Germany Temporarily Suspends Visa Appeals for Citizens of China, Morocco, and Turkey

The German authorities have announced a temporary suspension of the visa appeal process for citizens of China, Morocco, and Turkey as part of a pilot project.

This decision was made due to a significant increase in visa applications and the capacity constraints faced by certain visa sections following the lifting of coronavirus travel restrictions. The Federal Foreign Office of Germany aims to address the situation by creating additional capacities for processing visa applications and reducing waiting times.

The suspension of remonstrations, which refers to objections against the rejection of a visa application, will be implemented in China, Morocco, and Turkey as part of the pilot project. However, visa decisions will continue to be made based on the same legal basis as before, ensuring that applicants who submit all the required documents will still have their visas issued by German missions in these countries.

To provide more transparency, the visa sections in the three participating countries will issue notices of refusals with detailed explanations for the reasons behind the refusal. Within the specified statutory period, applicants will have the option to request a review of the refusal through an administrative procedure or submit a new visa application. However, the visa sections will not reconsider applications that have already been submitted.

The pilot project is set to run for six months, after which the outcomes will be evaluated. If successful, Germany may consider expanding the project to include other visa sections in different countries. Currently, citizens of China, Morocco, and Turkey are required to obtain a visa to enter Germany and other EU/Schengen Area countries as no visa-free travel agreement exists between them.

Applicants from these countries must fulfill the standard visa application requirements, including submitting a completed application form, two passport photos, a valid passport, a roundtrip flight itinerary, proof of accommodation, proof of sufficient financial means, and Germany travel health insurance.

By fLEXI tEAM