Dependent Visa Germany: Bringing Your Spouse and Children in 2026

Germany does not issue a single visa called a "dependent visa." What exists instead is a family of specific legal routes — each tailored to the relationship between the person in Germany (the sponsor) and the family member joining them. The umbrella term used in the Residence Act is Familiennachzug (family reunification), and each category carries its own eligibility rules, income thresholds, and document requirements.

This guide covers the two most common cases: bringing a spouse and bringing children. It explains what the German system actually requires from each category, including the age-based rules that many parents only discover after they have already started collecting documents.

The Core Legal Framework

All family reunification to Germany is governed by Sections 27 through 36 of the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz or AufenthG). The specific rules that apply to your situation depend primarily on two things:

1. Who the sponsor is — a German citizen, an EU/EEA citizen, or a third-country national holding a German residence permit
2. The relationship — spouse, minor child, or other family member

Spouses and children of EU/EEA citizens fall under the EU Freedom of Movement Act (FreizügG/EU), which is significantly less burdensome — no pre-entry language test, no income threshold. The requirements described below apply to the much larger group: non-EU nationals sponsoring family members from outside the EU.

Bringing a Spouse to Germany

Spouse reunification for third-country nationals is governed by § 30 AufenthG. The requirements divide into four categories.

1. Age and relationship validity

Both spouses must be at least 18 years old. The marriage must be legally valid under German law — which means it must confer mutual rights and obligations equivalent to German marriage law. Same-sex marriages are fully recognized. Proxy marriages are not recognized unless subsequently validated by cohabitation.

2. The A1 German language requirement

This is the requirement that stops most applications. The joining spouse must demonstrate basic German language proficiency — A1 level on the CEFR scale — before the visa is issued. Accepted certificates come exclusively from:

• Goethe-Institut (Start Deutsch 1)
• telc GmbH
• ÖSD (Austrian Language Diploma)

The certificate cannot be older than twelve months at the time of the visa interview.

Exemptions exist if the sponsor holds: an EU Blue Card, certain skilled worker permits (§§ 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d, 21 AufenthG), or an ICT Card. The requirement is also waived if the joining spouse holds a recognized university degree, is a national of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, or the United States, or has a documented disability that permanently prevents language learning.

3. Financial sufficiency

The sponsor's adjusted net income must exceed the sum of the family's Bürgergeld standard rates plus total warm rent (base rent, heating, and utilities). For 2025, the Bürgergeld rate is €563 for the sponsor and €506 for the joining spouse. Add your warm rent to those figures — the result is your minimum required net income. Gross salary is irrelevant; only post-tax, post-social-contribution net income counts.

4. Adequate housing

Minimum of 12 square meters of habitable living space per adult. The rental agreement must state this explicitly.

Bringing Children to Germany

Child reunification is governed by § 32 AufenthG, and the rules change significantly based on the child's age.

Children under 16

Children who have not yet reached their 16th birthday face the fewest restrictions. If both parents (or the sole custodial parent) reside in Germany with valid residence permits, the child can join them without any German language requirement. The main requirements are:

• Both parents (or sole custodial parent) must be legally resident in Germany
• Adequate housing and sufficient income must be demonstrated
• If only one parent is in Germany and the other remains abroad, a notarized consent declaration from the non-migrating parent is required

This last point matters more than many applicants realize. The consent requirement exists to prevent international parental child abduction scenarios. Without notarized consent from the other parent, embassies will not issue the child's visa regardless of how strong the rest of the application is.

Children aged 16 and 17

The law becomes significantly more demanding for 16- and 17-year-olds. Older teenagers have a narrower window to integrate into the German educational system before they reach adulthood, and the legislature has built strict integration criteria into § 32 AufenthG to reflect this. A 16- or 17-year-old can join their parents only if one of the following conditions is met:

1. They relocate simultaneously with both parents (or the sole custodial parent), keeping the entire family unit intact in the move
2. They demonstrate German language proficiency at the C1 level, proving immediate capacity for higher education or vocational training
3. They receive a positive integration prognosis — a discretionary assessment conducted by the Ausländerbehörde and the embassy that evaluates educational history, existing language skills within the family, and the complete absence of any criminal record

The positive integration prognosis typically looks for at least four years of continuous, successful schooling in the home country. If the child has significant educational gaps or any history of delinquency, the prognosis will generally be negative.

One important recent reform: 16- and 17-year-olds joining parents who hold an EU Blue Card or skilled worker permits under §§ 18a and 18b AufenthG are now exempt from the positive integration prognosis requirement. This change was introduced to remove barriers for skilled worker families.

Adult children (18 and over)

Standard family reunification law essentially does not apply to adult children. Section 36 AufenthG permits adults to join parents in Germany only under the "exceptional hardship" (außergewöhnliche Härte) provisions, which require demonstrating an urgent, life-sustaining dependency that cannot be met in the home country. Poverty, economic instability, or general hardship in the country of origin do not qualify. This route is almost exclusively successful in cases of severe chronic illness or physical disability requiring daily hands-on care that is unavailable in the home country.

Documents Required for a Dependent Visa Application

Two complete, unstapled A4 copy sets of all originals are required, arranged in the exact order specified by the individual embassy or consulate.

Processing Timeline Reality

The official processing time after the in-person appointment at a German embassy or VFS Global center is cited as one to three months. In practice:

• Turkey: 2 to 4 months after the appointment
• India: 3 to 6 months after the appointment (plus 6 to 12 months to get the appointment)
• Pakistan and several African countries: 6 to 12 months or longer, partly due to mandatory document verification by local lawyers hired by the embassy

The appointment waiting period is a separate, often longer bottleneck. In India, appointment slots through VFS Global for family reunion visas are frequently booked out months in advance. Starting the A1 language preparation on day one — while simultaneously collecting documents and getting onto embassy waiting lists — is the most effective way to compress the total timeline.

After Arrival in Germany

Once your family member arrives, several registrations must be completed within strict deadlines:

• Within 14 days: Register at the local Einwohnermeldeamt (address registration office)
• Immediately: Transition to the sponsor's statutory public health insurance (Familienversicherung)
• Before 90 days elapse: Book and complete an appointment at the local Ausländerbehörde to convert the Type D visa into a plastic residence permit card

The residence permit granted to family members includes immediate work authorization — there is no separate work permit required.

A complete preparation guide with income calculation worksheets, parallel study timelines, and country-specific document checklists is available at /de/family-reunion/.

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