The vast majority of foreign travellers benefit from the “transit privilege” - if during a stopover at a German airport, you do not leave the International Airport Area and if the destination is not in a Schengen country, you do not need a transit visa.

However, if for some reason you need to enter the Schengen area during your stopover (for example to change terminals or if the destination is in a Schengen country), you may require a visa; please plan for this. You should apply for a visa well before you travel!

Only five airports in Germany have an International Transit Area enabling you to transit without formally entering the Schengen area:

• Frankfurt/Main
• Munich
• Hamburg (4.30 a.m. - 11.30 p.m. only)
• Düsseldorf (6.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. only) and if the airline has arranged the transit beforehand with the authorities responsible for cross-border security (the Federal Police)
• Cologne/Bonn (4.30 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. only)
• Berlin-Tegel (06.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. only)

Nationals of the following countries do not have the transit privilege and therefore require an airport transit visa (category A) for transit at a German airport:

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• India
• Iran
• Iraq
• Jordan *
• Lebanon
• Mali
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Syria
• Turkey *

If you fall under one of the following categories you do not need an airport transit visa (Art. 3 Visa Code):

• holders of a valid uniform visa, national long-stay visa or residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union;
• third-country nationals holding the valid residence permits issued by Andorra, Canada, Japan, San Marino or the United States of America guaranteeing the holder’s unconditional readmission;
• third-country nationals holding a valid visa for a Member State** or for a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 2 May 1992, Canada, Japan or the United States of America, or when they return from those countries after having used the visa;
• family members of citizens of the Union as referred to in Article 1(2)(a);
• holders of diplomatic passports;
• flight crew members who are nationals of a contracting Party to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Nevertheless please check upfront with your airline to avoid any inconvenience as every airline has their own terms of Transportation.

* certain exceptions apply to these countries

** subject to change for holders of a UK visa in case of Brexit

You can apply for an Airport Transit Visa if you are not leaving the transit area of the airport. An airport transit visa can not be issued if

• you have to change the terminal at the airport.
• your luggage will not be checked automatically through and you will need to pick up your luggage from the luggage belt and check it in for your onward flight.
• you have a stay of more than 24 hours.

Your airline can provide you with information about these questions.

Should you have to leave the transit area and consequently an issue of a transit visa is not possible, please apply for a Schengen visa.

Please prepare your application as follows:

Please complete the visa application form on this website (click here). ONLY If this is not possible, you can download the visa application form.

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 you.

Please make an appointment (click here) to submit your application. You may submit your application three months before the start of your planned trip at the earliest.

In order to send back the passport to your address, an additional prepaid airway bill for a courier service of your choice is required (not for applicants living in Trinidad).

In order to submit your application, please attend your appointment at the Embassy in Person not later than 15 days prior to your date of travel. Please be on time for your appointment. During this appointment, 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.

Visa applicants will only have to provide such biometric data every 5 years. During this 5-year period, the fingerprints will be copied from the first visa application after 15 May 2014, so that frequent travellers will only have to complete the procedure once within this period.
The submission of applications via the Honorary Consul is not possible anymore; accept in the cases that applicants have provided fingerprints for a Schengen visa before. Please contact the Embassy prior to application.

The fee for a visa is 80 €. You can only pay in Trinidad and Tobago dollars. Unfortunately, we can not accept credit cards.

As soon as the Embassy has decided on your application, you can collect your passport between 11:00 and 11:30 in our visa section. 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.

If you have submitted a Prepaid Airway Bill together with your visa application, we will send you your passport.

There are various reasons why your visa application may be rejected. The reasons will be stated in the letter notifying you that your application has been rejected. These reasons are explained .
You are welcome to submit a new application at any time with complete, informative and verifiable documentation.