The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai represents the interests of the

German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

in the

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and surrounding regions. The current Consul General is Karin Christina Maria Stoll incumbent since July 2018. She succeeds Achim Fabig.

Location

The Consulate General is located at 9 Boat Club Road,

Raja Annamalaipuram Raja Annamalaipuram, known in short as R. A. Puram, is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Named after banker and philanthropist, S. Rm. M. Annamalai Chettiar who owned most of the property at one time, Raja Annamalaipuram extends along the north ...

. Until 2006, it was located at 22 Ethiraj Road,

Egmore Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Ma ...

. The Goethe Institute, the cultural institute of Germany, is located at 4 Rutland Gate, 5th Street,

Nungambakkam Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, to ...

History

With

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

-based German Consulate becoming the most important Consulate of the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

, the Madras and the

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

consulates were placed under the jurisdiction of the German Consulate in Calcutta in 1886.

Functions

The consular districts falling under the jurisdiction of the Chennai Consulate General are

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

and the Union Territory of

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

. The consular services provided by the German Consulate Chennai to Indian Citizens include life certificates and pension certificates; attestation of documents, signatures and copies; German value added tax refund; and marriages both in India and Germany. In June 2005, the Consulate General introduced an online appointment service for all categories of visa applications. The Consulate General processes visa applications from the states of

and Puducherry. In 2006, the Consulate opened new visa application centres at Chennai,

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

and

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. In 2008, the Consulate General of Germany, Bangalore started handling applications from residents in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The number of visas has been going up by 10 percent annually.

List of consul generals

* Klaus Schroeder (2000) * Hans-Burkhardt Sauerteig (–August 2011) * Stefan Weckbach (August 2011–July 2014) * Achim Fabig (July 2014–July 2018) * Karin Christina Maria Stoll (July 2018–date)

Goethe Institut

The Goethe Institut Chennai, known locally as the ''Max Mueller Bhavan Chennai'', is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany at Chennai. It was founded in 1960. Formerly located at Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam for 19 years since 1988, the centre was moved to a 13,000-sq-ft premises located at 4 Rutland Gate, 5th Street,

Thousand Lights Thousand Lights is a constituency of the legislative assembly of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Its State Assembly Constituency number is 20. It forms a part of the Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency for national elections to the Parli ...

region of Chennai in 2007. It houses a library and information centre, language department, education department and culture department, in addition to an auditorium and an art gallery. The German Academic Exchange Services (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst or DAAD Information Centre) also functions from the Goethe Institut premises. The centre promotes knowledge of German language and fosters international cooperation by advancing Germany's cultural, social and political life.

DAAD Information Centre

The DAAD Information Center Chennai is a service center for Indian students and scholars established by the German Academic Exchange Service in cooperation with Goethe Institut Chennai. Established in October 2001, the centre provides comprehensive and free counselling to students planning to study and research in Germany. The DAAD Information Center Chennai offers counselling services for the Southern region of India covering Tamil Nadu,

, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Services include information session on higher studies and research opportunities in Germany, individual counselling, annual education fairs and presentation at partner institutions, universities or special occasions.

References

External links

Official website of the German Consulate General in Chennai

Indo-German Chamber of Commerce homepage
{{Diplomatic missions in India Diplomatic missions in India

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Germany–India relations Organisations based in Chennai Cultural centres in Chennai Year of establishment missing