Germany to speed up visa procedures for Turkish businesspeople

BERLIN

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul

Germany has assigned relevant departments to accelerate visa procedures for Turkish businesspeople seeking to travel to the country, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, adding that the new measures would be implemented soon.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session in the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament, Wadephul said Berlin was working on new steps to improve visa procedures with Türkiye.

Recalling an announcement by North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst during his September visit to Türkiye that visa facilitation would be introduced for Turkish businesspeople, Wadephul said preparations were underway.

“We are implementing this very quickly at the moment. All relevant departments have been assigned to this task,” he said.

Wadephul stressed, however, that speeding up visa procedures would require additional resources, telling lawmakers during budget discussions that the Foreign Ministry needed more staff.

Berlin is also considering opening a branch office in Türkiye where applicants could submit visa applications and complete certain consular procedures, he added.

Wadephul acknowledged that Türkiye remained among the countries experiencing extended waiting times, citing digitalization, regionalization and more flexible staff allocation as measures being used to address the problem.

“However, we are reaching our limits. If faster processing is expected, the Foreign Ministry, and particularly the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs (BfAA), needs more resources,” he said.