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Abolition of the Remonstration Procedure
The Federal Foreign Office decided to abolish the remonstration procedure for visa rejections worldwide. In India, the remonstration process has been abolished since 1st January 2024.
The Federal Foreign Office decided to abolish the remonstration procedure for visa rejections worldwide from 1st July 2025.
However, in India the remonstration process has been abolished since 1st January 2024.
This eliminates a legal remedy in the visa application procedure that is not statutorily prescribed and which up to now has been granted voluntarily.
This decision is based on a pilot project conducted in several German visa sections, where suspension of remonstrations for both Schengen visas and national visas was tested from 1 June 2023.
Since India was one of pilots, the legal remedy of remonstration in India is abolished since 1st January 2024.
Evaluation of the pilot project showed that dispensing the remonstration procedure has released considerable staff capacity in visa sections, and in some cases, freeing up staff to process more visa applications. As a result, it has been possible to process more national and Schengen visa applications and reduce waiting times compared to the same period in the previous year.
The processing of a greater number of visa applications and a reduction in waiting times benefits all applicants.
Adequate legal protection will also be guaranteed in the future, for judicial review under law will not be limited by the abolition of the remonstration procedure. Furthermore, it goes without saying that all applicants have the option of submitting a new visa application at any time in the case of a rejection.
With the general option to apply for national visas for skilled workers, apprentices, students or for family reunification purposes online via the Consular Services Portal available worldwide since 1 January 2025, applicants also receive clear and intuitive step-by-step guidance through the application process to ensure that they submit complete (digital) applications. Experience from the online application pilot project has shown that this significantly improves the quality of the procedure and avoids delays caused by incomplete applications.