Residents of the North-West region of Russia who wish to visit Germany for any purpose must contact either the Consulate General in St. Petersburg or a visa center. Here at the visa department they issue long-term national visas to Germany and, if the Federal Republic is the main country of the upcoming trip, short-term Schengen ones.
The German consulate also provides services to Germans located in the Russian Federation. At the consular and legal department, they are issued foreign passports, register children, certify signatures, issue invitations and powers of attorney for marriage, and provide other services and assistance in difficult situations.
Opening hours
German diplomats clearly delineated working hours:
- Acceptance of documents for Schengen visas from 8:45 to 12:15 from Monday to Thursday;
- Acceptance of documents for national visas from 10:15 to 14:15 (break from 12:15 to 13:15) from Monday to Thursday and from 8:45 to 12:15 on Friday;
- Passport issuance from 13:00 to 14:15 from Monday to Thursday and from 10:00 to 12:00 on Friday.
Personal advice on obtaining visas at the German consulate in St. Petersburg can be obtained from 8:15 to 9:45 on weekdays.
Germans receive visitors at the consular and legal department from 9:00 to 12:00.
German visa cost
The visa sticker itself is free, and the consular fee collected from the applicant goes towards the document review procedure. For processing documents for a Schengen visa, a fee of 35 EUR is charged, for a national visa - 75 or 37.50 EUR (for adult and minor applicants, respectively).
Note! The consular fee is paid at the German Consulate in St. Petersburg at the time of submitting documents and only in cash in Russian rubles. Employees strongly recommend that you bring the exact amount of the fee, because... failure to issue change will result in a delay.
You can find out the exact amount of the consular fee for the German Consulate in St. Petersburg on the institution’s website or by calling the visa department.
Make an appointment
The German consulate only accepts visitors by appointment. In order to book a time, you need to fill out an online form on the website of the German Foreign Ministry.
On the form, adults must indicate 10 digits (without spaces) of the number of their general Russian passport. For children, indicate the baby’s date of birth (dd.mm.yy) and the birth certificate number without a space.
It is important to fill out the form without errors. One inaccuracy and you won’t be allowed into the visa department.
How to get to the Germany Visa Application Center?
There are several ways to get to the Germany visa center in St. Petersburg:
- Arriving from the Ladozhsky station, you need to get on at the Ladozhskaya station, then get off at the Spasskaya station and change to the Sadovaya station, after a few stops get off at Chkalovskaya.
- From the Finlyandsky Station you need to get off at the Lenin Square station, at Pushkinskaya, change to Zvenogorodskaya, and go to the Chkalovskaya station for about an hour. You can also take minibus No. K10 from the Finlyandsky Station stop and get off on Vvedenskaya Street, from there it’s 5 minutes to the visa center.
- From Moskovsky Station you need to take the metro from Ploshchad Vosstaniya station and go straight to Chkalovskaya.
Germany Visa Application Center
Consulate of Germany in St. Petersburg
Documents for visa application
Sign on the building of the German consulate
To begin processing a visa application, the Germans require a full package of documents. In the absence of any of them, the documents may not even be accepted.
Apply for a Schengen visa:
- application (forms are free);
- photograph;
- valid passport (original and copies);
- general passport (original and copies of completed pages);
- consent to the processing of personal data;
- confirmation of the purpose of the trip to Germany (invitation, hotel reservation, confirmation from a language school, etc.);
- confirmation of the grounds for return (family, real estate, work in Russia);
- confirmation of financial solvency, including availability of health insurance.
The specialized service Cherehapa helps you obtain health insurance online and on favorable terms.
The list of documents for a national German visa depends on the purpose of the trip. Information on the website of the German Representation in Russia will help you prepare all the documents correctly.
Germany Visa Application Center - St. Petersburg
If a resident of St. Petersburg decides to apply for a short-term visa to Germany, then for help he can contact VFS Global, where not only the visa center for Germany is located, but also for other European countries.
A visa to Germany St. Petersburg can be obtained:
- Address: shopping center "Chkalovsky", Bolshaya Raznochinnaya street, 16a.
- Email address;
- Official site
- Phone numbers for appointments and questions: +7499-705-12-26; +7812-612-20-06; +7499-704-55-36; +7812-612-20-27; +7812-612-20-05. Using these numbers you can call and make an appointment, as well as ask all your questions.
When making an appointment you must provide:
- Purpose of visit to the country;
- Date of desired trip;
- The number of people who need permission to travel to the country.
Note! You can contact the visa center only if you require a short-term German visa to St. Petersburg. To apply for a long-term visa, you need to contact the German Consulate in Russia directly.
Visa Center opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 16:00. The center is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on public holidays in Russia and Germany.
Germany Visa Application Center in St. Petersburg
Important! In order to apply for Schengen, it is not necessary to make an appointment in advance; you can arrive on the day the center is open and stand in line.
Applying for a Schengen visa through the German Embassy in Russia
You can apply for a visa not only at the visa center, but also at the German Embassy in Russia. This option is suitable for those Russians who are traveling to Schengen countries more than once and are well acquainted with the rules for obtaining a Schengen visa. You need to contact the visa department of the General Embassy in Moscow.
German Embassy in Moscow.
- Address: Mosfilmovskaya street, 56.
- Postal address: 119313, Moscow, Leninsky Prospekt, 95 “A” (passage from Academician Pilyugin Street);
- Telephone;
- Official site
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 10:00, from 10:30 to 13:00. Monday to Thursday from 13:30 to 16:00. Friday 13:30 to 14:00.
You can get to the place by metro to the Kuntsevskaya station, and then transfer to the 58th bus, there will be about eight stops to the embassy.
Cost of obtaining a visa at the visa center
Registration through VFS Global will in any case be more expensive than through the consulate, since in addition to the mandatory consular fee you will also have to pay a service fee.
- Consular fee is 35 euros;*
- The service fee is 19-22 euros (if fingerprints are provided, the price increases)*
Additional Information! If a visa is refused, fees will not be refunded.
Germany Visa Application Center in Novosibirsk - official website
The procedure for obtaining a visa to Germany in St. Petersburg
While in St. Petersburg, you can apply for a visa to Germany by contacting the visa department of the consulate, the visa center (VC) or using the services of intermediary companies. It should be borne in mind that working with intermediaries will undoubtedly save your personal time, but does not guarantee that the visa will be issued or processed in a shorter time. In addition, eliminating the need to stand in lines and fill out paperwork will require additional costs.
Where to submit documents
As noted above, you can obtain a German visa in St. Petersburg in three different ways.
Visa department of the German Consulate in St. Petersburg
| Schedule | Monday-Thursday: 8.00-16.30 Friday: 8.00-15.00 |
| Hours for accepting applications and issuing documents | Reception of applications and issuance of forms: Monday–Friday: 08.00-12.00 13.00-15.00 (on Fridays until 14.30) Issuance of passports with visas: Monday-Thursday: 13.00-16.00 (on Fridays until 14.30) |
| Telephone and fax | office visa department |
| Service regions: | St. Petersburg Republics: Karelia, Komi Regions: Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, Pskov Autonomous okrugs: Nenets |
Documents can be sent to the visa service office by express mail. Recommended companies for this: Garantpost, DHL and Pony Express. However, you will have to appear in person to submit your fingerprints.
The unified visa center in the Unified Document Center is located at the address: St. Petersburg, st. Red textile worker, 10-12.
Additional divisions:
- Primorsky district: st. Baikonurskaya, 14, shopping center "Continent"
- Vyborg district: prosp. Engelsa, 124, bldg. 1, Voyage shopping center
- Moskovsky district: st. Zvezdnaya, 1, shopping center "Continent"
Work schedules of the CC and its departments, contacts:
| Contacts, opening hours | |
| VC on the street Red textile worker | Reception of documents and registration of Finnish visas: Mon-Sat 08:00-21:00 (reception until 21:45) Reception of documents and processing of visas of other countries: Tue-Fri 09:00–19:00 Tue-Fri 09:00–19:00 (reception until 18.30) |
| Primorsky, Moskovsky, Vybsky districts | Mon–Sat. 09:00-21:00 (acceptance of documents until 20:30) Sun. 09:00 – 18:00 (acceptance of documents until 17.30) |
| Multi-channel telephone for consultations | +7 (812) 777-1000 |
| Phone number for feedback on service quality: | +7 |
| Online consultation via Skype (text chat) | Login: info-7771000 |
Cooperation with one of the intermediary companies in St. Petersburg gives those wishing to obtain a visa to Germany the following advantages:
- consulting assistance in filling out forms and collecting documents;
- saving time due to the absence of the need to submit documents in person and spend time in queues;
- providing the opportunity to take a photo;
- Appointment for fingerprinting in advance.
However, working with such organizations will require additional financial costs, which means the final cost of the visa will increase. At the same time, no one will guarantee the approval of the application and receipt of a visa.
The cost of the services of specialists from such an organization depends not only on the type of visa, but also on the urgency of obtaining it. The price is also affected by the availability of additional options, such as insurance, courier services, booking tickets and hotels, and escort at the consulate.
In addition, a number of organizations provide services for obtaining visas to Germany in St. Petersburg and residents of other regions who are not registered in St. Petersburg and the Northwestern Federal District as a whole.
A package of documents for obtaining a visa to Germany in St. Petersburg
The list of documents for a visa to Germany depends on the type of visa: business, tourist or guest. The standard list includes:
- International passport.
- A separate photocopy of the first page of the passport.
- Photo of the established sample – 3 pcs. (see photo requirements for a Schengen visa).
- A completed application form.
- Receipt for payment of the visa fee.
- Health insurance policy.
- A certificate from the place of employment, which must indicate the position, salary and work experience of the applicant.
- General passport. Photocopies of its first page, as well as pages with a registration stamp, pages with information about previously issued passports.
- Original and copy of invitation.
- Confirmation of financial solvency at the rate of 45 € per day per person, if the inviting party does not undertake obligations to financially support the applicant (certificates of currency exchange, bank statements or traveler's checks).
In addition, for a business visa you will need:
- from the inviting party - a copy of a certified extract from section B of the Trade Register, made no more than 6 months ago, or a certified copy of registration as an individual entrepreneur.
- documents confirming business connections in Germany: invoices, contracts, customs documents, contracts (recommended);
- old passports with used visas to the Schengen countries.
To apply for a visitor visa, the package of documents must be accompanied by the original and a photocopy of the invitation-undertaking, which will indicate the dates and place of the trip, as well as the willingness of the inviting party to bear the costs associated with the applicant’s stay in Germany.
Those wishing to apply for a visa to Germany in St. Petersburg for a minor child should collect the following package of documents:
- separate application form;
- original and copy of birth certificate;
- 3 photos of the established sample;
- notarized permission for a child to cross the customs border (when traveling with one parent from the other);
- death certificate, police certificate, or proof of single mother status if the other parent is deceased, missing, or not in contact.
For children over 14 years of age, a foreign passport is required. Until the age of 14, it is allowed to enter information about a child into the foreign passport of one of the parents. Children under 6 years of age do not need to pay a visa fee.
When collecting documents, do not forget that you will need to order a translation into German:
- birth certificates,
- marriage certificates,
- death certificate of the second spouse,
- certificates from the police and the disappearance of the second spouse,
- medical documents,
- work book,
- bank statements, financial documents,
- questionnaires.
For more information about exactly how such a translation is carried out and where to order it, read the article “Translation of documents for a visa.”
