By Admin 
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on India tour, has made an important announcement for Indian travelers. He said that now Indian citizens will not need to obtain a transit visa to travel to any third country through German airports. This decision will provide direct relief to thousands of Indian travelers who had to go through additional visa process for layover at German airports while going to Europe or America. This decision was formally announced during the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Friedrich Merz.
This step is being considered an important initiative towards strengthening people-to-people contacts between India and Germany. According to experts, this will promote travel, education, trade and cultural exchange between the two countries.
What is transit visa and why was it necessary?
A transit visa is a short-term permit required when a traveler has a stopover at an airport in another country before reaching his final destination. This interruption is called layover. Till now, it was mandatory for Indian citizens to obtain a Schengen Airport Transit Visa while passing through the airports of Germany or other Schengen countries, even if they do not exit the airport. For this, passengers had to submit tickets for onward journey and other necessary documents. Due to which the whole process became complex and time consuming. After this announcement, now Indian citizens will be able to travel without transit visa through the airports of Germany. There will be relief from the long process of visa application. Traveling to Europe, America and other countries will be easy and economical.
Exemption limited to transit travel only
It has been clarified that a tourist, business, student or work visa will still be required to enter Germany. This exemption is limited to transit travel only. Overall, this decision will save time, money and paper formalities.
19 important agreements between India and Germany
After the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, about 19 important agreements were signed between India and Germany. These mainly include defense industrial cooperation. A plan to increase higher education and research cooperation, technical cooperation in the telecommunication sector and promotion of trade and investment has been agreed between the two countries. Apart from this, both the leaders also stressed the need for early finalization of the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement.
German Chancellor on his first visit to Asia
This is Friedrich Merz’s first visit to Asia after becoming German Chancellor. He reached Ahmedabad with a large business delegation on Monday (January 12, 2026) morning. The focus of his two-day visit is to give a new direction to economic, strategic and cultural cooperation.
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