Education Desk Mumbai

In a significant change to its visa policy, Germany will eliminate its unofficial visa appeal procedure—known as "remonstration"—from July 1, 2025. The move made by the Federal Foreign Office will affect thousands of visa seekers across the globe, including Indian professionals and students.

So far, the remonstration process has given rejected applicants a chance to respond with documents or reasons in support without going through official legal procedures. This internal reconsideration, conducted by German missions or consulates, typically resulted in faster decisions and offered a second chance to rectify mistakes or misperceptions in the original application. 

That option will soon be off the table.

Once the change has effect, all of those whose visas are rejected will only have two options available to them: reapply or make a formal legal appeal to the Administrative Court in Berlin. Legal challenges are not merely more complex and time-consuming but also costly, demanding professional legal aid, and typically take months or years.

This follows after a pilot program that was started in June 2023, where some German missions ceased remonstration and observed how this influenced processing times. According to the German Foreign Office, the experiment led to more efficient operations, with staff able to focus on new applications, reduce backlogs, and speed up visa issuance.

“The pilot showed that significant staff time could be saved,” the ministry noted in its statement. “This has allowed for quicker handling of both national and Schengen visas.” The impact is likely to be acutely felt in India, which presently has the largest number of students going abroad to study in Germany. As of the latest data available, 49,008 Indian students are studying in German universities—a figure that has risen by more than 260% during the last nine years.

With the abolition of remonstration, the applicants will themselves have to remain vigilant to complete and correct documents right from the start. One slip-up may result in months-long delays or court fights.

To facilitate this transition, Germany launched a digital Consular Services Portal in January 2025. The web-based platform is aimed at assisting applicants in navigating through the process better and preventing typical errors at the time of first submission.