This information leaflet has been generated by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait to facilitate the visa application process which is carried out in cooperation with VFS Global.

It can be downloaded free of charge on our homepage.

We want to make your trip as easy as possible. You may apply as early as 6 months before your entry date to the Schengen Areas. Please ensure that you file your visa application at least 2 weeks prior to your trip.

Kindly note that you can only apply for a Schengen visa at the German Embassy Kuwait if Germany, Finland, Iceland or Norway is your main destination. A Schengen visa entitles only to a maximum stay of 90 days within every 6 months, even if the Schengen visa has been issued with a validity of 1 year or more.

THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE ONLY VALID FOR VISIT/ TOURISM PURPOSES FOR THE
FOLLOWING PERSONS:

•  Applicants with German Spouse/ Parent/ Child
•  Applicants with EU-Spouse/Parent/ Child travelling together
•  Applicants reuniting with EU-Spouse/Parent/ Child

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED:

1. Videx application form– available online, free of charge

• Fully completed in English or German and personally signed and dated by applicant.

2. Declaration form A “Provision of true data” (all customers)

• Fully completed in English or German and personally signed and dated by the applicant

3. Passport & Residence Permit

• Validity of a minimum of three months from the date of expiry of the requested visa.
• Signed by bearer, mandatory if applicant is above 10 years of age
• Passport not older than 10 years (issued within the past 10 years)
• At least two blank visa pages
• Undamaged photograph securely affixed with/to passport
• Previous passport if applicable
• attach 1 set of passport copy of pages with personal data
• attach copies of previous Schengen visa(s)
• attach copy of Kuwaiti residence permit & I.D. Card

4. One recent biometric passport sized photographs (3,5 x 4,5 cm)

• Photo must not be older than 6 months and show NAME of applicant on backside
• A front view of the face covering 70-80% (32-26mm) of the photo.
• Plain and light-colored background.
• Clear facial features and eyes – not covered by hair or eye glasses.
• Head coverings are only accepted for religious reasons.
• Do not glue or staple the pictures to the application form.

5. Proof of Relationship (please provide original as well as once copy):

• German/EU marriage certificate; alternatively certificate of spouses’ respective EU Embassy confirming that the marriage exists or:
• Birth certificate (if not issued in Germany or the EU it needs to be legalized/affixed with an Apostil and translated (English/German)

6. Spouses/Parents Passport Copy:

• Copy of valid German/EU citizen’s passport and residence permit in Kuwait (if applicable)
• Declaration for Spouse/Parent:
• Signed declaration by German or EU citizen confirming legal validity of marriage or
• Signed declaration by parent confirming financial support by EU/German citizen and documented proof

7. Overseas medical insurance
Please note: For applicants with EU spouse/parent/child it is not mandatory but we strongly recommend taking out a travel health insurance!
This does NOT concerns to applicants with Germans spouse/parent/child who have their residence in Kuwait

• Valid for the entire duration of your visit and valid for all Schengen states.
• Minimum coverage 30,000.00 € incl. repatriation. (Medical insurances linked to credit cards cannot be accepted)
• Conditions must be stated either on insurance document or on separate confirmation letter
• For multiple entry visas: signed ‘Declaration on health insurance’ form

8. Flight reservation/ address verification/short description about your destination

• Please note: above verifications are not mandatory! Nevertheless, we strongly recommend to enclose them for potential issuance of longer visa validity and for easier data validation e.g. flight reservation, travel itinerary, invitation from German/EU family member

NOTE: Special regulations might be applicable to nationals whose passports are not recognized by the German authorities. Holders of such passports may be requested to come personally to the Embassy. Visa processing in such cases will take more time.

Applicant under 18 years

• For applicants under 18 years of age visa application form must be signed by both parents
• attach passport copies of parents/legal guardian.
• If child travels alone or with only one parent then form C “Authorization minors” must be filled in.

INFORMATION FOR THE APPLICANT ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE VISA PROCESS

• Applicants are requested to double check all entries in the written application (paper and/or the electronic “VIDEX”) prior to submission. Responsibility for all given information lies within the applicant himself. The provided data must be correct.
• Only fully completed applications can be accepted; non-submission of necessary documentation may lead to refusal of visa application.
• False or falsified documents, incl. fake bookings, will result in refusal of visa and /or further consequences.
• All visa fees must be paid upon submission of the above. The application, passport and visa fee will be forwarded to the German Embassy within one working day after submission. The service fee remains with VFS-Global.
• Processing time for visa applications will take up to two weeks according to the Schengen Visa Codex. The German Embassy and VFS-Global are committed to keep the processing time to a minimum. Applicants are requested to apply up to 6 months prior to but no later than 2 weeks before the intended date of travel.
• The processing time for a Schengen visa is minimum 3-5 working days for Kuwaiti nationals & up to
• 2 weeks for other nationalities, from the time the application has been delivered to the German Em-bassy. Inquiries regarding the status of visa applications can only be handled after completion of the above stated processing period. You can track your visa status VFS

During the entire processing period the passport must remain with the German Embassy. Passports may only be withdrawn when presenting a written request by applicant to the Embassy/ VFS-Global. Consequently, the visa application process will be cancelled and the passport returned via VFS-Global within 2 working days.
Visa extensions within Germany are generally NOT possible.
Applicants may not apply for permanent residence in Germany while holding this type of visa.
The German Embassy may shorten the validity of the visa without prior consultation.
For holders of visa with one or more year’s validity the period of stay in the Schengen area may not
exceed 90 days per 180 days, this period of stay beginning with the first day of entry into a Schengen
state.
If you already had your fingerprints taken during the past 5 years you may not have to apply in person. However, if biometric capturing of your fingerprints failed or has been compromised due to technical problems, you must once more appear at the Embassy for fingerprinting. In this case, you will be contacted by the German Embassy or by VFS-Global respectively.

The German Embassy Kuwait reserves the right to ask for additional documents and /or call applicant for an interview at any time.