A family reunion visa lets your spouse, your children under 18 and, in some cases, your parents join you in Germany. What you must prove depends on your own residence permit. EU Blue Card and skilled-worker holders skip the German test and the living-space check for spouse and children. Most other sponsors need both.
Reviewed by Dennis Maaß, immigration expert at Caselink · Last reviewed
Sources: § 30 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 29 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 36 Residence Act (AufenthG); Bundestag Drucksache 21/5984 (federal government answer, annex 2); German Embassy Belgrade: End of the remonstration procedure
The same family can face very different rules. The person already living in Germany, the sponsor, decides which ones apply, not the family member who is moving.
| You live in Germany as | Spouse needs German | Living space proof (spouse, children) | Parents |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU Blue Card, skilled worker, researcher or self-employed | Not required | Not required | Possible if your first such permit was granted on or after 1 March 2024 (discretionary) |
| German citizen | A1, but waived if efforts to learn it are impossible, unreasonable or unsuccessful within a year | Not required | Only for the parent of a minor German child, or to avoid exceptional hardship |
| Student | A1 required | Required | Only to avoid exceptional hardship |
| Other residence permits, settlement permit | A1 required | Required | Only to avoid exceptional hardship |
Sources: § 28 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 29 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 30 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 36 Residence Act (AufenthG); Federal Administrative Court, judgment 10 C 12.12
Sources: § 27 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 28 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 30 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 32 Residence Act (AufenthG)
Family reunion with people who hold subsidiary protection is suspended by law until 23 July 2027, except in humanitarian hardship cases. Family members of EU citizens follow separate EU free-movement rules. Students can start with our student visa service. Blue Card holders can start with our work visa service and add the family to the same case.
Sources: Federal Law Gazette 2025 I No. 173 (suspension for subsidiary protection); § 104 Residence Act (AufenthG)
Most delays are not about eligibility. They come from queues, document checks and files that come back incomplete. Here is what goes wrong, and what you can do about it.
In May 2026 a family reunion appointment took more than 52 weeks at several German missions, including Islamabad, Dhaka, Rabat and Accra. The visa decision itself comes after that wait.
What helps
Join the waiting list the day the decision to move is made, not when the paperwork is ready. Skilled workers can bring spouse and children into the accelerated procedure if all visas are filed together.
Germany no longer legalises civil documents from dozens of countries, including India, Pakistan and Nigeria. A lawyer checks marriage and birth records on site instead. In Pakistan this costs PKR 79,000 and takes around 12 months. An Indian apostille is not accepted for the visa.
What helps
Find out early whether your documents need verification. Start it as soon as the German authority can order it, so it runs while you wait in the queue.
Since 1 July 2025 German missions no longer re-examine refused visas through remonstration. A missing document now means a new application at the back of the queue, or a lawsuit in Berlin.
What helps
Submit a complete, consistent file the first time. Every document is checked against the mission’s checklist before the appointment, not after the refusal.
Spouses usually need A1 German. Whether an exemption applies depends on the sponsor’s permit and nationality, not the spouse’s, which many families get the wrong way round.
What helps
Check the exemptions before booking a course and exam. If one applies, the spouse can apply without a language certificate.
The mission cannot issue a family reunion visa until the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) at your German address approves it. For family reunion, silence never counts as approval.
What helps
Ask the immigration office for pre-approval (Vorabzustimmung) before the embassy appointment, so the file does not wait twice.
The federal guideline asks for 12 m² per family member over six and 10 m² per child aged two to five. States may set their own rules. Income is assessed case by case against the Bürgergeld standard rates.
What helps
Check your rental contract and payslips against the rules for your permit and your state before applying. The family member’s own income can count too.
No consultant or lawyer can buy an earlier embassy appointment, change the legal requirements, or lift the suspension for subsidiary protection. What we can do is make the waiting time count. Documents are verified, exemptions checked and the file is complete when the appointment comes, so it does not go back to the end of the queue.
On 19 May 2026 the federal government published the wait for a family reunion appointment at each German mission with a waiting list. These are the latest official figures. Missions in India were not on that list.
| German mission | Country | Wait for an appointment |
|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | Kenya | 2 weeks |
| Hanoi | Vietnam | 7 weeks |
| Istanbul | Turkey | 11 weeks |
| Ankara (children, parents) | Turkey | 12 weeks |
| Amman | Jordan | 23 weeks |
| Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | 32 weeks |
| Cairo | Egypt | 40 weeks |
| Lagos | Nigeria | 50 weeks |
| Accra | Ghana | More than 52 weeks |
| Ankara (spouses) | Turkey | More than 52 weeks |
| Dhaka | Bangladesh | More than 52 weeks |
| Islamabad | Pakistan | More than 52 weeks |
| Rabat | Morocco | More than 52 weeks |
Source: Bundestag Drucksache 21/5984 (federal government answer, annex 2)
In 2025 Germany issued 110,388 family reunion visas and refused 21,265, so about 16% of decisions were refusals. The government does not count applications, so there is no official refusal rate per application.
Source: Bundestag Drucksache 21/6879 (federal government answer)
One consultant, one shared case for the whole family, and every document checked before it reaches the embassy.
We match the rules to your permit. Does your spouse need A1 German? Does living space count? Do your parents qualify, and is your income enough?
You get a checklist for the specific German mission. We review every document, flag where verification or certified translations are needed, and start those early.
We help your family register for an appointment and file the application online. The Federal Foreign Office portal has been available worldwide since 1 January 2025.
Your family member attends the appointment with a complete file. Where possible we ask the immigration office for pre-approval, so the decision is not held up there.
After entry, your family member applies for the residence permit at the local immigration office. We prepare that step too, so the visa does not run out first.
Government fees are fixed by law and paid to the authorities. Our fee covers the support around them.
| Fee | Adult | Under 18 |
|---|---|---|
| National (D) visa at the German mission | €75 | €37.50 |
| Residence permit after arrival | €100 | €50 |
| Accelerated skilled-worker procedure (§ 81a), if used | €411 | n/a |
Sources: § 46 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); § 45 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); § 47 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); § 50 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV)
Not included: certified translations, document verification abroad and language courses, which vary by country.
Discount for multiple family members
Usually yes: simple German at level A1. It is not required if you hold an EU Blue Card or a skilled-worker, researcher or self-employment permit. It is also not required if you are a national of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK or the USA. Illness, disability, or a case where learning German is impossible or unreasonable also exempts. Spouses of German citizens are also exempt if a year of genuine effort has not been enough.
Sources: § 30 Residence Act (AufenthG); § 41 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV)
The federal guideline treats housing as sufficient with 12 square metres for each family member over six and 10 for each child under six. Children under two are not counted, and states may set their own rules. Blue Card, skilled-worker, researcher and self-employed sponsors do not have to prove living space for a spouse or minor children.
Sources: General Administrative Regulation on the Residence Act (AVwV-AufenthG), No. 2.4.2; § 29 Residence Act (AufenthG)
There is no fixed income threshold. The immigration office checks that your household can cover living costs, rent and health insurance without social benefits. The yardstick is the Bürgergeld standard rate (2026: 506 euros a month for each adult partner). Your spouse’s own income can count. Spouses of German citizens are normally exempt from this test.
Sources: Federal Ministry of Labour: standard rates (Regelbedarfe) 2026; § 28 Residence Act (AufenthG)
Only in narrow cases. If your first EU Blue Card or skilled-worker permit dates from 1 March 2024 or later, the authority may admit your parents. Your parents-in-law can qualify too if your spouse lives in Germany permanently. You must be able to support them. Other sponsors can bring parents only to avoid exceptional hardship.
Source: § 36 Residence Act (AufenthG)
Yes. But a child aged 16 or 17 who does not move at the same time as the parents must speak German at C1 level or show they will integrate well. This test does not apply if you or your spouse hold a Blue Card or a skilled-worker permit. With joint custody, the other parent must consent or a court decision must allow the move.
Source: § 32 Residence Act (AufenthG)
There is no legal deadline, and most of the time goes into waiting for an appointment. In May 2026 the wait ranged from 2 weeks in Nairobi to more than 52 weeks in Islamabad, Dhaka, Rabat and Accra. The local immigration office must then approve the visa, and for family reunion its silence never counts as approval.
Sources: Bundestag Drucksache 21/5984 (federal government answer, annex 2); § 31 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV)
Since 1 July 2025 German missions no longer re-examine refusals through remonstration. You can file a new application, which puts you back in the queue. Or you can sue at the Administrative Court of Berlin within one month of receiving the refusal. That is why getting the file complete the first time matters so much.
Sources: German Embassy Belgrade: End of the remonstration procedure; German Embassy Abidjan: My visa application was refused
Yes. If your employer uses the accelerated skilled-worker procedure, it also covers your spouse and minor children. Their visa applications must be filed at about the same time as yours. The procedure costs 411 euros. Your spouse is allowed to work in Germany.
Sources: § 81a Residence Act (AufenthG); § 47 Residence Ordinance (AufenthV); § 4a Residence Act (AufenthG)
Every rule on this page is checked against the current Residence Act and Residence Ordinance. Figures come from German missions and the federal government's answers to the Bundestag. We use no blogs or agency websites for figures. Wait times change often and are shown with the date the government published them. This page was last reviewed on 7 November 2026 and is general information, not legal advice for your individual case.
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