Applying for a national visa from Vietnam (VFS Global, Embassy Hanoi, Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City)

If you live in Vietnam and need a German national visa (nationales Visum), the application route depends on your residence province and the purpose of stay. Some national visa categories are filed through VFS Global, while others must be submitted directly to the German mission in Hanoi or the German Consulate General in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt 1234.

Who needs this

• You need this procedure if you are visa-required for the Schengen area and have your usual place of residence in Vietnam, meaning you plan to stay there for at least 6 months 1.
• For national visas, applicants in certain northern provinces apply only at the German Embassy in Hanoi, while applicants in certain southern provinces apply only at the German Consulate General in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt 1.
• For some national visa purposes, the application is filed through VFS Global instead of directly at the mission 13.

Step by step

1. Check which category applies to your purpose of stay and where you must apply: through VFS Global or directly at the responsible mission 123.
2. Book the correct appointment. For VFS Global, appointments for visa application submission are booked online 23. For some other national visa categories, the appointment is booked through the mission’s appointment system 23.
3. Prepare your documents according to the current checklist on the website and sort them in the listed order 1.
4. Submit the application in person; children must also appear in person. An exception is possible if your fingerprints were already stored for a visa application within the last 5 years 1.
5. If you apply through VFS Global, VFS checks completeness, records your biometric data, takes the fee, and forwards the file to the competent mission 4.
6. After the decision, collect your passport and result where instructed, or receive them by courier if that service was booked 234.

Documents

• Completed application form and all required supporting documents according to the current checklist 1.
• Passport 23.
• A residence certificate (police registration) as proof of residence in Vietnam 1.
• Translations for documents that are not already in German, except English-language documents 1.
• If you apply directly at the embassy in Hanoi, incorrect passport data in the appointment booking can lead to refusal of entry 2.
• If you apply through VFS Global, you need the documents identified in the VFS category guidance 4.

Cost and time

• National visa fee: 75 Euro; applicants under 18 years: 37.50 Euro 1.
• Fees are paid in Vietnamese dong and are not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn 1.
• No additional fees are charged at the visa section itself 1.
• VFS Global also charges a service fee, and optional extra services may be available for an additional charge 14.

Deadlines

• Do not submit incomplete applications; they are not accepted for processing, and you must book a new appointment 1.
• For VFS Global, you should receive a term within two days 4.
• If you miss the correct category or provide incorrect passport data at booking, you may not be admitted 23.

City by city

• Hanoi: National visa categories not handled through VFS must be applied for at the German Embassy in Hanoi if you live in the listed northern provinces. Short-stay visas and the specified long-stay categories are booked online via VFS Global 12.
• Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt: National visa categories not handled through VFS must be applied for directly at the German Consulate General if you live in the listed southern provinces. For VFS-filed national visa categories, the application is submitted through VFS Global 13.
• VFS Global in Vietnam: For the national visa categories listed by the missions, VFS handles appointment booking, document intake, biometrics, fee collection, and forwarding to the competent mission 4.