In accordance with the Schengen Code, a Schengen visa for a short stay up to 90 days has to be applied for through the Embassy of the country which is your main travel destination.

The main destination is understood to be the destination where the applicant intends to spend the longest time or where the main purpose of the intended journey is carried out.

However, for your entry into and departure from the Schengen territory you may cross any Schengen border to reach your destination with a visa issued by any Schengen Member State.

Example:

An Omani national wishes to travel to Germany for a medical check-up (20 days) and has additionally organized a short holiday in Austria (10 days).

He will arrive at and leave from Amsterdam (Netherlands) and travel from there by car.

The main purpose of the trip and longest stay is the medical check-up, and thus the German Embassy should deal with the application, even though the arrival and departure to the Schengen area is through Amsterdam.

If no main destination can be determined due to equal duration and purpose of stay in several Member States, e.g. tourism round trip 5 days in each country, then the Embassy of the Member State whose external border the applicant intends to cross first should deal with the application

Please note:

At the border (or during other controls) you may have to show the visa but also provide additional documentation, for example information on your travel destination or that you have sufficient means to cover the stay and the return trip. It is therefore recommended that you carry with you copies of the documents which you presented when applying for the visa (e.g. hotel booking or letters of invitation, flight confirmations, travel health insurance or other documents stating the purpose of your stay).

Which are the Schengen States?

Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland have all acceded to the Schengen Agreement and form the so-called Schengen states.

Do I need a Schengen Visa (up to 90 days)?

Omani citizens are required to hold a valid visa to travel to Germany and the Schengen states for a visit of up to 90 days. If you are not an Omani citizen please consult the Federal Foreign Office's webpage where you can find a list of nationalities and passport types who are required to have a visa for traveling to the Schengen states. Exceptions are indicated in the relevant list of countries.

I have a diplomatic, service or special passport from Oman- do I need a visa?

Omani citizens holding a diplomatic, Service or special passport may travel to Germany and transit through Germany without obtaining a visa prior to the trip if they hold new biometric, e-chip passports and if their stay does not exceed 90 days per 180 days.

However a visa is still required:

• Omani travellers who hold older, non-biometric diplomatic, service and special passports are still required to obtain a visa prior to the trip!
• If a long-term stay over 90 days is intended (e.g. family reunion, work/residence permit, study or diplomatic accreditation) then a visa is still required.
• This bilateral visa waiver agreement entered into force between Germany and Oman. If you wish to travel or transit as an Omani holder of a diplomatic, service or special passport to any other Schengen Member States please check with the respective Embassy of that State whether or not you need to have a visa for the Schengen State other than Germany.

Holders of regular Omani passports are not included in this visa waiver agreement and do still need a Schengen Visa for Germany and the Schengen States!

Applications for a Schengen Visa (e.g. for tourism, visit, business purposes or medical (for a stay of up to 90 days) for travels to Germany and Iceland are to be submitted to the External Service Provider VFS Global VFS Website who will for your convenience ensure that all the relevant documents are included in your application.

Appointments are normally available on a daily basis, however, waiting times of several days or weeks may occur during the main travel season in the summer. Therefore benefit from the possibility of applying for your visa already 6 months prior to your intended date of departure.

Please also ensure that you file your visa application at least 15 days prior to your trip as the processing time may take up to 2 weeks.

Find here the link for more Information on how to file your application through VFS:

If you do not ask about the status of you application, the processing time of your visa will be shortened.

The Embassy has an interest in deciding your visa application quickly.

Please understand that inquiries about the status during the regular processing period will not be answered.

Regular processing times:

Schengen Visa: two weeks

National Visa (Students, Family reunification, Language courses etc.): processing times can take up several months. You may inquire about the status in regards to these applications after a period of three months, counting from the date of your application.

Please keep in mind that we can only answer inquires stating the six digit barcode number together (!) with your passport number and your full name and your date of birth. Without this information we are not able to assign your inquire.

Yes. Holders of

- a Schengen visa issued by another Schengen State (text on the visa reads “valid for Schengen states”)

- a residence permit of a member state or

- a national visa of a member state

can also travel to Germany for up to 90 days in any period of 180 days.

However, the Schengen visa should, be issued by the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is the main travel destination. The country of entry and departure is not the determining factor.

If you have a long term visa with multiple entries, issued by the German Embassy, and have already used it for your first trip, you can use it to travel to any other Schengen state on subsequent trips as long as it is valid.

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 Transit Area and if the destination is not in a Schengen country, you do not need a transit visa. Omani citizens do not need an airport 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)

Nationals of the following countries do not have the transit privilege and therefore require an airport transit visa (category A) for any 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 *

* certain exceptions apply to these countries

Exceptions from the requirement to hold an airport transit visa:

Holders of valid visas and national residence permits from EU and Schengen countries
Holders of certain national residence permits from the following countries: Andorra, Japan, Canada, San Marino, United States of America.

Holders of valid visas from the EEA countries (the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) and visas issued by Japan, Canada and the United States of America

A multiple entry Schengen visa with a maximum number of 90 days allows you to stay within the Schengen states for up to 90 days within a 180 day period. The 180 day period starts on the date of first entry into the Schengen area. If you have spent 90 consecutive days already, you are allowed to reenter after a waiting period of 90 days.

For example:

Your visa is valid from 10.10.2018 until 09.10.2020. You spent 90 days in the Schengen states from 10.09.2018 until 07.01.2019. As the 180 day period will have expired on 08.04.2019 you can then enter the Schengen area starting from that date. You can then again spent up to 90 days within a new period of 180 days starting at the date of your new entry provided that your multiple entry visa is still valid and has not expired.

Yes. You can travel with your old passport that contains the valid visa together with the new passport. Travellers who have a valid Schengen visa for the duration of the planned trip in the old passport may use this visa in connection with the new passport to travel to Germany if,

- the new passport is attached to the old one and

- the spelling of the name and alphanumerical data is exactly the same between the two passports and does not differ (e.g. new visa required, if name spelling in the old passport “Mohammed AJ” and in the new differently “Mohamad A J M”).

However, the Embassy is advising to transfer the old Schengen visa into the new passport by filing an application via the Embassy's external Service Provider

. Please note that your old visa must be cancelled by the issuing Embassy prior to filing your new application if it has not been issued by the German Embassy. For cancellation of visas issued by another Schengen state and travels to other Schengen states please reconfirm with the respective Embassies.

No, your passport will generally be returned to you after you have filed for a national visa as processing times can take up to several weeks. After the visa has been approved you are asked to resubmit your passport to the Visa Collection Counter at the Embassy so that the visa sticker can be put in it. It generally takes one working day to issue the visa by the Embassy. You do not need to book a new appointment.

Submitting the passport to issue the visa does not require your personal appearance. In case you cannot resubmit the passport yourself, you can give written power of attorney to someone you trust to submit and collect the passport on your behalf. Please indicate this person clearly in the power of attorney by stating his or her name and the number of their ID or passport.

If a visa application does not meet the legal requirements and therefore has been refused by the German Embassy the applicant will receive a written notice explaining the reasons of the refusal.

If you do not agree with the reasons for refusal and believe you have additional information or documents which might help revoke the reasons for refusal, you may make use of your right to appeal by filing a remonstrance according to the rules stated in the legal remedies in the refusal notice. For Schengen visa the remonstrance needs to be filed within 1 month after having received the refusal. If your refusal notice does not contain a passage on legal remedies the timeframe for filing a remonstrance is 1 year. This is usually the case for national visa applications.

The letter of appeal must bear the signature of the visa applicant or his/her legal representative (please attach original power of attorney - scans are accepted) and forward to the visa section of the German Embassy by E-Mail (visa@mask.diplo.de) or as a hard-copy. The review of the appeal may take up to 3 months.

E-mail enquiries that do not meet the requirements outlined above or are sent by third parties (companies, hosts, employers) cannot be considered as a valid remonstrance and will not be processed.

Please note that the processing time can take up two three months. During this time period inquires about the status will not be answered.

Complaints about the Schengen visa application process

Schengen visa applicants may submit complaints about the conduct of the consulate staff, the external service Provider VfS Global or the visa application process via the contact form Kontaktformular - Formular

In the contact form, please select the option “Beschwerde zum Schengen-Visum-Verfahren/Schengen Visa Complaints”. 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 three options in the “Subject” field of the contact form:

• Complaint about the conduct of consulate staff
• Complaint about the conduct of the external service provider Vfs Global
• 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.