German national visa D from Georgia

The embassy in Tbilisi accepts national visa applications only from people who live in Georgia and can prove it. Here is who may apply, which booking channel to use and what the document set looks like.

Updated: September 17, 2026

A national visa D covers stays in Germany longer than 90 days: employment, the EU Blue Card, the Chancenkarte, studies, family reunification, self-employment. It is not a Schengen visa: the document set is built for one specific category, and the decision is taken by the embassy together with the authorities in Germany. Below is how applying in Tbilisi works.

Who may apply in Tbilisi

The main restriction is territorial jurisdiction: the mission accepts applications only from people residing in its consular district. It generally treats someone as a resident if they have been in the country for at least six months and can prove it; a Georgian residence permit serves as that proof.

The embassy states separately that applications are not accepted if a person came to Georgia only in order to file them. That is the embassy's own wording, not a recommendation, and in every category checklist non-Georgian nationals have the residence permit as a separate item, right after the passport.

So visa-free stay by itself does not open the door to a visa D application, and flying into Tbilisi for a week to catch an appointment is not a workable plan. The white registration sheet and entry stamps are not a residence permit.

Step 1. Choose your category

Everything depends on the category: the booking channel, the document set, the fee and the processing time. The embassy numbers its information sheets (Merkblatt) consecutively from D1a to D6. Find yours on the Nationale Visa page and work only from it, checking against the German original: only some sheets are translated into English, and translations sometimes carry last year's figures.

Step 2. Two booking channels

There is no visa centre for national visas in Georgia. There are two channels and they are not interchangeable: if your category is filed online, you do not need to join the waiting list at all. Both channels are free.

Auslandsportal: online application

Filed through digital.diplo.de: the Chancenkarte, the EU Blue Card, work for academics, work in occupations requiring vocational training and work based on professional experience, qualification analysis, vocational training and recognition of qualifications, studies and looking for a study place, a preparatory language course at a university, family reunification.

The sequence is: registration, the form and uploading scans — the portal checks completeness in advance, which is its main advantage. The embassy then assigns an appointment where you show the originals, give biometrics and pay the fee. Non-Georgian nationals need to upload the residence permit at this stage; if the portal does not explicitly ask for it, upload it under other documents.

RK-Termin waiting list: paper categories

Filed on paper: au pair, a stand-alone language course, short-term contingent employment, self-employment and freelance work, professional drivers, internships and Hospitation, researchers, re-entry, late resettlers, BFD/FSJ, school, medical treatment longer than 90 days. There is no direct slot booking — you join a queue at service2.diplo.de/rktermin, section "Visumbeantragung Langzeitaufenthalte (> 90 Tage)".

1. You register on the waiting list and receive a booking number with a confirmation email
2. About 2 weeks before the appointment a letter with the date and time arrives
3. The appointment must be confirmed via the link within 7 days, otherwise it is cancelled
4. Appointments are issued strictly in the chronological order of registration

The waiting time according to the embassy is about 3–4 weeks. Two exceptions: au pairs have booked slots directly since the beginning of March 2026, and for short-term contingent employment you first obtain the Vorabzustimmung from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, register on the waiting list and send the document to visa@tifl.diplo.de — the appointment then comes faster.

Booking is free, and the embassy warns explicitly that intermediaries have no privileged access to slots. Appointments are neither booked nor confirmed by phone or email.

Step 3. The Videx form

The form is filled in at videx.diplo.de, section langfristiger Aufenthalt. It is not the same form as for Schengen: the visa D has its own Videx.

• All fields are completed online, then the form is downloaded as a PDF and printed
• It is signed by hand, with the date and place
• It may be completed in German or English; the embassy does not accept Georgian
• Together with the form you sign the Erklärungen/Belehrungen: notices under § 53 Abs. 2 BZRG, on the consequences of false statements and on how the decision is communicated
• The place of birth is entered exactly as in your passport

Step 4. Documents and fees

The basic set is the same for every category:

• The information sheet for your category (Merkblatt D…) — print it and bring it
• The completed and signed Videx form plus the signed Erklärungen
• Passport: issued no more than 10 years ago, valid for at least 6 months beyond the visa, at least 2 blank pages
• Georgian residence permit: for all non-Georgian nationals
• Biometric photos: 2 pieces, no older than 6–12 months (check the exact limit in the sheet)
• Health insurance: cover for entry and the first period in Germany
• CV in German: in work and study categories
• The fee: in cash, in lari only, at the embassy's exchange rate; cards are not accepted

Submit the originals together with one complete set of copies., arranged in the same order as in the information sheet. Foreign documents come with a German translation, Georgian ones with an apostille. An incomplete set is described by the embassy itself as grounds for refusal.

The policy you need is one that covers the period from entry until statutory insurance takes effect — for example Expat health insurance from Feather.

Additional documents by category

EU Blue Card (D2b)

You need the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis from the employer, a degree with its transcript and recognition via ANABIN: the combination of an "H+" university and a degree rated "entspricht / vergleichbar" is accepted, otherwise a Zeugnisbewertung from ZAB is required. The 2026 salary thresholds are €50,700 per year and €45,935 for shortage occupations and for graduates of the last three years. IT specialists without a degree need 3 years of comparable experience within the last 7 years; a regulated profession requires a Berufsausübungserlaubnis, plus health insurance for at least the first week. The fee is €75, processing takes from a few working days and up to 6–8 weeks if you have lived in Germany before. More on the Blue Card page and in the salary threshold calculator.

Chancenkarte (D2d)

Proof of funds — at least €1,091 per month, €13,092 for the year: a Sperrkonto, your own account or a formal declaration of commitment under §§ 66, 68 AufenthG. From the age of 45 you need either a salary from €4,648 per month (€55,770 per year) or confirmed pension provision. In addition: a motivation letter, a CV, German A1 or English B2, and insurance for the whole visa period. Then there are two routes: a qualification fully recognised in Germany, or at least 6 points in the points system together with recognised vocational or higher education and a ZAB-Bescheinigung. Points are awarded for a qualification measure, a shortage occupation, experience, language, age, previous stay in Germany and the partner's potential — count them in the points calculator; the conditions are covered on the Chancenkarte page.

Studies (D3a)

You need a Zulassungsbescheid (admission) or proof that you have applied to a university. Proof of funds — €992 per month, €11,904 for the year; without admission, for looking for a study place, it is €1,091 per month, €13,092 for the year. Then: school certificates and degrees, a handwritten motivation letter in German or English, a CV in German, proof of language (usually B1 — Goethe, TestDaF, or IELTS/TOEFL for English-taught programmes), insurance, and for minors the notarised consent of both parents. Processing takes 4–8 weeks, for scholarship holders sometimes a few days.

Spouse reunification (D1a)

Added to the basic set are the marriage certificate (for previous marriages, divorce or death certificates), a copy of the spouse's passport and a Meldebescheinigung no older than 6 months, proof of housing, an invitation from the spouse and proof of income for the last 3 months or more, an A1 certificate from a recognised provider (Goethe-Institut, ÖSD, telc, TestDaF, ECL) and insurance. The language exceptions are described in sheet D1c: the certificate is not required if the spouse holds an EU Blue Card, an ICT or Mobile ICT Card (§ 30 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 5 AufenthG). The fee is €75, free with a German citizen, processing 10–12 weeks. Check the two-year restriction as well: if the spouse holds a residence permit, has lived in Germany for less than two years and the marriage was concluded after their entry, reunification is as a rule not possible; exceptions apply to the titles listed in § 30 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 AufenthG. More on the family reunification page.

Freelance and self-employment (D2c)

Here you need a business plan in German: profile, financial forecast, market analysis, planned jobs; freelancers prepare a description of the project with supporting evidence — letters of intent and contracts. If a company already exists, add the Handelsregister extract, the founding documents and the list of shareholders. Then: proof of funds for a year, degrees with translations, a CV in German, from the age of 45 proof of pension provision, an offer of private health insurance (an offer, not a signed contract) and the completed questionnaire on self-employed activity. Filed on paper through the waiting list, processing 8–12 weeks and often longer. Conditions are on the freelance visa page.

The fast-track procedure under § 81a

Work categories can be accelerated. The employer in Germany obtains the Vorabzustimmung: the prior approval of the Ausländerbehörde under § 81a AufenthG. With it the embassy must give an appointment within three weeks and decide on the application within three weeks of filing; accompanying family members are filed at the same appointment. Tbilisi has no separate page on § 81a: you obtain the Vorabzustimmung, register on the waiting list, send the scan to visa@tifl.diplo.de and ask for an accelerated appointment, clarifying the channel in the same email. The procedure is described on Make it in Germany.

The language requirement is easy to misread: the general § 81a sheets list German for the specialist, the spouse and children from 16, but the sheet is written for ordinary work visas (§ 18a, § 18b). For the Blue Card (§ 18g) no language is required either from the applicant or from the spouse — the exemption is set out in § 30 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 5 AufenthG.

Points to note for Russian citizens

Apostille. Russian civil registry documents (marriage and birth certificates) and degrees must carry an apostille. Electronic apostilles with a QR code are often not accepted, because there is no way to verify them.

Translations. The embassy neither certifies translations nor keeps a list of "recognised" translators: the requirements are set by the authority in Germany the documents go to next. The Ausländerbehörde and the Arbeitsagentur often accept only translations by sworn translators recognised in Germany. The embassy's baseline requirement is a German translation; for some categories English is acceptable.

Remonstration was abolished on 1 July 2025. A refusal can no longer be appealed by letter to the consulate: what remains is a new application with a stronger file, or the court route. The "45 days for processing" rule from the European Commission recommendation of 30 March 2022 applies to Schengen visas and not to the visa D.

Filing and receiving the decision

The embassy is at Nino Chkheidze St. 38 in Tbilisi, with the entrance to the consular section from Mose Toidze St.; admission is by appointment only. At the appointment you show the originals and one set of copies in the order given in the sheet, give fingerprints (personal attendance is mandatory, with age exceptions for children) and pay the fee in cash in lari. If you apply as a family, each person needs a separate complete set; documents may be requested additionally on the spot or by letter.

Tbilisi has no public collection list: the embassy contacts the applicant directly by the email address or phone number given in the form, so keep those contacts working and check your spam folder. Case status is not given over the phone. The passport is collected in person; you may issue a written power of attorney, in which case the authorised person comes with their own passport, your passport and the power of attorney. If you receive a new passport after filing, tell the embassy in advance: the fee may be charged again for putting the visa into a different passport.

The official processing time is up to three months, sometimes longer: Blue Card — from a few working days, students — 4–8 weeks, self-employed — 8–12 weeks, spouse reunification — 10–12 weeks. Plus 3–4 weeks of waiting for the appointment itself. The decision is taken by the embassy, and nobody can guarantee the outcome.

Grounds for a Georgian residence permit

Since the residence permit is the entry ticket to filing, these are the grounds on which it is usually obtained. It is processed through the House of Justice and the Public Service Development Agency, with a decision normally within 30 days. Thresholds and requirements for each ground change, so check the Agency's current rules before you apply.

• Work permit: through employment or your own company with confirmed turnover
• Study permit: through admission to a Georgian university
• Property permit: when owning property from the value set by law
• Investment permit: with an investment from the set threshold, issued for a long term at once
• Family reunification: with a permit holder or a Georgian citizen

Choosing the country of application is a separate task, and it is better solved before you move: sometimes filing outside Georgia is faster. We can go through your situation in a consultation; material on individual visas is collected in the guides section.

FAQ

Is there a visa centre for the visa D in Georgia?

No. National visas are filed only at the embassy in Tbilisi: online through Auslandsportal or on paper through the waiting list. There is no visa centre for category D in the country.

Can I apply if I live in Georgia visa-free, without a residence permit?

The embassy requires proof of residence in its consular district, and every category checklist lists the Georgian residence permit for non-Georgian nationals. Without it the chances that the application is accepted are low. Coming to Georgia specifically in order to file is named directly as grounds for not accepting the documents.

How much does an appointment cost?

Nothing. Neither the embassy nor the booking system charges for a slot. Intermediaries and agencies have no access to other slots — the embassy warns about this separately and advises against handing them control over your booking.

How long do the appointment and the decision take?

The waiting time on the list is about 3–4 weeks; the date is announced roughly 2 weeks in advance and has to be confirmed within 7 days. The decision officially takes up to three months: Blue Card — from a few working days, students — 4–8 weeks, self-employed — 8–12 weeks, spouse reunification — 10–12 weeks.

Can the fee be paid by card?

No. The fee is paid in cash only and in lari only, at the embassy's exchange rate on the day of filing. There is no other payment method, so prepare the money in advance.

What can I do after a refusal?

Remonstration was abolished on 1 July 2025, so a refusal can no longer be appealed by letter to the consulate. What remains is a new application with a stronger set of documents, or the court route. Before reapplying it makes sense to work through the reason for the refusal and the weak points of the case.

Applying from other countries