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German Visa Delayed at the Embassy? The Untätigkeitsklage in Berlin

Fiona Macdonald
1 day ago
6 min read

Updated: 8 hours ago

Every lawsuit over a visa from a German embassy or consulate starts in one court: the Verwaltungsgericht (administrative court) in Berlin. That holds whether you applied at an embassy, at a consulate or online through the Federal Foreign Office’s Auslandsportal. If a national visa for work, a Blue Card, study or family reunification has been pending for three months without a decision, an Untätigkeitsklage (action for failure to act) under § 75 VwGO is generally an option. How quickly it leads to a decision depends on why a decision has not yet been made.

Why the case goes to Berlin, and who you sue

Abroad, the embassies and consulates authorized by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) decide on visas (§ 71 Abs. 2 AufenthG). The action is brought against the Federal Republic of Germany (§ 78 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 VwGO), and the Federal Foreign Office represents it in visa cases. § 52 Nr. 2 VwGO sends actions against the federal government in matters within the competence of the German missions abroad to the administrative court at the seat of the federal government, which is Berlin.

Many applications are not processed at the mission itself. The Federal Office for Foreign Affairs (Bundesamt für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten, BfAA), based in Brandenburg an der Havel, is being built up as the central office for work and education visas, and missions transfer applications to it for examination and decision. That does not change the court. § 52 Nr. 2 VwGO expressly includes visa matters within the BfAA’s competence, so these cases also go to Berlin, against the Federal Republic.

Three months, and the reasons a mission can give

As a rule, the action cannot be filed before three months have passed since the application, and the court asks whether the mission has a zureichender Grund (sufficient reason) for not having decided. If it has, the court suspends the case and sets a deadline for the decision (§ 75 S. 3 VwGO).

In visa cases, the reason is often that another authority has to take part. A national visa for family reunification generally needs the prior consent of the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) at the future place of residence (§ 31 Abs. 1 AufenthV), unless a spouse and children apply together with a worker or researcher whose own visa needs no such consent; work and study visas need it only in specific cases, such as self-employment. Where a job requires the approval of the Federal Employment Agency (§ 39 AufenthG), that approval is deemed granted if the agency does not report within two weeks that the information is insufficient or that the employer has not answered (§ 36 Abs. 2 BeschV). For some nationalities, the security authorities are consulted as well (§ 73 Abs. 1 AufenthG). A pending consent or check can justify a delay for a time; how long depends on what has actually happened in the file.

Workload is the contested point. In January 2025, the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg (OVG Berlin-Brandenburg), which hears appeals from the Berlin court, upheld the suspension of an action over a family reunification visa at the embassy in Tehran. The embassy had pointed to its caseload and its online waiting list. The court held that a personal appearance for identity checks, photos and fingerprints is part of the visa procedure, and that the applicant had not shown an urgency that would justify moving her ahead of others on the list.

Stuck in the appointment queue

Waiting on an appointment does not prevent you from going to court. Filing the application in writing and then the action puts the delay before the court, which then asks whether the mission has a sufficient reason. The Tehran case shows both sides: the applicant had sent her application by email and sued, and the court took the case, but because the visa required a personal appearance, it accepted the waiting list as a sufficient reason for the time being. More on appointment shortages is in the post on visa appointment backlogs at German consulates.

The Auslandsportal works in two steps. You submit the application and documents online, the mission checks them and asks for corrections where needed, and you then book an on-site appointment to give fingerprints and a photo, show originals and pay the fee. § 75 VwGO counts from the application, so keep the dated record of both steps, every correction request and your answers.

Fast-track cases for skilled workers

Where the employer has used the accelerated skilled-worker procedure (beschleunigtes Fachkräfteverfahren, § 81a AufenthG) at the immigration office in Germany, the mission works within tighter benchmarks. Once the advance approval (Vorabzustimmung) is available and the skilled worker asks for an appointment, the mission offers one within the next three weeks, and it decides as a rule within three weeks of the complete application (§ 31a AufenthV). The Federal Employment Agency’s deemed-approval period shortens to one week in these cases. The three-month rule still applies to the lawsuit, but a mission that has overrun these benchmarks by months will find it harder to explain the delay.

If the visa is refused instead

Since 1 July 2025, the missions no longer offer Remonstration, the informal request to reconsider a refusal. A refused national visa is challenged by an action at the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin, within one month of notification (§ 74 VwGO). The one-month period runs only if the notice correctly states the remedy, the court and the deadline; if that instruction is missing or wrong, the period is generally one year (§ 58 VwGO). You can also file a new application at any time.

When to get a lawyer

Advice makes sense once three months have passed and you have done your part: the application is complete, the appointment has taken place, and every request from the mission is answered. It makes sense sooner if a job start, a semester or a family reunion depends on the decision, because urgency has to be shown, not assumed. A lawyer can find out which authority the file is waiting for, judge whether the mission can point to a sufficient reason, and file at the right time so that the costs fall on the Federal Republic if the visa is issued only after the action.

Press for a decision on a delayed visa

Fiona Macdonald files actions for failure to act at the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin for applicants waiting on a national visa for work, a Blue Card, study or family reunification, at a flat fee. Fiona Macdonald advises clients anywhere in Germany and internationally by video.

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Sources

Last reviewed: October 2026 — RAin Fiona Macdonald

This article reflects information available at the review date above and may not remain current as rules and practice change. It is general information only, not legal advice, and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Liability for reliance on its contents is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

© 2026 Fiona Macdonald Rechtsanwältin

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