Schengen visas allow people to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days every six-month period.

Visa applicants residing in Uganda are entitled to apply at the German Embassy Kampala for a visa to the Federal Republic of Germany as well as to the Republic of Estonia, the Federal Republic of Austria (for diplomatic and official passport holders only) and the Swiss Confederation (for diplomatic and official passport holders only) as the Embassy represents these three Schengen countries here in Uganda.

If you are a legal resident of South Sudan you have to apply at the German Embassy in Kampala for a visa to Germany. Please note that the German Embassy is not the competent authority for South Sudan residents who would like to apply for a visa to Austria, Estonia or Switzerland.

Preparing your application

Please prepare your application as follows:

• Please fill out the visa application form. If you prefer to fillout the form by Hand as well, download and print the Schengen Visa Application Form below.
• Please compile the documents you need to submit with your application. If documents or supporting documentation are missing, your application may be rejected. We have prepared a checklist for each type of visa:
  • Checklist Schengen Visa General
  • Checklist Schengen Visa for Medical Treatment
  • Checklist Schengen Visa for Medical Treatment for South Sudanese
• Please make an appointment to submit your application. You may submit your application three months before the start of your planned trip at the earliest.
• The process of receiving applications for Schengen visas has been outsourced to an external Service Provider (TLScontact). All applications for Schengen visas must therefore be submitted through TLScontact (not at the Embassy). To book an appointment with TLScontact, please follow this link.
• Please take note of the information on data protection  during the visa application process in accordance with Art. 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation).

Important Information:
Please do not send the Visa Section or TLScontact any documents unless requested to do so, particularly not before you have applied for a visa. We are not able to store such documents and will not know to which application they belong. Please always bring all the necessary documents with you to your appointment with TLScontact.

Submitting your application

In order to submit your application, please attend your appointment at TLScontact in person. You can find the address of TLScontact here. During your appointment at TLScontact, we kindly ask you to submit all of your application documents, pay the fee and answer questions about your planned trip. Your photograph and fingerprints will also be taken on this Occasion.

What happens during processing?

TLScontact will forward your application to the Embassy. The Embassy will then review your application and make a decision on whether or not to grant you a visa (this decision is not taken by TLScontact). To this end, the Embassy will assess whether your application meets the legal requirements. Processing can take up to 15 days. We hope you will understand that we are not able to answer any questions on the status of your application during this processing period. After that, enquiries can only be answered if they are made by the applicant, his/her legal representative or another person authorised in writing by the applicant.

Return of your passport

As soon as the Embassy has made a decision on your application, it will send your passport back to TLScontact for collection. You can collect your passport at TLScontact within a period of several days. You should collect your passport in person. If you are not able to collect it yourself, you can authorise another person to collect it for you. In order to do so, please fill out a power of attorney.

There are various reasons why your visa application may be rejected. The reasons and information about legal remedies will be stated in the letter notifying you that your application has been rejected.

You are welcome to submit a new application through TLScontact at any time with complete, informative and verifiable documentation.

Have a good trip! Information for visa holders

If all the information on your visa label is correct, you are free to travel. Please check the information on the label as soon as your passport is returned to you. You should let us know immediately if there are any mistakes so that we can issue you a new visa.
Your visa will state your full name and passport number and include your photo. It will also state the period of validity. This is the time period in which you can travel. In addition, it will state the maximum number of days you can stay in the Schengen area during the period of validity of your visa. Our aim is to give you a certain amount of flexibility in planning your trip. In order to allow you to change your travel dates at short notice, visas are usually valid for 15 days longer than the maximum number of days you are allowed to stay in the Schengen area.
Please note that being granted a Schengen visa does not guarantee that you will be allowed to enter the Schengen area. The final decision on whether or not you will be allowed to enter the Schengen area will be made by the border police on your arrival. When you arrive, the border police may ask you to present additional documentation alongside your passport and valid visa with information on your financial means, the length and purpose of your stay, and your health insurance cover. You should therefore take a copy of your visa documents (including an invitation from Germany, hotel reservation and travel health insurance) with you on your trip.

Complaints about the Schengen visa application process

Schengen visa applicants may submit complaints about the conduct of the consulate staff/TLScontact staff or the visa application process via the contact form. In the contact form, please select the option “Complaints concerning the Schengen visa process”. Please note that complaints may only be submitted in German or English. We are unable to follow up on complaints in languages other than German or English. Please enter one of the following two options in the “Subject” field of the contact form:

Complaint about the conduct of consulate staff/TLScontact staff

Complaint about the visa application process

We will follow up on your complaint once it has been received.

Important information: No legal remedies against decisions to refuse, annul or revoke a visa – in particular no remonstrations – may be submitted via the complaints contact form.