Visiting Germany for up to 90 days
The most accessible option to experience Germany – at any age – is short-term travel. Germany is a wonderful country to visit and explore as a tourist. If you don’t know where to start, or are interested in particular topics like sustainable or barrier-free travel, the German National Tourist Board’s Germany Travel website is a helpful guide.
A particularly rewarding and often inexpensive option for young people is to take part in a school or youth exchange.
If you’re a British citizen, you don’t need a visa for short-term visits to Germany of up to 90 days (within any 180-day period), provided you have a biometric passport and don’t pursue any economic activity while in Germany. The same rule applies for many other types of British nationality (such as British Nationals Overseas and British Overseas Citizens). Further information from the German Missions in the UK is available here.
UK residents holding other country’s passports may need a Schengen short-stay visa for visits up to 90 days, meaning you’ll have to have travel health insurance cover. You can find an overview of visa requirements by nationality here.
From late 2026, British nationals and other non-EU citizens travelling to Germany for up to 90 days will need to obtain the new ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) before entering the country. Applications will need to be completed online and will require a valid passport and a payment method to cover the €7 application fee. Once granted, an ETIAS will remain valid for three years and can be used again for other short-term visits during this period. More information can be found here.
Some UK schools and colleges – whether or not they teach German – offer exchanges with Germany. If your school or college isn’t yet one of them, why not make the case with your teachers and leadership team that this is a hugely beneficial idea and worth exploring? Our website has a dedicated section on the why and how of school exchanges. You can find it here.
Outside school, many local twinning associations, sports clubs, orchestras, bands, choirs, Rotary and Lions clubs, scouting and guiding groups, boys’ and girls’ clubs, parish and religious groups, and other organisations offer opportunities to take part in youth exchanges with Germany. It’s worth finding out if there are current activities in your area which you could get involved in. Check our twinning database to see if where you live (or somewhere nearby) has an existing link with Germany.
UK-German Connection is a bilateral government initiative aimed at bringing together young people from the two countries. Its website features a whole range of programmes and funding opportunities for schools, further education colleges, and youth groups. It can also help your school find a partner school in Germany. Additionally, the Goethe-Institut regularly offers exchange programmes for young people, for example Exchange2Change, Karriere Quantum, or Football Camps for Young German Learners.
Disclaimer: the information in this guide has been collated from government, academic, professional and public institution sources available at the time of publication. However, it is subject to change, and errors and omissions are excepted. Please always check directly with the relevant decision-making bodies and/or take professional advice for specific cases.
