Third-country nationals who will work for more than 90 days in 12 months as technical personnel on inland waterway vessels and - in cross-border traffic- operating and service personnel on passenger ships required for the care of guests (e.g. river cruise ships) with main destination in Germany may apply for a national visa.

Inland vessels operate on routes that run in German inland waters. The technical staff operates and ensures the operability of the ship.

Please prepare an application set with all of the following documents in the given order.

Should you wish to keep any originals, kindly provide an additional copy. Any documents which are not in German/English must be translated.

• Application form, fully completed, duly signed
• Passport size picture, not older than three months with a bright background and frontal view of the face (3,5x4,5cm). Digitally-altered passport pictures will not be accepted
• Valid passport and one copy of the data page (passport issued within the last 10 years, the validity must exceed the duration of the visa by at least 3 months. The passport must have at least 2 blank pages)
• Valid resident card and one copy (both sides)

• Employment contract mentioning working & off hours, stating name of the ship, your monthly salary with a minimum of 12,41 EUR per hour as of 2024 for a 40 working hours week or a commitment to pay the German minimum wage (MiLoG) when on German river segment

• Letter of confirmation from agent naming person, rank, ship and port of boarding

• Ship register
  

• Crew member list
  

• Ship route (stating number of days for each country for the applied period)
  

• Seafarer's Identification and Record Book or Seaman book

• Proof of health insurance
  

• Visa fee 75 Euro – payable cash in Lei or by card in Euro (Visa / Master)
  

Please note that the Embassy reserves the right to ask for additional documents at any time during processing. Submission of the above mentioned documents does not guarantee that a visa is granted.