Responding to months of complaints from Kerala’s tech sector, the German Consulate General in Bengaluru said on 12 November that it is prepared to organise regular ‘pop-up’ visa camps in Thiruvananthapuram. Consul Jonas Michael Turk told executives at Technopark that mobile teams could process applications on a monthly or bi-monthly basis until a permanent Visa Application Centre (VAC) is sanctioned for the state capital.
At present, about 250–300 German visa files a month originate from Technopark companies alone, but applicants must travel 220 km to Kochi for biometrics—an inefficiency that recruiters say inflates project costs and delays on-site deployment. The proposed camps would bring biometric kits, officers and courier logistics to a host venue inside Technopark, turning a two-day trip into a same-day errand.
![German consulate plans monthly visa camps in Thiruvananthapuram to ease Schengen backlog]()
Germany remains the most-sought Schengen destination for Kerala’s IT and engineering talent, accounting for nearly 22 % of state-origin work and training visas in 2024–25. Yet appointment wait times have stretched to 12 weeks post-pandemic, leading firms to divert projects to alternative EU hubs. A local processing window could claw back that business and plug Kerala into Germany’s new Chancenkarte (opportunity card) and reformed Skilled Immigration Act.
For German universities, the camps promise a steadier pipeline of master’s and PhD students just as winter-semester intakes tighten. The Goethe-Zentrum and Indo-German Chamber of Commerce have offered volunteer staff and German-language interpreters to speed document screening.
While no date has been fixed, insiders say the first pilot could happen before Christmas if the consulate secures equipment from VFS Global. Technopark management has already earmarked space and will provide power, security and queue management at no cost.
At present, about 250–300 German visa files a month originate from Technopark companies alone, but applicants must travel 220 km to Kochi for biometrics—an inefficiency that recruiters say inflates project costs and delays on-site deployment. The proposed camps would bring biometric kits, officers and courier logistics to a host venue inside Technopark, turning a two-day trip into a same-day errand.
Germany remains the most-sought Schengen destination for Kerala’s IT and engineering talent, accounting for nearly 22 % of state-origin work and training visas in 2024–25. Yet appointment wait times have stretched to 12 weeks post-pandemic, leading firms to divert projects to alternative EU hubs. A local processing window could claw back that business and plug Kerala into Germany’s new Chancenkarte (opportunity card) and reformed Skilled Immigration Act.
For German universities, the camps promise a steadier pipeline of master’s and PhD students just as winter-semester intakes tighten. The Goethe-Zentrum and Indo-German Chamber of Commerce have offered volunteer staff and German-language interpreters to speed document screening.
While no date has been fixed, insiders say the first pilot could happen before Christmas if the consulate secures equipment from VFS Global. Technopark management has already earmarked space and will provide power, security and queue management at no cost.
