Family reunification depends on many different factors. A distinction is made as to whether the person living in Germany who is entitled to join the family or has a right of origin has German or European citizenship or comes from a third country and what residence status this person has. It also depends on which family member joins the person living in Germany.
As a rule, spouses or life partners and unmarried children under the age of 16 are entitled to join their spouse, but older children are also eligible in the case of Germans and Europeans and in other significant exceptional cases.
In the case of unaccompanied minor children, the custodial parents are usually entitled to family reunification. This always applies if no custodial parent is abroad or agrees to a change of residence to Germany.
There are also major differences in family reunification depending on the residence title of the person living in Germany, for example. Refugees who have only been granted subsidiary protection status are generally not entitled to family reunification. However, 1,000 visas for family reunification are issued every month for relatives of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. The requirements for family reunification also vary depending on the residence permit.
In this article, we provide an overview of family reunification and its requirements.
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Contents:
Family reunification and family reunificationrefers to the immigration of family members to a person living in Germany. This person can be a German citizen or a foreigner who lives in Germany - the destination country - and has a residence permit. The family members are still living abroad.
The aim of family reunification is to establish or maintain the family unit. This objective is already enshrined in Art. 6 of the German Basic Law. Family reunification is also confirmed by Art. 7 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) and Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Despite this clear derivation of the right to family reunification in terms of fundamental and human rights, its exercise is often politically and legally controversial (e.g. in the case of family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection).
The granting of family reunification and the associated enabling of a family to live together in Germany is often essential for successful integration in Germany. If family reunification is refused or delayed for a very long time, this can jeopardize the success of integration, as it is unbearable for those affected not to be able to be together with their family.
The terms family reunification and family reunification mean the same thing. The Residence Act, which regulates family reunification in Sections 27 to 36a, uses the term family reunification.
The family reunification system and its requirements are complex. The Residence Act recognizes various forms of family reunification, some of which differ considerably in terms of the requirements. The following forms of family reunification exist:
The aim of family reunification is to establish or maintain the family unit. For this reason, family reunification is generally only possible with the closest relatives of a German or a foreigner living in Germany. The current legal regulations in Sections 27 to 36a of the Residence Act are therefore designed in such a way that family reunification is primarily intended for the so-called nuclear family.
In the case of adults, these are the spouse or partner and the children who are still minors. Minor children who live in Germany without a custodial parent are entitled to join their custodial parent or parents.
Siblings, parents of adult persons or adult children, adult children, grandparents or other "other family members" may only join their family if this avoids exceptional hardship.
The decision lies with the immigration authority. However, the term "exceptional hardship" already indicates that the hurdles for family members who are not part of the traditional nuclear family to join you are very high and that an application will usually fail without competent legal advice.
Foreigners living in Germany who have only been granted subsidiary protection are a special case when it comes to family reunification. Following the large influx of refugees in 2015, family reunification was completely suspended for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection from March 2016 until the end of July 2018.
Family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection has been newly regulated since August 2018. In Section 36a (1) sentence 3 AufenthG, the law expressly clarifies that beneficiaries of subsidiary protection are not entitled to family reunification. Only for humanitarian reasons can family reunification be granted with the spouse, minor children or, in the case of minors entitled to protection, with the custodial parents.
In addition, a monthly cap applies in accordance with Section 36a (2) sentence 2 AufenthG. Only 1,000 visas for family reunification with beneficiaries of subsidiary protection are issued per month.
Family reunification to Germany is only possible for refugees if the person living in Germany is entitled to protection and has received a residence permit. The following persons entitled to protection are therefore entitled to family reunification:
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Refugees who have only been granted subsidiary protection(§ 4 AsylG) - residence permit pursuant to § 25 Para. 2 Alt. 2 AufenthG - are not entitled to family reunification(see above).
If a ban on deportation has been issued for a refugee under § Section 60 (5) or (7) AufenthG and a residence permit is issued in accordance with Section 25 (3) AufenthG, family reunification is possible within narrow limits.
After § Section 29 (3) sentence 1 AufenthG there must be compelling humanitarian grounds or grounds under international law. However, humanitarian reasons can be assumed if it is not possible to establish the family unit in a third country. Since in such a case a ban on deportation has already been established for the person living in Germany (Section 60 (5) or (7) Residence Act), it is already impossible to establish the family unit in the country of origin.
Under certain circumstances, family reunification may also be completely excluded. This applies in particular if an asylum procedure or recognition as a refugee or person entitled to subsidiary protection has not yet been completed.
If the foreigner only has a tolerated stay permit, family reunification is also excluded. § Section 29 (3) sentence 3 AufenthG lists other residence titles for which family reunification is excluded.
Family reunification is also possible for residence titles that are independent of entitlement to protection (entitlement to asylum, recognition as a refugee or subsidiary protection). A person living in Germany can, for example, allow their spouse/partner (§ 30 AufenthG) or their unmarried minor child (§ 32 AufenthG) to join them in Germany if this person has one of the following residence permits:
You can read more about the Blue Card in this article.
A visa is required for family reunification for the family member joining them. As a rule, the visa is also the first application submitted by the relatives. The visa must be applied for in person at the relevant German diplomatic mission in the country in which the family members who wish to join them live. Care must be taken to ensure that the correct visa, i.e. the one for family reunification, is applied for.
There is a fee for applying for a visa. The visa fee for adults is 75 euros, for underage children half the amount. Further costs may be incurred, e.g. for the legalization or translation of documents.
Once the visa application has been received and checked by the diplomatic mission abroad, the data of the person wishing to join the family will be forwarded to the immigration authority at the place of residence of the person entitled to join the family and living in Germany. For example, the residence status and residence title of the original beneficiary are also checked there.
The foreigners authority will now check the legal requirements, in particular whether the person is able to support themselves. The immigration authority may request further documents or ask the person already entitled to reside in Germany to appear in person if there are still unanswered questions or if documents are missing.
After the foreigners authority has sent its opinion or approval to the diplomatic mission abroad, the latter decides on the visa application. If the visa application is rejected, an objection can be lodged. However, the legal remedy is not called an objection, but a remonstration.
Once the diplomatic mission abroad has issued the visa, the family members wishing to join them can enter Germany. However, only the visa is granted with the visa application or the granting of the visa. After entry, the residence status must be clarified with the immigration authority.
For this purpose, the foreigners authority should be visited promptly after entry and in any case within the validity of the visa and an application for the issue of the corresponding residence permit according to §§ 27 to 36a AufenthG should be submitted. As the conditions for granting a residence permit have already been checked in the visa procedure, there should be no problems when the residence permit is issued.
Something else may apply if the individual situation has changed fundamentally since the approval of the immigration authority (e.g. due to separation of the spouses/life partners).
Certain general requirements are already checked when the necessary visa is issued. However, these differ depending on the legal basis for family reunification and in some cases also depending on the residence title held by the foreigner entitled to reunification. The following general requirements apply (§§ 5, 11, 27, 29 AufenthG):
These requirements can and must be waived in certain cases. As a rule, German nationals' relatives must be able to secure their livelihood. The requirement of sufficient living space can be waived if the person entitled to join them in Germany is in possession of an EU Blue Card, for example (§ 29 Para. 1 Sentence 2 AufenthG).
The requirement of securing a livelihood and proof of sufficient living space does not apply if the parents join an unaccompanied minor (Section 36 (1) AufenthG).
According to § 29 Para. 2 Sentence 2 AufenthG, the requirement of sufficient living space and sufficient means of subsistence can also be waived if certain conditions are met. In the case of this privileged family reunification, the immigration authority has no discretion, but must waive these requirements. Such privileged family reunification is possible under the following conditions:
If the person living in Germany is not exempt from the requirement to secure their livelihood, they must earn enough to support themselves and their family members joining them without recourse to public funds.
Income from employment or self-employment, as well as child benefit, child supplement, child-raising allowance and parental allowance are among the means of subsistence. If the person living in Germany lives on benefits under SGB II or SGB XII - i.e. unemployment benefit or citizen's allowance - their livelihood is not guaranteed.
The means of subsistence must be secured without recourse to public funds. If there is only an entitlement to supplementary benefits due to low earned income, e.g. a top-up through citizen's allowance, the means of subsistence is also not secured, even if no public funds are actually drawn on.
According to § 29 Abs. 1 No. 2 AufenthG, sufficient living space must be available for family reunification. This requirement may be waived in certain cases. The existing living space can be proven, for example, by a rental agreement.
There is sufficient living space if a certain amount of living space is available for each family member. For family members under the age of 6, 10 square meters must be available, for family members over the age of 6, 12 square meters. Additional rooms such as the bathroom or kitchen must also be available and can be shared. It is unproblematic to fall short of the living space by up to 10%.
The individual federal states may have different regulations.
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Both terms refer to the immigration of family members living abroad to a person living in Germany. In the Residence Act, the term "family reunification" is used for family reunification.
As a rule, the closest family members such as spouses, partners and unmarried minor children are entitled to claim. For other relatives, the hurdles are significantly higher and usually depend on the existence of exceptional hardship.
The Residence Act regulates various forms of family reunification, depending on the family relationship and residence status of the person living in Germany.
The requirements vary depending on the residence title and protection status of the person living in Germany. In most cases, a visa is required to enter Germany.
The family member joining you requires a visa, which is applied for at the German diplomatic mission in your home country. After entering the country, a residence permit must be applied for at the Foreigners' Registration Office in Germany.
In order to be able to bring family members to Germany, the person living in Germany must above all be able to secure their livelihood and prove that they have sufficient living space.
There are exceptions, for example, for privileged family reunification, where these requirements do not necessarily have to be met, and for unaccompanied minors.
No, family reunification depends on the residence title of the person living in Germany, but not every residence title automatically entitles the person to family reunification.
Under certain circumstances, family reunification may be excluded, e.g. in the case of an ongoing asylum procedure or a tolerated stay. Narrower limits also apply to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
Certain living space must be demonstrated for each family member. This is 10 m² for family members under 6 years of age and 12 m² for family members over 6 years of age.
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