Germany | Consular Services Portal launched

The German government launched a new Consular Services Portal, allowing foreign nationals to apply for 28 national visa categories online.

Key Points:

• The new Consular Services Portal provides digital services at all 167 of Germany’s visa sections worldwide for employment, studies, training and family reunification visa applications.
• Following a four-cycle pilot phase, the Federal Foreign Office linked certain visa sections to the new portal, eliminating the need for in-person visits to consular offices.
• The new portal is designed to cut out postal deliveries and reduce long waits for appointments.

Additional Information: Officials stated further digitalization and expansion of the portal’s functionality will continue as the German government attempts to make it easier for families, groups and authorized representatives to submit joint online applications. In addition, digitizing the visa process is aligned with the government’s desire to strengthen Germany as a business location. In the announcement, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that every year “Germany is short of at least 400,000 skilled workers.” She also stated that “we are now at last bringing Europe’s most modern immigration law into the digital era” and described the new portal as a “real administrative revolution.”

As BAL reported, a digital transformation is currently underway globally, as governments around the world attempt to create strong and secure digital infrastructures to streamline administrative procedures, reduce processing times and, in turn, recruit foreign skilled talent. Baerbock said that Germany’s national economy is in a global competition and “400,000 clever minds and even more agile hands” are needed to keep the country running.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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