German national visa D: applying in Serbia

How applications work at the visa section of the German embassy in Belgrade — from proving territorial jurisdiction to collecting your passport via the Abholliste. Requirements, documents and realistic timelines.

Updated: September 17, 2026

The national visa D is a visa for staying in Germany longer than 90 days: employment, the EU Blue Card, the Chancenkarte, studies, family reunion, self-employment. It is not a Schengen visa: booking, documents and timelines all work differently.

Belgrade is a workable place to apply, with one caveat: the embassy does not accept everyone who happens to be in Serbia.

Who can apply in Belgrade

You can apply at the visa section of the German embassy in Belgrade only with a valid long-term Serbian residence permit (boravak) — a sticker in your passport or a separate plastic card.

What does not count:

the white card — police registration of your address;
entry stamps;
a boravak application filed but not yet approved.

The permit is checked when you appear in person. If jurisdiction is not confirmed, the application is rejected without review, however good your package is.

In our experience, a chip readout of the residence card is not needed, a double-sided photocopy is enough.

Three channels and how to book

Three channels, not interchangeable. Booking through the wrong one means your documents will not be accepted, even with a confirmation.

1. Auslandsportal: the main route

Online applications via digital.diplo.de: the Blue Card, the Chancenkarte, students without scholarships and spousal reunion (as an alternative to an in-person appointment).

Register, complete the form and upload scans of your documents.
The embassy checks the set and emails an appointment — within 2–3 days in the cases described.
Come to the embassy to give biometrics and show the originals.

The Serbian permit is uploaded, unexpectedly, under “other documents”. The portal may not ask for the full list from the embassy website — that is normal, the originals are reviewed at the appointment anyway.

2. Terminvergabesystem (RK-Termin): in-person appointments

The embassy booking system: service2.diplo.de/rktermin → Belgrad. Two sections, easy to mix up:

Nationale Visa Beschäftigung: all visas except family reunion: work, training, school, voluntary service, au pair.
Nationale Visa Familienzusammenführung: family reunion only: marriage, spouse or partner, child.

Scholarship holders (DAAD, ERASMUS, the Zoran Đinđić Fund) and the self-employed also use this channel. Booking is free: the embassy warns that agencies have no other access and cannot get a slot ahead of you.

The website and booking system work properly in German and Serbian only — switch to German, or some sections will not open.

3. Visametric (Makedonska 30): a short list

Only these categories go through the visa centre:

employment under the Western Balkans regulation (§ 26 (2) BeschV);
care assistants (Pflegehilfskraft);
inland navigation work (Binnenschiffer);
professional drivers (Berufskraftfahrer);
work under a Werkvertrag longer than 90 days;
short-term quota employment;
student visas without a scholarship.

Everything else goes through the portal or an embassy appointment.

The Videx form

Fill it in at videx.diplo.de → langfristiger Aufenthalt. This is not the Schengen form: the visa D has its own.

Complete all fields online, download the PDF and print it.
Sign it by hand, adding the date and city.
You need 1 copy. It can be completed in German or English.

Place of birth is written as in your passport: the transliterated region plus RUSSIA. For a Serbian extramarital partnership (vanbračna zajednica), choose civil partnership under Marital status.

You need an address in Germany already at the form stage. Renting a permanent flat from abroad is almost impossible, so the usual route is temporary furnished accommodation that allows Anmeldung.

Waiting and processing times

Appointment after applying via the portal: 2–3 days to the invitation email in the cases described.
Slot in the booking system: found within a few days after switching the interface to German.
Processing with a complete set: at least 3 weeks.
§ 81a fast-track: fits into 3 weeks from request to issued visa.
Chancenkarte: formally up to 10–12 weeks; three weeks of waiting is not yet a reason to worry.
Family reunification: around 1.5–2 months including the check by the Ausländerbehörde in Germany.

These are reference points, not guarantees: the embassy decides, and timelines should be checked against the information sheet (Merkblatt) for your category before applying.

Fees and payment

The fee is paid on site, in dinars and in cash only. Cards and transfers are not accepted.

Category	EUR	RSD
Joining a foreign national (spouse, child, parent), marriage visa	75 (children under 17 — 37.50)	8,800 (children — 4,400)
Joining German or EU citizens	free	free
Employment	75	8,800
Education	75 (children under 17 — 37.50)	8,800 (children — 4,400)

Current amounts are on the embassy fees page: rates are revised, so check the website before applying.

Document checklist

The basic set is the same for all categories:

The Merkblatt for your category — print from the embassy website, sign and bring it.
1 completed and signed Videx form.
Passport with at least 2 blank pages, ideally next to each other.
2 identical biometric photos no older than 6 months — paper-clip them to the form, do not glue.
Health insurance. For employment categories the package contains a signed declaration, not a policy: statutory insurance starts only once you register and begin work.
Belehrungen: notices under § 53 (2) BZRG, on the application and on the decision; for employment categories also under § 18 (2) no. 4a AufenthG.
The fee: cash in dinars.

Completeness. Bring 1 set of copies besides the originals. Do not staple or bind them; keep the order of the information sheet. A family applying together needs a separate full set per person.

The embassy warns separately about insurance: travel and incoming policies may exclude cover for a planned long-term stay. You need an expat policy covering the period from arrival until statutory insurance starts — for example Expat health insurance from Feather.

Category specifics

EU Blue Card

Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, completed by the employer.
A university degree with an apostille on the original; if not in German or English, a translation by a Serbian court interpreter (sudski tumač).
Proof of university recognition and degree comparability via ANABIN: 1 printout each for the university and the degree. Accepted combinations: university “H+” with degree “entspricht / vergleichbar / complies”, or university “H+/-” if your degree is listed for that university. Otherwise you need a Zeugnisbewertung from the ZAB.
Salary threshold: 45.3% of the annual Beitragsbemessungsgrenze for shortage occupations and graduates from the last 3 years, 50% for everyone else.
IT specialists without a degree: at least 3 years of comparable experience in the last 7 years, at the 45.3% threshold.
A Berufsausübungserlaubnis where required.

More on our EU Blue Card page and the embassy Blaue Karte page.

Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card)

Proof of funds: at least €1,091 net per month, i.e. €13,092 a year. Two options only — a declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung under §§ 66–68 AufenthG, where financial capacity must be “nachgewiesen”; “glaubhaft gemacht” is not enough) or a blocked account in Germany with the bank's confirmation in the original.
Your intended place of residence in Germany.
Option 1: a qualification fully recognised in Germany, or a degree or vocational qualification obtained in Germany.
Option 2: at least 6 points, a recognised vocational or university qualification, a ZAB certificate and German A1 or English B2.

Points are awarded for the need for a qualification measure (4), a shortage occupation (1), work experience (2–3), language (1–3), age (1–2), a previous stay in Germany (1) and the spouse's potential as a skilled worker (1). Check your case in our Chancenkarte points calculator and on our Chancenkarte page.

Open the blocked account before applying: about €100 to open, up to €5 a month. If the visa is refused, the money is returned on the basis of the embassy's letter.

Studies

Zulassungsbescheid (admission letter) or language course enrolment.
Proof of eligibility for university admission.
Proof of funds via a blocked account: €992 a month, i.e. €11,904 a year.
Motivation letter, proof of language skills, CV.
For minors, parental consent (with one guardian, supporting documents) translated by a court interpreter.

Family reunification

Marriage or registered partnership certificate.
Wohnortnachweis — proof of residence in Germany.
Passport, ID card or residence permit of the spouse.
Proof of German, usually A1. Exception: no language at all if your spouse in Germany holds a Blaue Karte EU, ICT or Mobile ICT Card (§ 30 (1) sentence 3 no. 5 AufenthG).
If the sponsor moves within 6 months of the visa being issued — proof of secure livelihood.
If the sponsor was married before — the relevant documents.

The two-year rule. If your spouse in Germany holds a residence permit, has lived there under 2 years and you married after their arrival, reunion is generally not possible until two years have passed. Exceptions apply only to holders of titles under § 30 (1) no. 3 AufenthG; if that is your case, write to the embassy before applying. More on our Family reunification page.

Freelance and self-employment

Business plan translated by a court interpreter.
CV with translation.
Extract from the German Handelsregister and, if available, the articles of association.
Aged 45 or over — proof of adequate pension provision.
A health insurance offer.

Apostille and translations

This is where people most often lose time.

An apostille is mandatory on Russian civil registry documents (marriage, birth) and on degrees.
Electronic apostilles with a QR code are not accepted: the embassy cannot verify them. You need a paper apostille on the original.
Translations are not checked or certified by the embassy, and it has no “recognised” translators. The requirements are set by the German authority your documents go to next: the Ausländerbehörde or Arbeitsagentur often accept only translations by translators recognised in Germany.
Intention to return. For language courses, voluntary service, au pair, ICT, in-company training, Werkvertrag and job or study search visas, the embassy checks your willingness to return to Serbia.
Remonstration was abolished on 1 July 2025: a refusal can no longer be appealed by letter to the consulate — the options are a new application with a stronger package or court proceedings.

The § 81a fast-track

For employment categories the process can be sped up considerably. Your employer in Germany, or an authorised representative, obtains a Vorabzustimmung: pre-approval from the Ausländerbehörde under § 81a AufenthG. You then book an appointment and submit it with the package.

Important: this route uses the Terminvergabesystem, not the portal. Accompanying family members apply at the same appointment.

The German-language requirement can look more worrying than it actually is. The embassy's § 81a information sheet lists proof of German for the skilled worker, spouse and children aged 16 and over — but it is generic, written for regular work visas (§ 18a, § 18b). For a Blue Card (§ 18g) German is not required for the main applicant or the spouse; the exemption is set out in § 30 (1) sentence 3 no. 5 AufenthG. In one August 2026 case a couple applied via fast-track for a Blue Card and nobody was asked for German certificates.

Official page: Beschleunigtes Fachkräfteverfahren.

Applying at the embassy

Visa section: Kneza Miloša 75, 11000 Belgrade. The entrance is in the building that also houses the Canadian embassy; Germany has its own door.

Only passports, documents and money are allowed in. Bags, backpacks, phones and watches stay outside.
Bring all originals: they are reviewed and the copies stamped.
Biometrics are taken. Every applicant over 12 must attend in person.
Documents may be requested on the spot or by email — check your inbox and spam.
After applying you get a receipt with a BC number (barcode, top right). Do not lose it: you need it to collect the visa.

In most cases the passport is returned right after applying and brought back later for the visa.

If you do not speak Serbian, German or English, you may be turned away at the counter: the embassy recommends bringing an interpreter.

Getting the decision and your passport: the Abholliste

There is no online tracker for the visa D. Instead there is the Abholliste: a PDF list on the embassy website: Visaabholung / Lista za preuzimanje viza.

About 3 weeks after applying, start checking the list regularly.
Look for the BC number from your receipt.
The list shows the day and time to come, plus any documents still to be provided.
Bring your passport to Kneza Miloša 75 on time, with a copy of the receipt.
You collect it with the visa the same day at 14:00.

If you received a new passport after applying, the visa is affixed only on the next working day. An authorised person can come instead, with a power of attorney bearing a notarised signature (any local notary); close relatives are exempt — parents, adult children and grandchildren, grandparents. They bring their own passport, your passport, the power of attorney and the receipt.

The embassy gives no phone updates on pending cases (data protection). If you miss your collection date, they contact you by email or phone.

Useful links

Rules change — always check your category's information sheet on the embassy website before applying.

Need help applying in Belgrade?

In a consultation we go through your situation: whether Serbia fits as the country to apply from, which category realistically works and where your package is weak. The embassy decides, but preparation can be predictable.

Book a consultation →

Prefer to prepare on your own? See our Guides section.

FAQ

Can you apply for a visa D in Belgrade without a Serbian residence permit?

No. You need a valid long-term permit — a sticker in your passport or a separate plastic card. The white card (police registration) and entry stamps do not count as residence permits. Jurisdiction is checked when you appear in person, and without confirmation the application is rejected without review.

How much does an appointment cost?

Nothing. Neither the embassy nor the booking system charges for slots, and agencies have no access to other slots. You only pay the visa fee — on site, in cash, in dinars.

How long does a visa D decision take?

At least 3 weeks with a complete set of documents. Beyond that it depends on the category: the § 81a fast-track fits into 3 weeks, the Chancenkarte formally takes up to 10–12 weeks, and family reunion around 1.5–2 months including the Ausländerbehörde check. These are estimates: the embassy decides.

Is my passport kept when I apply?

Usually not: in most cases the passport is returned right after applying. You bring it back on the date that appears in the Abholliste next to your BC number, and the passport with the visa is issued the same day at 14:00.

Does the embassy accept electronic apostilles?

No. Electronic apostilles with a QR code are not accepted because the embassy cannot verify them. Russian civil registry documents and degrees need a paper apostille on the original. The embassy does not certify translations either — those requirements are set by the German authority your documents go to next.

Is German required for the § 81a fast-track?

The embassy's general § 81a information sheet lists proof of German, but it is written for regular work visas (§ 18a, § 18b). For the Blue Card (§ 18g) German is not required for the main applicant or the spouse — the exemption is set out in § 30 (1) sentence 3 no. 5 AufenthG. Check the sheet for your own category before applying.