How to reunite family in Germany? German residence law gives the legal right to family reunification only with the husband/wife, single minor children (reunification with parents) and family reunification for parents with their minor and unaccompanied child under protection.

This legal right does not include family reunification of married sons or daughters of legal age or of siblings with their parents, nor does it include family reunification of parents with the son/daughter of legal age.

How to reunite family in Germany?

In these cases, family reunification is only possible in exceptional cases. The legal reference in this case is Article § 36 para 2 of the German Residence Act.

 Read more: How to reunite in Germany

The conditions that must be met for the request to obtain a positive decision are the existence of force majeure circumstances in the family, and this means that the fate of asylum alone is not legally sufficient.

In addition, family reunification is possible in these cases only when proofs of living expenses and adequate housing for the family are provided without the use of public funds.

The study of each exceptional case takes place separately after conducting a personal interview at the visa department, in conjunction with the responsible foreigners department.

We would like to ask you to understand the following: It is not possible to study these exceptional cases, which require a lot of time in advance by e-mail, for legal and employee-related reasons, but it is decided upon after conducting the interview in the visa department and checking all available information.

How do I settle family reunification in Germany?

Book an appointment for family reunification together with the rest of the family through the iDATA service provider’s website (booking appointments through the iDATA call center has been suspended since 22.06.2016).

Gather and prepare all the necessary documents for your visa application. You can find all the required documents on the left side of the page.

Make a commitment to come on time for the interview with all documents. The application can only be submitted in person. This also applies to minor children.

When is family reunification not possible even in cases of force majeure?

Family unification of more than one wife is not possible even under force majeure circumstances. Article 30 paragraph 4 of the German Residence Act excludes family reunification for this purpose.

Family reunification is also not possible as long as the asylum procedure in Germany is incomplete.

Also, refugees in Germany who only have a temporary suspension of deportation document cannot obtain family reunification.