Germany visa guideGermany's medical treatment visa is a short-stay Schengen visa (Type C) for patients travelling for a specific treatment at a German hospital or clinic, within the limit of 90 days in any 180-day period. The form is completed online on VIDEX.
The file is built on three medical documents that have to agree with each other: your doctor in India confirming the treatment is needed, the German institution confirming it can perform it, has accepted you and has made the appointment, and proof that the treatment is paid for or financially arranged. Without all three, it is not a medical application.
Three medical documents that have to say the same thing
A German medical visa is not granted on the fact that someone is ill. It is granted on a chain of three documents, and the chain has to hold:
- From your doctor in India — a certificate confirming the need for the specific medical treatment to be received in Germany. Not a general diagnosis: why this treatment, and why there.
- From the German medical institution — an official document confirming that the specific treatment can be performed, that the patient is accepted, and that an appointment is made. Three confirmations in one letter.
- On the money — proof of advance payment, or of the financial arrangements with the doctor in Germany, and that you can afford the treatment.
The same treatment should be named in all three. When the Indian certificate says "cardiac evaluation" and the German letter says "coronary bypass surgery", the officer is looking at two different cases. We line the wording up before anything is submitted.
The doctors' correspondence
The checklist adds, if applicable, correspondence between the sending doctor and the receiving doctor. Where it exists, include it. It shows that the referral is real — that two clinicians have discussed this patient — which no single letter can show on its own.
Paying before the visa
Families understandably hesitate to pay a foreign hospital before the visa is granted. The checklist accepts either advance payment or financial arrangements with the German doctor, plus evidence you can afford the treatment. Ask the hospital what it will confirm in writing — a deposit receipt, a payment plan, a guarantee of costs — and match your bank evidence to the hospital's estimate, including the stay.
The attendant
A spouse or child accompanying the patient is a separate application. Their cover letter should name the patient, refer to the treatment documents, and say who is funding their stay and where they will sleep during the admission.
When 90 days is not enough
This is a short-stay visa. If the treatment plan itself runs beyond 90 days, say so at the start — it is a German national visa, and applying for the wrong one costs time.
Source: German Missions in India — Checklist for a Schengen visa for medical treatment (edition dated February 2023), as held in our knowledge base. Check the current edition on the mission's website before you submit.
Official sources
- Federal Foreign Office — Visa service: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service
- VFS Global India — Germany: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/deu
Fees and rules change; the official page always prevails. The guide above was written from our filing experience for Indian applicants; check the current requirements on the authority’s site before you book.
