Residency for a Pakistani married to a German

Hi,
Hope all are doing good. This is my first post in this forum, I'm a Pakistani citizen holding pakistani passport but working in UAE/Dubai for past 14 months and posses a UAE residency too. I recently got married (4months back) and my wife is a German national who use to live in Franfurt. She has completed her studies from there and currently is with me in Dubai as house wife(UAE Resident). My in-laws have lived their lives in germany and still are there. though i've never been to germany.

I'm thinking about applying for a german nationality. I've got my marrige certificate in english attested from UAE embassy and have plan to go to german embassy nxt week in order to get it attested. I'll appreciate if someone can let me know how can I proceed with my application for nationality/residency and change of passport. I also have following questions and will appreciate if some answers them.

1. Do i need to get my marriage certificate translated into german in order to get it attested? (currently its in English)
2. Will i be able to keep dual nationality? pak + German?
3. I dont speak german at all, but have got skills in English,urdu etc.

Anticipating detailed replies

Salman Ali

the only one I can answer is that no, I don't believe you can keep the Pakistani nationality if applying for the German one, you can only have both if one of your parents is German and the other Pakistani.

Even with your marriage to a German citizen you cannot apply for German citizenship without residence in Germany for at least three years (and an ongoing marriage to a German citizen for at least two). There are other requirements as well, including some German language ability.

You're best off taking your questions to the German embassy. They'll be able to give you more accurate information.

You shouldn't have a problem getting a residency permit for Germany. However, you won't yet be entitled to German citizenship. There is a minimum residency requirement that you will also need to fulfill, even if you are married to a German - I'm not sure what it is, but it's almost certainly more than 3 years. There is also a requirement to know German if you intend to apply for citizenship, although this won't be necessary for a residency permit.

As Rilana also indicated, Germany has a policy of not allowing dual citizenship - but as you can't apply for citizenship at this time, that shouldn't concern you anyway.

EDIT: beaten to it...just

You have to live in Germany for 3 years before you get the unlimited residence permit. Then it takes 3 or more years for you to be eligible to apply for residency.

When you come for the 1st time. If you do not have any german language skills, you will be asked to attend a german language course (state will pay for the course) and you will get visa only for 1 year. If you know german you will get Residence permit for 3 years.

sitting in the class.. went into java for a while... and was beaten to it...

but on the other hand. The information I give is first hand.

1. I was told it is needed, but an English version was accepted in my case.

2. Normally not, there are a couple of exceptions that allow people to keep the previous nationality but it is very difficult to get it.

3. You need to speak basic German and have some basic knowledge about the country, politics, culture, etc in order to get the citizenship.

You will not get the citizenship immediately, not even a PR. You need to live in Germany for a certain period before you get a PR (i.e. 3 years if you married a German citizen, 5 years if not). After 8 years (7 if you take the integration course, but the bloody thing is >600 hours) you can apply for German citizenship.

From 2007 i think, the Integration course is paid by the Bundesamt für Migration. I got it free...

I also heard that now the law has changed and you require to prove language efficiency when you apply for the visa to come over. (Obviously they dont want to pay any more)

Cool!
thanks a lot for so many replies.
So i must go step by step, initially i need to get my marrige certificate attested and then ill consult german embassy to see what can be done in order to get a visa/residency permitt.
I can give away my pakistani nationality and its fine with me

Why not get your wife to do the donkey work? She's the German. Far easier for her surely?

I know a lot of people here from poorer nations that gave up their birth nationality. The key drawback is that it makes them a foreigner in their former nation. They can no longer go there when they like etc. That may not matter in the short term - but it means the rest of your life. I know enough older people here for whom the light suddenly dawns about the reality of ageing in a country whose social system gives them little support, in a cold nation, often not financially well off, away from wider family.

I appreciate that we can't live well if we worry too much about risks but there are some serious points to consider. What happens if your marriage ends or (god forbid) worse?