Reunification Of Children With non-EU Foreigners In Germany

Reunification of children with non-EU foreigners in Germany

Reunification of children with non-EU foreigners living in Germany is governed by §§ 32 i.V.m. 27 Abs. 1 and Abs. 3 of the Residence Act (‘AufenthG.’).

The reunification depends primarily on the age of the person who wants to join, but also on the residence status of the reunifying person.

‘Aufenthaltsgesetz’ - The German Residence Act

Family reunification is governed by §§ 32 i.V.m. 27 Abs. 1 and Abs. 3 of the German Residence Act (‘AufenthG.’).

Children under 16 years:

§ 32 Abs. 1 AufenthG: A residence permit must be granted to the minor unmarried child of a foreigner if both parents or the parent with sole custody of the child hold a residence permit, an EU Blue Card, a settlement permit or a permit for permanent residence - EU.

Children from 16 to 17 years:

§ 32 Abs. 2 AufenthG: If the minor unmarried child has already reached the age of 16 and does not move the center of his or her life to the Federal Republic of Germany together with his or her parents or the parent with sole custody, Abs. 1 shall apply only if he or she has mastered the German language or if it appears guaranteed that he or she will be able to integrate into the living conditions in the Federal Republic of Germany due to his or her previous education and living conditions.

Children from 18 years on:

Family reunification of children is only possible before they turn 18. The decisive factor is the date on which the visa application is submitted. It is irrelevant if the child comes of age due to longer waiting periods during the visa procedure.

In the case of adult children, a reunification will only be considered in the case of exceptional hardship.

Joint custody:

§ 32 Abs. 3 AufenthG: In case of joint custody, a residence permit in accordance with subsections 1 and 2 should also be granted for subsequent immigration to only one parent with custody if the other parent has declared his or her consent to the child's residence in the Federal Republic of Germany or a corresponding legally binding decision has been issued by a competent authority.

Other Requirements

Other requirements which typically need to be met*:

• Sufficient living space:

  • For each family member over 6 years 12 square meters and for each family member under 6 years 10 square meters of living space are available and adjoining rooms (kitchen, bath, WC) can be used to an appropriate extent.

    Special regulations for Berlin: Each person requires a living space of at least 9 square meters, for each child up to 6 years a living space of at least 6 square meters is required.

• Secure livelihood:

  • Health insurance (if you work in Germany, you typically have health insurance and your children would be included at no extra cost - see also our blog post about the German social security system here).

  • Sufficient income (no use of social welfare benefits for his own or any family members)

*Under certain conditions (e.g. the parent(s) is/are holder of the EU Blue Card), the requirements do not need to be met.

Please note:

The referenced laws and regulations are only an excerpt and do not claim to be complete. CareME2 does not provide legal advice - we can refer to a specialist lawyer for this purpose.

Contact us at CareME2 if you are a physician, nurse or midwife, looking for career opportunities in Germany.

Disclaimer

CareME2 is not a law firm, hence, it doesn't offer any legal counsel. Rather, the information it provides is purely for general informational purposes. The content on this website is delivered 'as is', without any guarantees of being devoid of errors.