Basic information

• Only the visa office of the Embassy in Warsaw is responsible for visa applications. The Consulates General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Krakow, Wroclaw and Gdansk do not issue visas and do not provide information on visa applications.
• Please note that you must come to the Embassy in person with all the necessary documents in order to apply for a visa. Please make an appointment via our appointment system on the Internet. Please allow several weeks for the processing of your application. Applications can only be considered if you book an appointment for the Vander-Elst category. Please plan for a processing time of approximately one (1) week after submitting your application. In individual cases, the processing time may extend to several weeks.
• Your application can only be accepted if the documents are complete. The documents must be submitted in the original with one copy of each. Documents in foreign languages must be submitted with an official German translation.
• For processing a visa application to provide a service in Germany, a fee of appr. 400 zloty (75,- Euro depending on the exchange rate) is charged. The fee is to be paid in Polish zloty in cash at the time of application. It is a processing fee. There is no right of refund in case of rejection or withdrawal of the application.

General information

According to the European provisions on the freedom to provide services, companies based in an EU member state (e.g. Poland) may post third-country nationals employed by them to another EU member state (e.g. Germany) for the temporary provision of a service without requiring a work permit or other authorization under employment law (so-called active freedom to provide services). Intra-company postings, i.e. temporary assignments at a branch office of the company in Germany, are generally not covered by this.

In these cases, too, a visa procedure must be carried out prior to entry if the posted third-country national is generally subject to the visa requirement for Germany on the basis of his or her nationality. A „visa according to Vander Elst“ (according to §19c Abs. 1 AufenthG i.V.m. §21 BeschV) is issued, which explicitly entitles the third-country national to work in Germany for the duration of the service provision. Visa-free entry for the purpose of performing activities under Vander Elst is currently only possible under the conditions of § 19c Abs. 1 AufenthG i.V.m. § 30 No. 3 BeschV (third-country nationals who have the legal status of long-term residents in another member state of the European Union („rezydent Dlugoterminowy-WE“), for a maximum of 90 days within twelve months).

The basic prerequisite for the freedom to provide services is that the employee has concluded an employment contract with the posting company and is properly employed. Contracts between the employee and the posting company that serve the sole purpose of posting the employee to another EU member state without employment in the first member state before or after the posting are generally not covered by the Vander-Elst regulation. A further prerequisite is that, according to the contract between the posting company and the third-party company in the EU member state, the service is performed by the posting company on its own responsibility and essentially free of instructions from the third-party company.

Please note that you must receive your visa in person.

Please make sure that you submit complete application documents! Incomplete applications may result in rejection of the visa application.

The Embassy reserves the right to request additional documentation.

The following list allows you to check whether your application documents are complete. All documents listed here must be submitted in the form and order requested.

Checklist

• One (1) application form including instructions according to § 54 AufenthG, completely filled out and signed
• One (1) recent biometric passport photo (format: see photo sample board)
• Valid passport (signed by hand and with at least two (2) completely free pages)
• One (1) plain copy of the data page of your valid passport
• Proof of legal residence in Poland by Polish residence permit (e.g. visa/residence card, with one (1) copy
• Work permit for Poland, with one (1) copy
• Last registration certificate in Poland, with one (1) copy
• Significant service contract between the service provider and the third party company, with one (1) copy
• Assignment contract with the employer, containing information on the following items: (with one (1) copy)
  - expected start and expected end of the assignment in Germany,
  - location of the assignment in Germany,
  - brief description of the service to be provided.
  - salary during the assignment in Germany
• proof of health insurance coverage in Poland and Germany for the duration of the assignment (in A1 form + EKUZ card), with one (1) copy