Legal and Consular, Passport and Visa Service
Here you can find everything you need to know about passport and visa applications as well as other consular services at the German Embassy. Please notice that you need to make an appointment for visa- and passport applications via e-mail. Click here for detailed information:
Opening a bank account in Germany
Following a change in law, the Embassy will no longer be able to carry out identity checks in connection with bank account openings or taking out a loan. Please contact your bank for further information. Exempt from this new ruling are blocked accounts for foreign students who must apply for a student visa before entering Germany and who need to open an account in Germany in order to prove sufficient financial means for their stay in Germany. In these cases only, the German missions abroad are allowed to notarize signatures or to perform identity verification.
Child Protection Clearance
In the Federal Republic of Germany, penal convictions are gathered in the “Bundeszentralregister” (Federal Central Criminal Register) which is operated by the “Bundesamt für Justiz” (Federal Office of Justice) in Bonn. A so-called “child protection clearance” does not exist. According to Sec. 30 para. 1 of the German Act on the Federal Central Criminal Register, any individual who has reached the age of 14 can apply for a “Führungszeugnis” (Certificate of Conduct) - an excerpt from the Federal Central Criminal Registry. This excerpt serves as legal certificate with the purpose to inform others about a person’s criminal record and to prove, as the case may be, the lack of records.
Anerkennungsleistung für Ghetto-Arbeit / Payment in recognition of work in a Ghetto
Unten stehend finden Sie einen Link zur Richtlinie der Bundesregierung über die Anerkennungsleistung an Verfolgte für Arbeit in einem Ghetto, die keine Zwangsarbeit war, (Anerkennungsrichtlinie) vom 20. Juli 2011.
The link below provides you with the Federal Government Directive of 20 July 2011 concerning the payment of amounts to victims of persecution in recognition of work in a ghetto which did not constitute forced labour (Recognition Directive).
