Sponsoring a foreign spouse for a visa to Germany

I am currently working for a Canadian company in Munich. I have also recently gotten married and my wife is an Indian citizen. I have been looking into the process of applying for a dependant visa for her. Speaking with a few people there seem to be a few options.

- Apply for a dependant Resident Permit. Any idea how long this takes?

- Apply for a visit visa first, which is usually very quick and apply for the dependant visa upon arrival. Has anyone done this before and is this an acceptable procedure?

Any assistance/information would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

i'm also interested in the topic, i'm an australian citizen with a german girlfriend and looking to come back in a couple years.

apparently you can apply for a working/citizenship visa if your partner is a german citizen and you are life long partners, engaged, or married. but apparently it takes quite a while. i think the best bet is to find work, get a work visa, get sponsored and extend it and use that time to apply for citizenship or some sort of long term thing.

You should directly go in for "Dependent Visa". It takes a bit of time but that is better.

You could also invite her on a tourist visa, which will be fast but only valid for 3 months maximum. And you cannot convert a tourist visa to resident visa. She would have to go back and apply for the Resident visa again.

It normally takes 3-4 Weeks if u are lucky. Is she in India? Then she has to apply to the consulate near her. They will check her papers, your papers...you would have to send them or to her. They will also need your Marriage Certificate, sometimes even translated in German. The consulate will check everything and send the papers to the foreign office in Munich and depending on their approval and the time that they take..she will get the visa.

She will get a temporary visa valid only for 3 months and only for Germany not schengen and after coming to germany she could apply for Resident permit...which should get done within 2-3 weeks.

Best of Luck.

What if your wife is from an recently added EU country (Poland)? My guess is there is no VISA required and No time limit no new drivers license needed and, after 2006, no work restrictions! -- Am I wrong?

Hello Guys

I am holding a green card for Germany and working in Munich.
I would like to know whether my wife can work in Germany if she is there with me on depedent visa
Also, where I will get authorized information about Green card rules and regulations on internet in English

Ciao

Hi All,

I have a specific query regarding the Dependent visa for my wife.

My Indian wife is on work permit in UK, she wish to apply her dependent visa from there to visit here in Germany. How should she proceed? What all information is required from my side?

Can anybody give me some useful information or suggest some links, which can answer my queries?

Regards,
Bhupesh

anyone know if thats true, that you can get a visa even if ur not married yet? and what exactly makes one a 'life long partner?' how can you prove this actually? Just wondering cuz I still don't have a job and so I'm pretty much dependant on my boyfriend who is supporting me financially and was wondering if that would help at all with visas n stuff.

My husband was transferred recently to Munich from Asia and I applied for a "family reunification visa" to come with him. We applied on Sept 4/5 and received it on Sept 29.

All we submitted was the application form, husband's passport, my passport, letter from husband's employer to say he is being transferred, marriage certificate and that's it. This was all done while we were both in Asia and we came together last week.

Not sure how it works in India though.

Good luck.


I think this is true but they would have to get married within a period of six months or else...one of my friends did this last year.

I have heard that sponsored spouses in germany are allowed to only STAY here while the other partner work visa is valid but are not entitled to WORK for a period of 1 year. Is this true? Assuming nationality of the sponsored spouse is neither american nor european nor african nor ... but middle eastern.

thanks for your opinions folks.

Topics merged by admin

Hi,

Pretty much the same question as the last guy. I would be grateful is somebody could tell me what the situation is and point me to the laws.

My wife (Australian) has a work/residence permit. I (also Australian) am currently here on a tourist visa because somebody told me it would be better to go on a tourist visa, then find a job and and get your own work permit. They also said that if I went to Germany as a dependent I wouldn't be able to work for 2 years?
So now I've been here for 8 weeks it won't be too long before my tourist visa expires and I would like to get second opinion about the dependent visa.

Does any body know what the restrictions are (working etc.) for somebody here as a dependent?

Thanks

Fax i think you won't have any problem to extend your visa till validity of you wife's work permit. But this is only a RESIDENCE permit not a WORK permit.

Thanks koorosh,
But the main thing I need to know is if I change to a dependent permit will that restrict me from finding a job and then applying for a work permit? As some people seem to suggest it might.

the residence and work permits are the same thing as of this year. if you get a residence permit as a dependant or otherwise, you are allowed to work. usually under the same conditions as your spouse, so if they have a temporary permit that lets them work but not be self employed, than thats what you will get, and it will expire at the same time as your spouses. If they have permanent permit then so will you get one.

I hope what Kza mentioned is real, as this helps a lot. So far they were separate ! Kza do you have any source to that?

Go ask the ausländeramt.

Has anybody had experience of sponsoring their spouse to come to germany(getting visa). My question is related to after his/her arrival. I once read that KVR issues a 6 month residnece permit while the spouse is taking some integration courses(language, ...) here and then a longer permit valid till validity of the other mate is issued.

any thoughts on this?

thanks

Have a look at the website of the German Foreign Ministry, specifically at their FAQ on these issues:

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/In...Uebersicht.html

In general, it is not the nationality of the spouse that counts - it is your nationality and on what basis you are living in Germany that will determine the rules/procedure for your spouse.

It may be useful to search for "Familienzusammenführung"

I am a US citizen with a US girlfriend. After I got my residency permit, we were able to get one for her pretty easily. I just had to sign a Verpflichtungserklärung taking financial responsibility for her, prove that my apartment was big enough for two and that I had paid rent on it for at least one month and that was that. Her residency permit expires after mine to boot.

I understand the similar kind of query would have been answered elsewhere, but I understand from this year onwards the work permit rules have changed and so posting it again.

My spouse is currently working in Germany and has a work permit or Aufenthaltserlaubnis for 3 years which is extensible by 2 years.

I'm not in Germany and applying for jobs in Germany, but the response has been not so good. I believe I can join spouse on a family re-union visa, but that doesn't permit we to work there. Can I apply for jobs when I come there on a family reunion visa Or can I change my visa status to "Aufenthaltserlaubnis" and then start looking for jobs?

Topics merged by admin

Hi

I'm posting this again, because my earlier posting doesn't appear to be there. I also posted in trust7, but no clear reply.

My wife is currently working in Germany and she has a work permit or Aufenthaltserlaubnis for 3 years which is extensible by 2 years.

I'm in India currently and applying for jobs in Germany , but the response has been not so good. I believe I can join her on a family re-union visa, but that doesn't permit we to work there. Can I apply for jobs when I come there on a family reunion visa Or can I change my visa status to "Aufenthaltserlaubnis" and then start looking for jobs?

I came across this answer in another forum:
"the residence and work permits are the same thing as of this year. if you get a residence permit as a dependant or otherwise, you are allowed to work. usually under the same conditions as your spouse, so if they have a temporary permit that lets them work but not be self employed, than thats what you will get, and it will expire at the same time as your spouses. If they have permanent permit then so will you get one."

Does the above mean that I can apply for a residence permit at the German embassy in India by submitting the proof of spouse's residence permit?

Any help on this is highly appreciated.

Thanks

Topics merged by admin

My girlfriend and I are both non-eu citizens and were unmarried when we arrived in Munich. I had a company sponsored resident permit application and originally my girlfriend organised a working holiday visa from the embassy back home. When that ran out, we organised for her to join my resident permit on a similar basis to what you describe above. I had to accept financial responsibility for her at this point in time before the permit would be issued but I don't think there were any other issues.
I think that she could look for work, but before officially commencing work she had to go back to Poccistrasse with work permit, contract etc in hand and get an updated resident permit now based on her own status.

Dear all,

I am an employee of Sun Microsystems in Walldorf and I have a few queries. I'd be getting married by the end of this year and I am writing to enquire about the best way for get my spouse to Germany, for which I'd like your expert suggestions and experiences.

A little about myself:
As said, I'm now working at Sun for the past 3 years. I came to Germany in Oct 2002 and graduated from the University of Kiel with an MS in 2004. I worked for EADS Deutschland for a year in 2005 and moved to Sun in Dec 2005, where I'm presently employed. To summarize, I've been staying in Germany for almost 6 years. My present visa would expire in Dec 2008 and I have the option of applying for the Niederlassungserlaubnis or extending my current Aufenthaltserlaubnis. What would you suggest that I go for? Would the Niederlassungserlaubnis inhibit my spouse from joining me in Germany? Has anyone been through a similar situation before? Please suggest the best among these choices.

About my spouse :
My fiance is in India at the moment as has been employed as a software engineer. She has been working for the past 2 years and belongs to the Highly skilled category of immigrants that Germany is looking for. She has several professional IT certifications in her arsenal and is quite well qualified. She is to start learning German in September this year and I'd be tentatively marrying her officially around that time, when I am looking forward to initiate the visa process.

My queries :

1. How long does it tentatively take to process the spouse visa
2. Is my wife eligible to work after coming to Germany or are there any restrictions in pursuing a profession. I'd like that she qualifies herself further and pursue a profession, atleast for the next few years. Would the spouse visa inhibit her in any means?
3. I read that the German language requirement may be waived for such Highly Skilled professionals. Has anyone been through this?
4. That I've been staying in Germany all this long, would her application be regarded as a possible immigration undertaking? What are the chances of success?

These are a few queries that I have at the moment and would definitely appreciate any valuable inputs.

Thanks,
Mithun

Dear Mithun,
Would it be possible to actually start a naturalisation process since you have been here for that long and are quite rightly, highly skilled.
I don't want to divert the discussion but it might be worth it in the long run since you could then have a lot more leeway.

Edit: Btw try and ask a HR person in your company. They may suggest a consultant to help you with her paperwork. Make sure your discussion with her/him is confidential

Good luck

Hi Mithun,

So far I know, if your wife is well educated might language requirement will be waived, She is not to be HSMP. She can't work when she joins you, atleast she must wait 1 year to ger her work permit. The unification will take 4 to 8 weeks normally for all categories including if you marry a GERMAN nationals. There are several burocratic process behind the scene.
All the best

regards

TOM

Don't take a chance. Ask your fiancee to start with her A1 certification in German immedietely. They are offered by Goethe Institute present in most metros. My friend's wife was highly qualified and experienced (about two years of that in Germany), spoke fluent German but was still asked to produce the German Language certificate by the Consulate in Chennai for visa purposes.
EDIT - And go for Niederlassungserlaubnis if you are eligible for that.