work backwards from the date. You can apply six months before the trip. German Missions recommend at least three weeks, and they return a file unprocessed, with the fee refunded, if the travel date falls within 15 calendar days of the file reaching Mumbai. Parents going for a delivery should file once the expected date is known and the host's papers have arrived, not in the last weeks of the pregnancy. Diwali, Easter and Christmas are slow periods at the Consulate.
Why do Germany family visit visas get refused for Indian applicants?
German Missions put most rejections down to incomplete or unverifiable documentation. In family files the gaps tend to be on the host's side.
An invitation that leaves things out (reasons 2 and 10)
A letter without your passport number, the dates or a brief itinerary does not justify the purpose and conditions of the stay. A scanned copy instead of the signed original counts as missing. Send your host the checklist wording and read the letter before it is posted.
No proof of the host's legal residence
The checklist wants the host's passport or ID copy and residence permit. If you are visiting your child and someone else invites you, it wants your child's papers too. An unclear link between the inviter and the person you are really visiting raises questions.
Parents' own finances missing (reason 3)
Families often assume the host's sponsorship covers everything. Germany asks for the traveller's own economic status even when the trip is sponsored: pension statements or other income, and three months of bank statements stamped by the bank. Passbook copies do not count.
Doubts about the return (reason 13)
A long stay with children who live abroad makes the officer look harder at what brings you back. Show property, a pension, a business or other family in India, a return reservation inside the 90 days, and a clear end date in the invitation.
Insurance that does not fit the traveller (reason 16)
Only insurers on the approved Indian list count, and every scheme on it has an age band. Several stop at 70 years while others have no upper limit, so an older parent needs a scheme that covers their age, with at least €30,000 of cover for the whole stay.
The full list of refusal reasons is on our Schengen refusal reasons page. After a refusal you may reapply straight away, as there is no waiting period, or file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court in Berlin within one month. Remonstration was abolished in India from 1 January 2024.
Tips for a stronger file
- Send your host a checklist, not a request. List the invitation items above and ask for the original by post, with copies of their passport or ID and residence permit.
- Match the invitation to your plan. The dates in the invitation, your cover letter, the flight reservation and the insurance should be identical.
- Explain the visit in your cover letter. Who you are visiting, your relationship, the occasion, how long you will stay and who pays.
- Prove the relationship. A birth certificate links a parent to a child and a marriage certificate links spouses. The checklist asks for them when the sponsor is your spouse or parent; add them whenever you visit your child.
- Use the Mutterpass for a delivery visit. A copy of the pages with her details and the expected date shows both the purpose and why your dates fit.
- Pick insurance by age. Check the insurer's age band on the approved list before buying a policy for a parent.
- Keep the stay under 90 days. Count the days on the sticker. German Missions warn that overstaying can lead to expulsion and a ban on new visas.
- Carry the host's papers when you fly. German Missions recommend carrying copies of the invitation and the other documents you filed, for the border check.
What is a Verpflichtungserklärung, and do you need one?
It is Germany's formal obligation letter: a pledge by your host to cover the costs of your stay. The Federal Foreign Office explains that an invitation needs no special formalities, because it only proves the purpose of the trip. If the host intends to cover the expenses, a formal declaration of commitment has to be presented with the visa application. The host signs it at the local authority where they live, usually the Ordnungsamt or the Ausländerbehörde.
The India checklist is softer. It lists the Verpflichtungserklärung under sponsorship by a German or EU resident with the words "if provided". The two official sources do not say the same thing, so follow the stricter one: if your host is paying for the trip, file the Verpflichtungserklärung. It does not replace your own papers, because the checklist still asks for your own proof of economic status.
Can parents stay longer, or visit every year?
Not longer than 90 days in any 180. The Federal Foreign Office says a visa can be extended only in exceptional cases, and only by the foreigners authority for the place where the visitor is staying. German missions abroad cannot extend it. If a delivery date might move, choose travel dates that leave room inside the visa.
Repeat visits are easier. German Missions say a multiple-entry visa needs a demonstrated travel need, and for close relatives who visit regularly, a note in the invitation letter. Since the EU's April 2024 rule for Indians, German Missions issue a two-year visa after 2 lawfully used Schengen visas within the past 3 years, and a five-year visa after that, if the passport is valid long enough. There is no entitlement. Our Germany tourist visa guide explains how to ask for one, and the Germany country page lists the other German visas.
Official sources
- Schengen Visa FAQs, German Missions in India
- Schengen Visa, German Missions in India
- Visa fees for Schengen Visa, German Missions in India
- Information on Travel Medical Insurance, German Missions in India
- My visa application got rejected. What can I do?, German Missions in India
- Visa for Germany FAQ, Federal Foreign Office
- VFS Global Germany India: New Delhi jurisdiction, fees and processing
- VFS Global Germany India: visa application centres
- VFS Global Germany India: what happens at the centre
- European Union adopts more favourable Schengen visa rules for Indians, EU Delegation to India
