Subsequent immigration to join foreign family members , Date: 2023.01.26, format: Article, area: Migration and residence

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Important note

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Spouses and minor children are entitled as a matter of principle to accompany third-country nationals to Germany or to subsequently immigrate to join them. Adequate accommodation and a secure livelihood are necessary in this connection. A person who is already in Germany and wishes to be joined by his or her partner must hold a valid residence title.

Spouses

Spousal reunification is additionally subject to the following conditions:

  • Both spouses must be at least 18 years of age.
  • You can also obtain a knowledge of the language after you come to Germany in specific cases, for instance if you come to join a skilled worker for family reunification.
  • Adequate accommodation must be available.
  • Your livelihood must be ensured. This means that the person who is already in Germany must have sufficient income so that the couple will not need to apply for any social welfare benefits if the person coming to Germany does not yet have a job.

You are also entitled to take up work if you come to Germany for the purposes of family reunification.

Spousal reunification naturally also applies to same-sex civil partnerships.

Minor-age children

If you are a minor-age, unmarried child, you can as a matter of principle come to Germany in order to join your parents (or your parent who is entitled to custody). You do not need to fulfil any further conditions if you are under 16.

Note:

When a child is born in Germany, the child will generally be granted a residence permit if at least one parent entitled to custody holds a residence title.

If you are 16 or over, you can come to Germany if

  • you immigrate to Germany within three months of your parents coming to Germany (or later in exceptional cases, for example at the end of a school year), or
  • you can provide evidence of German proficiency at level C1,
  • it can be assumed that you will find it easy to become integrated into life in Germany. This will generally be the case if you have attended a German school abroad for some time at least, or if you have grown up in a German-speaking household elsewhere in the EU.

These conditions do not apply if the parent who is to be joined is employed as a skilled worker in Germany.

Parents or other family members

Other family members can only immigrate to Germany in exceptional hardship cases.

Family members of persons with long-term resident status

If you are a spouse or life partner of a person who holds long-term resident status in another EU Member State, you can also immigrate to Germany for the purposes of family reunification even if you do not have a basic knowledge of German. This is conditional on the marriage or civil union having already existed in the first Member State.

Relaxation of the rules for the family members of recognised refugees

If you are a spouse, life partner or minor-aged, unmarried child of recognised refugees, a person entitled to asylum or a resettled refugee, you can immigrate to Germany even if your livelihood is not ensured and adequate accommodation is not available. The sole condition here is that the application for family reunification must be submitted no later than three months after completion of the asylum process. Where recognition of asylum status results from a court ruling (following a court action against rejection of the asylum application, for example), this period does not apply until the date of the new, positive notice from the Federal Office.

Family reunification is also possible after expiry of the three-month period. In this case, however, the recognised refugee who is already living in Germany must prove that they are seeking work and an apartment of their own.

Restrictions on family reunification

If your family member holds one of the following residence titles, you may only immigrate to Germany in exceptional cases:

  • persons entitled to subsidiary protection (section 25 subsection (2), sentence 1, second alternative of the Residence Act),
  • persons to whom a deportation ban applies (section 25 subsection (3) of the Residence Act),
  • persons who hold a residence title as victims of human trafficking (section 25 subsection (4a) of the Residence Act),
  • juveniles whose deportation has been suspended and who have subsequently received a residence permit on account of their good integration (section 25a subsection (1) of the Residence Act),
  • juveniles whose deportation has been suspended and who have received a residence title on account of their sustained integration (section 25b subsection (1) of the Residence Act),
  • persons who have been admitted from abroad (section 22 of the Residence Act),
  • persons who have received their residence title due to a ruling by supreme Land or Federal authorities (section 23 subsections (1) and (2) of the Residence Act).

Family reunification is ruled out as a matter of principle for persons with one of the following residence titles:

  • persons whose deportation has been suspended and who have received a residence permit for a temporary stay (section 25 subsection (4) of the Residence Act),
  • persons with a residence title for victims of a criminal offence in accordance with the Act to Combat Clandestine Employment or in accordance with the Act on Temporary Employment Businesses (section 25 (4b) of the Residence Act),
  • persons whose deportation has been suspended due to obstacles to departure for which they are not responsible (section 25 subsection (5) of the Residence Act),
  • persons who have received a residence permit as parents of well-integrated juveniles (section 25a subsection (2) of the Residence Act),
  • persons who have received a residence permit as family members of well-integrated juveniles (section 25b subsection (4) of the Residence Act),
  • persons who have received a residence permit on the basis of an arrangement on existing cases in accordance with section 104a subsection (1), sentence 1, or 105b of the Residence Act.
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The legal basis

  • Section 2 subsection (3) of the Residence Act
  • Section 27 of the Residence Act
  • Section 29 of the Residence Act
  • Section 30 of the Residence Act
  • Section 31 of the Residence Act
  • Section 32 of the Residence Act
  • Section 33 of the Residence Act
  • Section 34 of the Residence Act
  • Section 35 of the Residence Act
  • Section 36 of the Residence Act
  • Section 36a of the Residence Act
  • Section 38a of the Residence Act