Visa for Iran: Federal government reveals lack of planning

The global mobility of highly qualified professionals , academics, and students today resembles a worldwide competition for the best minds. For internationally operating companies, HR departments, and highly motivated young professionals, predictability and efficiency in visa issuance play a crucial role. However, anyone who has attempted to manage the process of labor migration or study abroad from Iran to Germany in recent months has encountered bureaucratic barriers and significant administrative paralysis. The recently published Bundestag document 21/5935 , a response by the Federal Government to a parliamentary inquiry regarding visa practices at the German Embassy in Tehran , now paints a sobering picture. It reveals that German migration policy, in an acute crisis, lacks the most fundamental tools for management: transparency, reliable data, and robust contingency plans.

Measuring to ignore: The authorities' refusal to provide data

A key element of successful corporate immigration and modern administrative organization is data-driven optimization. However, the German government refuses to systematically document problems with German visa procedures in Iran . While the official document provides detailed, month-by-month breakdowns of national visas (D visas) issued for employment and study purposes since June 2025, a closer look at these raw statistics reveals a significant lack of interest in qualitative analysis.

In response to the most pressing questions from employers and expats regarding average or median processing times from application to decision, the German government simply states that these are not statistically recorded. The exact reasons for rejected visa applications are also not statistically recorded. Even in cases where applications are stalled informally due to scheduling conflicts, there is statistical silence. For us as a law firm, this practice is incomprehensible. It is impossible to solve a structural problem in operational processing if one systematically refuses to precisely measure the bottlenecks and their causes.

Systematic alienation of skilled workers and the consequences for German companies

These shortcomings are particularly damaging for German employers and HR departments, who invest considerable time and money in international recruitment. It is almost provocatively casual that the German government admits in its official document that it is aware of cases in which already concluded employment contracts or initiated recognition procedures failed due to the crisis-related closure of the embassy, or in which employment relationships could not commence on time. Valuable job opportunities are lost because the administrative framework is failing. Naturally, these economically damaging incidents are not being statistically recorded.

This directly affects the legal framework for attracting qualified immigrants. Whether it concerns skilled workers with academic qualifications under Section 18b of the Residence Act , highly qualified expats with an EU Blue Card under Section 18g of the Residence Act, or medical professionals undergoing recognition programs under Section 16d of the Residence Act – they all face closed doors. When fully negotiated employment contracts fall through because visas are blocked for months, Germany is rapidly becoming a "country of skilled worker deterrence" in global comparison .

Lack of alternative options and the failure of the accelerated procedure

For internationally active companies and young professionals, the question of pragmatic alternatives immediately arises in crisis scenarios. However, the German government offers hardly any solutions in the area of labor migration. While the partial transfer of family reunification procedures (pursuant to Sections 27 et seq. of the Residence Act ) via the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to the German Consulate General in Istanbul is a welcome step , there are no viable alternatives for economic migration or for students in regionally accessible third countries such as Turkey or Georgia.

Even the accelerated skilled worker procedure under Section 81a of the Residence Act , which was specifically created for such bottlenecks and to expedite bureaucratic processes, cannot demonstrate its strengths under these conditions. The German government is retreating to arguments such as a lack of "structural and personnel prerequisites" and the "interests of the host country ." While these objections are understandable from an international law and organizational perspective, they are an inadequate excuse. The security situation and the severe restrictions on embassy staff in Tehran are not new; they have existed since the summer of 2025. The fact that no functioning, permanent contingency plan for corporate immigration exists after such a long time demonstrates a blatant lack of strategic planning.

Effective legal protection and digital consolation prizes

Another critical issue for those affected is the enforcement of their rights . Since the traditional remonstration procedure was abolished on July 1, 2025, rejected applicants are left with only the direct option of filing a lawsuit with the Berlin Administrative Court . For foreign skilled workers and diplomats, this represents an additional bureaucratic and time-consuming hurdle in an already overburdened justice system.

The German government's efforts to advance the digitization of application documents and to involve the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs (BfAA) more closely in the location-independent decision-making process for visa applications are certainly positive steps. However, in practice, they currently amount to little more than a drop in the ocean. As long as physical application and identity verification processes on-site reach their capacity limits and no regional alternatives are established, digital progress will remain ineffective.

Conclusion

As a law firm specializing in international visa law, we support companies and qualified professionals daily in overcoming the hurdles of legal migration. The absolute priority for the safety of embassy staff is beyond question – no one should have to work in life-threatening situations. However, this very fact demands proactive and flexible solutions. Where there is political will, administrative pathways must also be created. Currently, the German government is failing both German SMEs and highly qualified foreign talent. Reliable emergency structures and an honest, data-driven review of the processes are urgently needed so that Germany does not completely lose its credibility as a destination country for global mobility and international recruiting.