Germany to Abolish Visa Remonstration Procedure from July 2025

16 May, Germany

Germany has announced the end of its visa remonstration process starting July 1, 2025.

Germany has announced that it will eliminate the internal remonstration procedure for all visa rejections as of July 1, 2025. Germany is removing this appeal process as part of a major revamp of the visa application process,

which allows visa applicants to ask for an internal review of the denial by the Federal Foreign Office. The decision was implemented to optimize the visa processing process and reduce the administrative burden.

The remonstration process was a voluntary, non-statutory requirement that allowed applicants to challenge visa denials without legal costs. By submitting a written demand, applicants would have their case reconsidered by the visa section and maybe their decision overturned.

This process was particularly advantageous to individuals whose applications were for Schengen or national visas, such as students, skilled workers, and the families of German residents.

The abolition of the remonstration procedure follows the implementation of a pilot project commencing on June 1, 2023, in various German visa sections. The pilot regarding visa processing was to determine the extent to which suspending remonstrations would enable the visa sections to process visas more efficiently.

The data gathered indicated that by removing the remonstration process, considerable staff capacity was released, which allowed for the processing of more visa applications as well as shorter wait times compared to the same time last year.

Additionally, the remonstration process was not required or mandated by law, therefore, it was offered as a courtesy to applicants.

The scrapping of this remonstration process is part of a wider long-term effort to modernise and digitise administrative processes in all aspects of the visa system. The German government believes this will increase the overall efficiency of visa processing.

Due to the cancellation of the remonstration, refused applicants will have only two options available to them:

Re-application: Applicants can resubmit a visa application at any point in time. It is not a bad idea to challenge the reasons for refusal and to include any new information or supporting evidence in their new visa application.

Legal Proceedings: The right of applicants to challenge the decision is at the Berlin Administrative Court through an appeal within one month from the date of rejection decision. Legal proceedings are charged, and the applicant may require the services of a lawyer.

It should be emphasized that the visa section will not provide further interpretations of the reasons for refusal beyond what’s in the refusal letter. Applicants need to carefully examine the rejection notice and understand the reasons for denial.

Germany has also made progress on the digitization of the visa application process alongside the policy change. From January 1, 2025, applicants worldwide will be able to apply for national visas online via the Consular Services Portal.

This new and innovative approach has been developed to provide a clear, guided, step-by-step process to cue applicants for correctly filling out the required information for a complete application submission; in essence, reducing the number of delays caused by incomplete applications.

The closing of the remonstration process marks a considerable change from Germany’s general approach to processing visa applications. While it takes away another means of administrative appeal,

this change is supposed to hasten the processing of visa applications and result in shorter wait times. Applicants are advised to use the available digital tools and to get legal advice if they are considering litigation as a way to challenge refusals of visas.

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