Application Procedures
Visa Information Service
Appointments are currently available through September 2008.
Why do we offer a Visa Information Service? To serve you better!
For years, our consular sections across Germany have been trying to cope with answering thousands of calls each week. Whether it was an emergency call, a simple visa question or a request for an application form, two out of three callers never got through to consular staff. We simply do not have enough people to answer all the calls.
We are offering you the following information services:
Tel: 0900 1-850055
Live Service - English or German (EUR 1.86/Min from a German landline - additional charges may apply from mobile phones)
Our Live Operator Service is in operation Monday through Friday, 7am to 8pm. You should call our Live Service to schedule an appointment for your visa interview and to learn about current visa procedures. You will receive courteous, professional and accurate answers to all your visa questions. If our operators cannot help you with your inquiry, you may leave your number, and a member of our consular staff will call you back.
For scheduling an appointment, you should have your passport in front of you when you call. The customer service representative will ask you for information from your passport.
Note: This number is only available from within Germany.
Tel: +49 (0)9131-772-2270
New Service for applicants from outside Germany and callers who cannot access the 0900 number.
The Visa Information Service is introducing a new credit card payment service, which will allow applicants from outside Germany to obtain visa information from the call center by using their MasterCard or Visa credit cards. Calls cost EUR 15 per transaction and are paid by credit card. It will be especially useful to those callers who previously could not access the service via the pay per minute service. It now will allow callers from the US to access the Visa Information Service directly. This service is only available in English. Monday through Friday, 7am to 8pm.
Why do we have to charge a fee for the service?
In a time of limited resources it is impossible to keep up with an increasing workload. Trying to answer even a fraction of the incoming calls while processing visas as quickly as possible proved nearly impossible.
Now we guarantee our applicants a fast turn-around time of their visa applications and strive to guarantee our callers fast and accurate information. We can do both by offering a pay-per-call service. Our consular staff is now able to process visas more quickly due to the fact that the phones are no longer constantly ringing.
When the information was offered at the cost of a phone call, it was not accessible. Now that you pay slightly more we are able to provide you with accurate information and with a faster issuance of your visa.
We think you will agree with us:
The Visa Information Service offers great value for your money.
Last updated: July 9, 2008
