Welcome to the German Consulate General Houston

General information about visa procedures in Houston
(please read first before applying)

All visa applicants have to arrange for an appointment.

The Consulate General only accepts Visa applications from residents of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

All applications must be submitted in person.

All appointments are exclusively handled by Abtran Ltd. This enables the visa section staff to concentrate fully on processing visa applications as quickly as possible.

To arrange for an appointment, please call: 1 800 380 0088 (to pay using your credit card) or 1 900 776 4444 (calls cost $2.49 per minute) . Opening hours for these lines are 8.30 am to 8.30 pm Monday to Friday except for December 24, 25, 26 and 31, 2007, and New Years Day and Good Friday.

(Note: Some premium numbers (1-900) are blocked by workplaces and also by some cell phone companies. We suggest that you contact your cell phone company to have the number unblocked. Alternatively, you may call the 1-800 number from most phones and pay via credit card.)

The lines above are to be used for appointment setting only. Once you have made an appointment, you will receive an e-mail with your reference number, date and time. You will also receive information on what supporting documentation to submit. More detailed information can also be found on this web-page!

If you have a complaint regarding Abtran’s service only, please email details to: Germanyusacustomerservices@abtran.com for follow up. This e-mail address is specifically for complaints.

Please note that only complete applications can be processed.

To send back your passport with the visa we exclusively use USPS Overnight Express for shipping. We cannot use any other courrier service. Please do not send in prepaid envelopes of any kind. For this service we charge an extra fee of 18 US Dollars, payable in cash or with money order only. You can also pick up your passport in person or have it picked up by a person with an authorization letter, signed by you.

At this time, holders of US travel documents issued as refugee travel documents do not require a visa to travel to Germany for tourism, transit or business. Please note that this only encompasses Germany, as other countries of the Schengen agreement may require you to hold a visa. This may be subject to change, therefore check for changes on this website before each trip. As this exception may not be known to some airlines or immigration officers, we suggest you print this information and take it with you. The printout quotes the address of this website and the date, enabling you and others to verify the information and to check if the printout is up to date.

Holders of US travel documents issued as Permit to Reenter need a visa according to their nationality (please check visa aplication - visa requirements)

Only if, after checking here, you have further questions, please contact the visa department of the Consulate General in Houston at info@germanconsulatehouston.org or call 713-627-7770.

Important Note: This Consulate General does not assume any liability for the loss of documents submited by mail.