Competence

The German Embassy Addis Ababa is competent for accepting visa applications from persons who are ordinarily resident in Ethiopia or in Sudan.

The German Embassy Addis Ababa is also competent for national visa applications of persons with habitual residence in Djibouti, but not for applications for Schengen visas. Persons who wish to apply for a Schengen visa and are ordinarily resident in Djibouti must contact the French Embassy in Djibouti.

Ethiopian and Djiboutian diplomatic and service passport holders generally require a visa to enter Germany and the Schengen States.

The German Embassy in Nairobi is competent for Somali nationals with habitual residence in Somalia/Somaliland. Short-term entry into Ethiopia does not lead to a competence of the German Embassy in Addis Ababa.

Appointment

In order to apply for a visa, you need an appointment. Please read the relevant instructions.

We urgently recommend that you book your appointment yourself. If you use “agents”, “advisors”, or “service providers”, you are at risk of losing a lot of time and money.

Visa Category

The type of visa depends on the duration and purpose of the intended stay. Do you only want to come to Germany for a short time (up to 90 days), e.g. as a tourist? Or are you planning a longer stay (more than 90 days), e.g. for studies? Please use the Visa Navigator to determine the correct visa category.

• Further information on Schengen visas (stays of less than 90 days) can be accessed here.
• Further information on national visas (stays of more than 90 days) can be accessed here.

Application Documents

Depending on the purpose of stay, the correct application form must be submitted:

• The form for applying for a Schengen visa can be found here: VIDEX short term
• The form for applying for a national visa can be found here: VIDEX long term

Depending on the purpose of stay, the required supporting documents must be submitted:

• The information sheets on the supporting documents for a Schengen visa can be found here according to the purpose of travel (business trip, private trip, official delegation trip, etc.).
• You can find the information sheets on the supporting documents for a national visa according to the purpose of the journey (employment, study, etc.) here.

Fees

Please note that the visa fee must be paid in cash (converted into ETB) on the day of application.

Notes on Processing

The German Embassy will examine and decide on your application. To do this, it checks whether your application meets the legal requirements.

The processing time for Schengen visas is 45 calendar days. Airport transit visas require approx. 2 - 3 weekdays. The processing time for national visas for purposes other than family reunification (e.g. study, gainful employment, language course, etc.) is several weeks. The processing time for national visas for family reunification is at least 6 months.

As soon as a decision on the application has been made, you will be contacted by the German mission abroad. Please understand that questions about the processing status will generally not be answered during the processing period. Only enquiries from the applicant himself/herself, his/her legal representative or an authorised representative in written form will be answered. Nevertheless, we ask you to refrain from further enquiries about the status of your application, as the dozens of enquiries about the status of your application tie up the capacities needed for processing the applications.

As soon as the Embassy has decided on your application, we will contact you. If your application has been approved, we will let you know when you can receive your passport and visa.

If your visa application has been refused, this may be for various reasons. We will state these reasons in a refusal letter.

You can also submit a new application at any time with complete, meaningful and verifiable documentation.
For questions beyond the detailed information provided on the website, please contact the visa section via the contact form.