With the normal German visa route in Tehran suspended, Iranian students who have been granted spots in German university programmes say they’ve been left waiting indefinitely with no official communication about how to move forward.
Iranian students who had already been accepted for enrolment in German universities say they have been unable to begin their studies after months of disruption to Germany’s visa system in Tehran.
The German embassy in Tehran has reportedly been working at reduced capacity since June 2025, following flaring hostilities between Iran and Israel. Then in January, TLScontact – the external provider that handles visa appointments and application intake – suspended visa application services in Iran altogether.
Since then, applicants say they have been left in limbo, with no interview dates and no clear way to move their cases forward.
Living in what is effectively a war-zone, affected students are arguably being denied not only the opportunity to further their education but also to move out of harm’s way.
Zahra and Radin
The Local has spoken with two affected people, Zahra and Radin, who both say they have done everything that Germany asked of them to secure their visas.
Both students asked to be referred to only by their first names. Exchanges with The Local took place over email because of internet restrictions and unstable connections in Iran.
Zahra, who is based in Isfahan, was offered a place in a Cultural Studies MA at Leuphana University Lüneburg. She told The Local that she was first admitted to Leuphana for the winter semester of 2025 but lost that chance due to visa delays.
Applying from Iran was not without obstacles. When Zahra had to do an admissions interview in March, she spent extra money trying to secure a stable internet connection.
Zahra’s academic background is in art and cultural studies, and she says she sees the degree as a way to build “a more stable future in the cultural field”, especially through work connected to Iranian visual culture, underrepresented artists and cultural visibility.
“This situation is very difficult for me and for many others,” she told The Local. She added that it was devastating to realise she might miss this opportunty “simply because there is still no clear procedure.”
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Radin, 23, comes from a different field but describes a similar sense of feeling trapped after months of preparation.
He told The Local he chose Germany for his studies because the job market in his field, computer science, seemed especially strong. He’s been planning to move for more than a year.
He originally secured admission for a master’s program to begin the summer semester of 2026. Now that place has been deferred for the winter semester.
He said he had been waiting for a visa appointment since January 23rd and still has no interview date. The delay, he said, has taken “a huge toll” on his mental health.
“If I don’t get my visa in the next two months, I’ll be forced to spend two years doing mandatory military service,” he said.
Together, Zahra and Radin’s stories show how the current impasse is not simply delaying travel plans. It is forcing young people to put study, work and long-term ambitions on hold after they’d already invested months – in some cases years – preparing for a future in Germany.
External visa provider
In Iran, visa applications do not begin at the embassy itself, but with TLScontact, an external provider that manages appointment bookings and collects documents in Tehran. But with TLScontact’s work in Tehran effectively stopped, affected applicants don’t have a clear path forward.
In response to a query from The Local, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said its Tehran embassy’s visa section “remains temporarily closed due to the security situation” and that some applications are being handled in neighbouring countries.
The clearest example to date seems to be Yerevan in Armenia, where Germany has begun shifting at least some Iranian cases.
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But the workaround appears limited. According to material reviewed by The Local, going through Yerevan seems to be an option only for applications that were already in advanced stages before services were suspended.
For those waiting for an initial appointment through TLScontact, there is still no clearly communicated route forward. Zahra, Radin and others who were still waiting for appointments when services were suspended have effectively been left in limbo.
Zahra told The Local that travelling to the German embassy in Yerevan, Armenia “could be a possible option” if applicants were officially contacted and given appointments there.
“But so far, applicants like us have not received any communication about this option,” she said.
Germany’s foreign office told The Local it was still working on “expanding visa application processing for Iranian nationals”, but that this requires “further structural preparations”.
‘Unreliable’
Boris Mijatovic of the Green Party says the workaround has been too slow, too limited and not clear for students whose futures depend on it.
Green politician Boris Mijatovic has raised the issue in the Bundestag. Photo: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen im Bundestag, Kaminski
Mijatovic, who has raised the issue in Germany’s Bundestag, welcomed the use of Yerevan but said the government has moved too slowly.
“The German government is reacting too hesitantly,” he said, adding that “many people are left with a feeling of neglect and a sense that Germany is unreliable”.
It’s unclear how many people in Iran – whether students or skilled workers – are currently waiting for information on how to proceed with their visa applications.
But estimates suggest that Germany issued more than 46,000 visas in Tehran in 2024 and around 23,000 in 2025.
Zahra also shared a document with The Local containting 57 TLScontact queue confirmation screenshots from people in her surroundings who face the same predicament.
“German companies and universities, too, are growing desperate over the lack of action by this federal government,” said Mijatovic.
In that sense this story concerns not only a number of stranded students and workers in Iran, but shows a weakness in Germany’s ability to bring in qualified international talent.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
