The city of Bangalore got the first German consulate on November 21, 2008. The consulate called 'Bundes Republic Deutschland Indian General Consulate' was inaugurated by the visiting foreign affairs minister of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a five-star hotel in the city. The inauguration ceremony was also attended by German ambassador Bernd Mützelburg, consul general Stefan Graf and an 80-member-strong German trade delegation. The setting up of the consulate will strengthen the bilateral relations between India and Germany. 

 

According to a German official, the consulate will execute its function of issuing visas and work permits after one year. The consulate is supposed to operate its function from the five-star hotel until it gets the permanent office in the city. When asked about the delay in starting the operation, deputy consul Fridrich Rahn informed that the consulate is yet to hire staffs and install hardware and software for the process. It is worth mentioning that Germany is the foremost country to set up its consulate in Bangalore.

 

The newly opened German consulate informed that it will receive applications and process them for issuing visas or work permits from the consulate in Chennai. Applications for a Schengen visa can also be submitted to the German consulate. A study shows that in 2007, the Chennai consulate issued about 24,000 German visas to applicants from Karnataka and Kerala. After becoming fully operational, the Bangalore consulate will also cater to the people of Karnataka and Kerala. The Bangalore consulate is the fourth German consulate in India.