HERE YOU LEARN ...
... under which conditions you can apply for a visa to join your spouse
... how to obtain the necessary approval from the immigration authority to join your spouse
... which documents are required to apply for a spouse visa
... how the application procedure for a spouse visa works (including deadlines and processing time)
Written by:
Attorney
Publication date:
07.07.2024
Reading time
11 mins
Table of Content
1. Requirements for a spouse visa for Germany
1.1 Effective marriage
1.2 Spouse’s residence permit
1.3 Language skills
1.4 Secure livelihood
1.4.1 Probationary period passed
1.4.2 Adequate living space
1.5 Approval of the immigration authorities
2. Apply for a spouse visa (Guide)
2.1 Competent authority for spouse visa
2.2 Necessary documents for spouse visa
2.3 Date, costs and entry spouse visa
3. FAQ Spouse Visa
1. Requirements for a spouse visa for Germany
The reunification of a spouse (spouse visa or dependent visa) is, along with the reunification of children, the most common type of family reunification and accounts for around 60% of all residence permits issued for family reasons. Depending on the year, around 60,000 residence permits are issued to married partners (around 46% to wives and around 14% to husbands). Many visas for family reunification are issued to holders of an EU Blue Card. There are various hurdles to overcome when applying for a spouse visa. These requirements and possible hurdles when applying are described below.
1.1 Effective marriage
The first requirement for a visa for spouses to join their spouses is that a valid marriage has been concluded and that it is recognized. Contrary to a widespread misconception, however, it is not necessary for the marriage to be valid in Germany. According to the Civil Status Act, a foreign marriage can be entered into the German marriage register. Whether the marriage is valid depends on the law of the state to which the fiancé belongs. According to case law, this even includes cases in which the marriage would obviously be invalid according to German standards. For example, the Higher Regional Court of Zweibrücken had to rule on a Pakistani “glove marriage” and came to the conclusion that this would constitute a valid marriage in Germany, even though such a glove marriage would not be valid in Germany (Higher Regional Court of Zweibrücken, decision of December 8, 2010 - 3 W 175/10).
1.2 Spouse/reference person has a residence permit
In order to apply for a visa or a residence permit for the reunification of a spouse, the person living in Germany must still have a valid residence permit. It is important to note that not every residence permit allows family reunification. The law therefore lists a number of residence permits that make it possible for a spouse to join. The first few that are not problematic are permanent residence permits (settlement permit and EU long-term residence permit) and employment migration permits (EU Blue Card and ICT card). If you, as a foreigner living in Germany, have one of these permits, you can apply for the reunification of your spouse without any problems. For all other residence permits, the special requirement is that the residence permit must have either existed for at least two years or that the marriage already existed when the residence permit was issued and the duration of the stay in Germany is expected to be more than one year.
In principle, it is not necessary for family reunification with foreigners that the foreigner living in Germany actually already has a residence permit or settlement permit or the corresponding electronic residence permit (eAT) or ID card. From a purely legal perspective, family reunification on the basis of a visa or fictitious certificate is also possible in many cases. In practice, however, this procedure leads to formal problems. The embassies therefore assume that the residence status is not “sustainably” secured. This often leads to the embassy not processing the application any further. It can be helpful here if, for example, a lawyer confirms to the embassy that the foreigner living in Germany will actually receive the residence permit (Letter of Attorney).
1.3 German language skills
In principle, it is also a requirement that the spouse joining the family can communicate in German in a simple way (A1 language skills according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). However, the legislature has created more and more exceptions to this basic rule through the constant further development of the Skilled Immigration Act. In particular, it is no longer necessary to prove German language skills if the foreigner living in Germany has an employment migration title (in particular, EU Blue Card, ICT card, residence permit for self-employment, self-employment, employment as a senior employee, manager, company specialist, researcher, §§ 18a, 18b Residence Act, etc.). Family reunification from certain countries also generally does not require German language skills.
However, you should note that the numerous exceptions to the requirement of A1 language skills for spouses joining Germans do not apply to spouses joining Germans (see the missing reference to Section 30 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 of the Residence Act in Section 28 Paragraph 1 Sentence 5 of the Residence Act). For spouses joining Germans, you must therefore prove A1 language skills even if you are a citizen of a Best Friends state (which would be a case of Section 30 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 No. 4 of the Residence Act for spouses joining foreigners).
There are numerous other legal and case law exceptions, and if in doubt, a specialist immigration lawyer can advise you on them.
1.4 Secure livelihood
1.4.1 Probationary period passed
Furthermore, your livelihood must be secure if you want to apply for a visa or a residence permit for family reunification. As a rule, this means that as a foreigner living in Germany you must provide evidence of an employment contract with sufficient salary. The authorities also often require that the probationary period has already expired (so-called “sustainably” secured livelihood) and that the employment relationship has not yet been terminated. From a legal perspective, it is doubtful whether such strict requirements can be derived from the law. To prove “sustainably” secured livelihood, a so-called employer certificate must usually be submitted. In this document, the employer of the foreigner living in Germany must confirm that the information provided by the foreigner in the visa process is correct, that the probationary period has already expired and that the employment relationship has not yet been terminated. The employer certificate can usually be downloaded from the website of the respective immigration authority (see, for example, here for the immigration authority in Frankfurt am Main, here for the district administration department (KVR) in Munich (Munich immigration authority) and here for the immigration authorities in Hamburg (Hamburg Welcome Center)).
1.4.2 Adequate living space
Another requirement for family reunification with a foreigner is that you can prove that you have “sufficient” living space. This requirement is also checked very strictly by the authorities. What exactly constitutes “sufficient” living space is a matter of debate in legal science, as the law does not specify the size of the apartment or a specific duration of the rental agreement. This point therefore repeatedly leads to disputes with the authorities and in court. The first point of reference for determining the size of the apartment is the “Housing Supervision Act” of the state of Berlin, according to which at least 9 m² must be available for each adult and at least 6 m² for each child. However, the Housing Supervision Act is a social law (i.e. does not refer directly to the Residence Act) and is only relevant for the state of Berlin (so-called state legislation). This law does not apply in other federal states in Germany. However, similar standards have been developed in case law. According to a frequently quoted ruling by the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, the living space is sufficient if “12 square metres of living space are available for each family member over the age of six and 10 square metres for each family member under the age of six, and ancillary rooms (kitchen, bathroom, toilet) can be used to an appropriate extent” (Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, ruling of July 31, 2015 - 7 B 39.14). According to another ruling by the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, a 10% drop below these values is not harmful (Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, ruling of March 25, 2010 - OVG 3 B 9.08).
Sufficient living space must often be proven to the immigration authorities by presenting a corresponding housing certificate. You can usually download this housing certificate from the immigration authorities' website (e.g. here for the immigration authorities in Frankfurt am Main and here for the district administration department (KVR) in Munich (Munich immigration authorities)), otherwise it will be sent or handed to you by your responsible clerk. The housing certificate should not be confused with the landlord confirmation (which is sent to you by your landlord) or the registration certificate (which is given to you by the citizens' office, district office or town hall).
1.5 Approval of the immigration authorities
Another requirement for family reunification is that the immigration authorities agree to the embassy issuing the visa. Although you must apply for the visa at the embassy, the embassy will then contact the immigration authorities of the specified place of residence internally to obtain the necessary approval. This approval process causes many difficulties in practice, as the internal coordination between the authorities takes a long time and often does not work. Sometimes it can even happen that the authorities have different opinions. This happens, for example, if the embassy believes that all the requirements for issuing a visa have been met, but the immigration authorities have a different opinion. The process is then "frozen" because both authorities no longer see themselves as responsible and therefore do not process the case any further. The only way to "resolve" such situations is usually to hire a lawyer to request access to the files and then mediate the conflict between the authorities.
2. Apply for a spouse visa
The spouse visa for family reunification is generally applied for at the embassy like any other visa. The above requirements must be proven by presenting the relevant documents at the visa appointment at the embassy. Since family reunification visas have often been abused in the past (e.g. by establishing a fictitious marriage), the embassies are often overcautious when processing applications (especially in countries with dysfunctional document systems (e.g. Pakistan and Nigeria)), which makes the process very complicated and lengthy. Even small errors in the documents or in the appointment often lead to the embassies blocking the application, as they quickly suspect fraud and refuse to process the application any further. To avoid this, it is advisable to commission a lawyer specializing in immigration law to carry out a document review (“lawyer verification”) and provide legal support for the visa process before submitting the application.
To apply for spouse reunification at your embassy, you must proceed as follows:
Step 1: Determine the responsibility and book an appointment
First, you must find the embassy responsible for you. Responsibility is generally based on your place of residence and can be found on the website of the respective embassy (see, for example, the list of the various embassies in India here and the joint website of the embassies in the USA here ). Once you have found the right embassy, you must book an appointment in the embassy appointment booking system ( RK-Visa ) at your respective embassy. Due to the embassies being overloaded, appointments are often not available and you can only register for a place on the waiting list. Further details on determining the responsible embassy and registering for an appointment can be found in our Visa Application Guide.
Step 2: Collect the necessary documents
Once you have identified the responsible embassy, you can visit the website to find out which documents will be necessary for your application for a spouse visa for family reunification.
Basically, the following documents are required:
Apply for a spouse visa from India: Checklist for a spouse visa to Germany from India
Apply for a spouse visa from Turkey: Checklist for a spouse visa for Germany from Turkey
Apply for a spouse visa from Russia: Checklist for a spouse visa to Germany from Russia
Apply for a spouse visa from Iran: Checklist for spouse visa Germany from Iran
Apply for a spouse visa from Pakistan: Checklist for a spouse visa to Germany from PakistanApplying for a spouse visa from the USA: Checklist for spouse visa Germany for US citizens
Apply for a spouse visa from the Philippines: Checklist for a spouse visa for Germany from the Philippines
Step 3: Attendance of the appointment (interview) and costs
Once you have received an appointment, you must attend to present the relevant documents. If necessary, the embassy employee will also conduct a short interview with you to check the "plausibility" of the application and (if necessary) your language skills. The spouse visa costs 75 euros according to the fee schedule.
Step 4: Entering Germany
Once the visa has been issued, you can enter Germany. You can find further details on the necessary steps in our Visa Application Guide.
3. FAQ on spouse reunification
Do you have to have a foreign marriage recognized in Germany?
No. If the marriage was validly concluded abroad, the marriage does not have to be recognized separately in Germany. Foreign marriages are valid in Germany. However, the marriage must be valid abroad. The validity is then determined either by the law of the country in which the marriage was concluded or by the home law of the spouses' nationality (alternative link). There is also no “registry office reservation” for third-country nationals; this only applies to Germans.
When is a marriage abroad valid (under German law)?
A foreign marriage is considered valid in Germany if the formal requirements (Art. 11 EBGB) and the substantive law (Art. 13 EBGB) of the country in which the marriage took place have been complied with.
Can I get married in Germany under foreign law?
No, for weddings in Germany, German law must be applied with regard to the form (Art. 13 Para. 4 EGBGB). However, an exception applies in the event that a marriage is to take place before a person authorized by a foreign person (e.g. an imam) (Art. 13 para. 4 sentence 3 EGBGB). The Federal Office of Administration can determine whether a person is duly authorized.
Can marriages also be concluded in absentia (proxy marriage)?
Yes, proxy marriages are possible if this is permitted under the respective state law. According to case law, this even applies in the case of double proxy, as there is no violation of “ordre public” (so-called “glove marriage”; BGH, decision of 29.09.2021 - XII ZB 309/21).
As a foreigner, can I have a same-sex marriage in Germany even though this is prohibited in my home country?
Yes, foreigners can get married in Germany, even if this is not possible under the law of their country of origin. In this respect, the law of the country of registration applies (Art. 17b EGBGB).
Is family reunification possible with alternative marriages?
In some countries there are alternatives to marriage (e.g. the “civil union” in Argentina). These civil partnerships are not recognized as marriages in Germany and therefore do not entitle to family reunification. However, family reunification is possible under certain circumstances for EU citizens, as they can also apply for family reunification with close relatives without these persons being married (§ 3a FreizügG/EU).
Are there any special features of a marriage in Denmark?
Getting married in Denmark is very uncomplicated and quick. A marriage can be concluded in Denmark with the help of various agencies at certain registry offices in 2 - 6 weeks. The price depends on how quickly the marriage is to be concluded. Marriages concluded in Denmark are also valid in Germany. When getting married in Denmark, however, it should be noted that a new visa may have to be applied for after the marriage (§ 39 No. 3 AufenthG).
Are religious marriages possible in Germany?
No, in Germany you can only get married at the registry office (§ 11 Para. 1 PStG). However, it is possible to enter into a religious marriage abroad, as foreign marriages are recognized in Germany if they are also valid abroad (Art. 11 EGBGB).
Are marriages with minors recognized in Germany?
No. Marriage is generally governed by the law of the home country (which can theoretically allow child marriages). However, the law prohibits child marriages in Germany. Marriages of minors are therefore not valid in Germany, even if marriages of minors are permitted in the home country (Art. 13 para. 3 EGBGB).
Are multiple marriages also recognized in Germany?
Multiple marriages are also recognized in Germany. However, according to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, these multiple marriages are not protected by the basic family law (Art. 6 GG). Although the marriage is valid in this respect, it does not entitle the spouse to reunification (§ 30 Para. 4 AufenthG). In the opinion of the immigration authorities, naturalization is also not possible with a multiple marriage.
Is online marriage possible?
In some countries, online marriage is possible (e.g. in some states in the USA, in Saudi Arabia and in Mexico). Whether these marriages are valid in Germany cannot be answered conclusively. The Federal Foreign Office and the administrative courts have different opinions on this.
Do I have to present my passport to register a wedding?
No. In practice, the registry offices insist on a passport. However, according to the Civil Status Ordinance, proof of nationality (e.g. as a certificate) is sufficient.
Which law governs the marriage rights of dual nationals?
In the case of German dual nationals, marriage law is based on German nationality (Art. 6 EGBGB).
With which residence permits can I apply to join my spouse?
Pursuant to Section 30 AufenthG, you can apply for spouse reunification with the following residence titles:
- Skilled worker title (in particular Blue Card and ICT Card)
- Settlement permit
- EU permanent residence permit/European settlement permit
- Residence permit for researchers
- Humanitarian protection under certain conditions
With other residence titles, the spouse visa can only be applied for if the spouse has already held the residence title for 2 years or if the marriage already existed in the home country and the duration of the stay in Germany is expected to be more than one year.
Can I apply for spousal reunification with the job-searching visa?
Theoretically, under certain conditions, you can also apply to join your spouse if you hold a job-seeking visa. In practice, however, there is the problem that spouse reunification requires that the spouse's livelihood is secured. This is usually done by presenting an employment contract. Exceptions only apply if there are significant assets.
Can I also apply for spousal reunification if I am not living with my spouse?
Theoretically, it is possible to apply for spousal reunification even if the spouses do not live together. However, since the reunification of spouses must take place “to establish and maintain the family community” (§ 27 Para. 1 AufenthG), the spouses must not be separated. The marriage must therefore actually be lived in, otherwise it is a marriage of convenience.
Can family reunification also take place for family reunification?
Yes, family reunification visas can also be “linked”. For example, if a foreigner has a residence permit to join a child, the foreigner's spouse can apply for a residence permit for the child's father.
Are there exceptions to the need for a residence permit for the spouse?
Yes, according to the Residence Act, family reunification can be granted to any foreigner (regardless of which residence title the foreigner has) if there is “particular hardship” (Section 30 (2) Residence Act). Whether there is particular hardship in an individual case must be evaluated by a lawyer specializing in migration law.
Can language certificates expire?
No, language certificates cannot expire. The only relevant factor is whether the German language is still spoken. So if you have a very old language certificate or have lost the language certificate, this is not harmful if you still have a command of the language.
Can I prove my language skills without a language certificate?
Yes, the law only requires that you have language skills. However, the Residence Act does not require a certificate. You can therefore prove your language skills in any conceivable way (e.g. through an interview). In practice, however, it depends on whether the respective authority accepts this.
Can I also apply for family reunification if I am already in Germany?
Yes, family reunification can be applied for both as a visa and as a residence permit. A residence permit for family reunification can therefore be applied for not only at the embassy, but also at the foreigners authority.
Can I apply for naturalization with the spouse visa?
Yes, naturalization can be applied for with the spouse visa (§ 10 para. 1 no. 2 StAG).
Do I have to leave the country beforehand if I marry a European?
No. If you are a third-country national (e.g. a Turk) who marries a European citizen (e.g. a Bulgarian or Romanian), you do not have to leave the country after the wedding.
Do I also have to be able to support myself when joining Germans?
When applying for a spouse visa to join a foreign spouse, you must be able to support yourself. This is not the case when reuniting with a German spouse. In the case of reunification with a German spouse, the immigration authority may waive the requirement to secure a means of subsistence (Sec. 27 (3) AufenthG).
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Spouse reunification at the State Office for Immigration (LEA) in Berlin
Family Reunification Directive (Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003)
Literature: Oberhäuser, Migration Law in Advisory Practice 1st Edition 2019
Literature: NK-AuslR/Müller, 3rd edition 2023, Residence Act § 30
