Short-Stay German Visa: Less than three months
If you are visiting Germany for a period of three months (90 days) or less, you can apply for a short-stay Schengen visa. These can be granted for tourism, short work-related or study stays, or for other purposes such as to attend seminars or trade fairs.
You need to apply for a Schengen visa at the German embassy, consulate or mission in your country of residence. The Federal Foreign Office website has detailed information on all aspects of Schengen visa regulations.
If you enter Germany on this visa, you cannot change it to a German residence permit once you are in Germany, except in exceptional circumstances. You will typically have to leave Germany, apply for the residence permit from abroad and then re-enter the country.
If you are stopping briefly in a German airport (even for just a few hours) en route to another destination, you may need an airport transit visa if you are from one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkey.
An airport transit visa only allows you into the international zone of a German airport for a maximum of 12 hours. There are some airports, however, for which an airport visa isn’t required to pass through the International Transit Area, such as Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.
If you are leaving the airport, even for less than a day, you may need to get the three-month German Schengen visa. This also applies to leaving the International Transit Area of the airport to check in again or pick up luggage. Schengen visas allow you to enter Germany (or any other country in the Schengen area listed above) for up to three months (90 days) within a six-month period.
Schenegen Visas & Immigration
Travelling to countries of the European continent has been made easy and highly simplified. People willing to travel to any of the European countries now need only one visa that is common and acceptable in all these countries. It is called the Schengen visa. Once you get this visa you can travel to as many as 26 countries in Europe on business or leisure.
Greatly Simplified
Combining the visas for so many countries in one, your travel process has been greatly simplified and your travel expenses too have been cut down to a great extent. With this visa you will enjoy equal international travel rights in all these 26 countries. The Schengen visa being a collective representative of all the 26 nations together, eliminates the need of a passport and immigration controls.