Tourism

Every applicant, including children and infants, has to submit her/his Schengen visa application by appointment only on their appointment date, which needs to be booked online (see Schedule an Appointment) by the applicant.

Applicants, who intend to travel purely for tourist purposes, i.e., visiting for leisure, recreation or sightseeing, and provide for their own accommodation (hotel, hostel, B&B, camping) need to apply as tourists.

VFS Global is collecting three types of application fees:

• Visa fees, which are collected on behalf of the consular authority for the application processing.
• Application Service fees, which correspond to the standard application processing service provided by VFS Global.
• Added Value Service fees, which correspond to optional added value services you have used during the application process.

Attention: The payment of the above fees does not guarantee that a visa will be granted. The visa fee and the service fee are both non-refundable and non-transferable after the application is transferred to the consular authority, the visa application is denied by the administration or the applicant decides to terminate his or her application.

Visa fees

The fee is fixed in Euro but payable in Lao Kip only.

The exchange rate between EUR and LAK is decided by the Consular Authority and updated periodically. The applicable visa fees in LAK depend on the current exchange rate, which can be changed without any notifications.

The visa fee of 35 EUR is stipulated by a visa facilitation agreement with the EU for citizens of: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine.

Visa fee exemptions

The visa fee shall be waived for applicants belonging to one of the following categories:

1. Spouse, partners in civil union, widow and underage children of German citizens

   Proof by marriage certificate/birth certificate, together with German passport

2. Parents of underage German citizens

   Proof by birth certificate, together with German passport

3. Family members of EU/EER nationals, if enjoying free movement and accompanied

4. Children under 6 years

   Application received at the Consulate before the 6th birthday, fee applies on the birthday

5. School pupils, students and accompanying teachers for study or educational training
6. Researchers
7. Representatives of non-profit organisations/participants <25 years for non-profit events
8. Trade fair exhibitors with personalized trade fair exhibitor ticket (full passport name)
9. Students and accompanying teachers of PASCH schools / PASCH school exchange
10. Persons officially invited by a German public institution/EU when travel and accommodation expenses are covered by German/EU/UN public funds (including scholarship holders)
11. For transfer of previous multiple entry visa into new passport (old passport no free pages)

The visa fee is also waived for official passport travelers (applying through MoFA, not VAC)

• Diplomatic and Service Passports
• UN staff/delegates and participants of UN conferences
• Seminars sponsored and organized by GIZ

Please note that the visa fees are as above indicated. No other amount will be requested for the visa issuance or for urgent process for visa issuance.

Application service fee

The service fee, mandatory for all visa applications is EUR 34.13, LAK 339,000 per application inclusive of taxes. This fee corresponds to the standard application processing service provided by VFS Global (i.e., information provision, appointment booking, visa application reception, data processing, etc.).

Added Value Service fees

For more information, please check the Added Value Service page

Note:

An official receipt should be obtained for all payments made.

Kindly be informed that the fees are non-refundable and non-transferable once the payment is made.

Kindly refer to the list of requisite documents below before submitting your application; this will minimize chances of rejection of your visa application due to incorrect or inadequate documents.

	Documents Checklist (English) – Schengen Tourist Visa
	Dokumentencheckliste (Deutsch) – Schengenvisum für Touristen

Please submit two passport photos which should fulfill the following criteria (conform to ICAO standards).

The photos are part of the biometric data, mandatory for a Schengen visa application.

• Colour photo on a white background
• Size: 3.5 x 4.5cm
• Taken from the front with the subject looking directly at the camera
• Mouth must be closed, teeth not visible
• Without shadows in the face
• Wearer of glasses: the eyes must not be covered by the frames of the glasses
• Sharp, not blurred, high pixel resolution (600 DPI)
• Face covers 70-80% of the photo
• Recent photo, not older than 6 months

The photo will be imprinted into the visa sticker and must fulfill these criteria. The photo is stored in different databases (central register for foreigners, visa information system), so that a comparison can take place when entering the Schengen area.

Photos which are older than 6 months are not accepted by the visa section and applications containing photographs that are older than 6 months will be rejected and not processed. In order to avoid this, we advise you to take new photos right before the visa application submission.

A medical insurance is compulsory for visitors to Germany and other Schengen states. You may provide either a policy from an insurance company based in Europe or in Laos. Please note that only certain insurance companies in Laos are accepted.

The insurance must cover at least 30 000 Euro and include costs for medical treatment, hospitalization and repatriation due to injury or medical reasons. The insurance must be valid in all Schengen states and cover the total length of the visit.

Please note, the Insurance policy will be considered valid, only if it has the insurance company stamp and authorized signature.

Accredited insurance companies are:

1. in Laos: Allianz General Laos and Laovivat Insurance
2. all insurance companies listed here: Click here

Applications for a Schengen (short-term) visa can be filed within 90 days preceding the planned trip. Applications are in most cases reviewed within 15 calendar days. In individual cases, the review period can be extended up to 30 days and more at the discretion of the Embassy of Germany for any reason. It is recommended not to file a visa application later than 15 days before the trip, as it cannot be otherwise guaranteed it will be reviewed in time.

The Visa Application Centre has no right to influence anyhow the processing time of visa applications as well as to accelerate the application.

Please note that you may be required to appear before a visa officer for a personal interview at the Consulate of Germany prior to a decision being taken on your application. The Embassy also reserves the right to ask for additional supporting documents during the visa application process. Applicants are requested to read the information on this site carefully. The guidelines listed on this website help you to prepare your documents as accurately as possible. This will reduce the chances of your application being incomplete or delayed.

Please be sure to submit your visa application well in advance, to avoid any inconveniences.

All visa decisions are solely at the discretion of the Embassy of Germany in Vientiane.

Schengen Visa Application Form

Please complete the following application form in full. Print a copy of all pages, sign it and submit it with your remaining visa application documents. For more information, read the user guide or the launch assistant directly on the website.

The application form has to be signed personally by the applicant. For applicants under 18 years of age, the application form must be signed at least by one of the parents or legal guardians.

Information Forms

Information form on § 54 Abs. 2 Nr. 8 i. V. m. § 53 AufenthG

Information on data protection law

Receipt of data protection information

Translation Offices

Documents in Lao language must be translated into English or into German.

Click here for a list of translation offices in Laos. Other translation offices are also accepted.

Power of Attorney

If your visa application is submitted or your passport is collected by a representative, please provide the filled and signed power of attorney form.