Our practice in late-resettler-status cases shows that the harder challenge is increasingly not the candidate's own status, but getting their relatives included in the admission permit (Aufnahmebescheid).
Antonina and her son Vladislav (names changed) had already spent years caught up in the demanding process of obtaining late-resettler status. By the time they came to our firm for help, another lawyer had already handled their case without positive results — and, if anything, had left the process more complicated. So once we took on the file, a lengthy procedure began to have the case reopened. It turned out that Antonina fully met every precondition the law sets for a late-resettler candidate. Her German was likewise no obstacle: she passed every exam and obtained a B1-level certificate. Her son Vladislav was a different matter. He had a congenital intellectual disability — not severe enough to render him legally incapacitated, but pronounced enough that he could not manage certain things independently, and any process of learning something new was extremely difficult for him.
B1/B2 Language Certificate Requirements
To obtain late-resettler status, an applicant must confirm German as their native-level language (§ 6 BVFG) — exemption from the test is possible only on medical grounds.
Once the case was reopened and our lawyer submitted a supporting brief with all the necessary documents, the Federal Administrative Office of Germany (Bundesverwaltungsamt, BVA) issued its decision admitting Antonina and granting her late-resettler status. Vladislav, however, was refused inclusion in the admission decision. The authority requested either a certificate confirming his language proficiency or medical documentation showing he was unable to provide one.
Since our lawyer had been communicating with the clients not directly, but through their trusted representative Klavdia (name changed) — Antonina's sister, who had lived in Germany for years — he contacted her right away to discuss the situation. After thinking it over, Klavdia suggested that, given the circumstances, her sister should simply go to Germany while Vladislav stayed behind. Somewhat taken aback by this reaction, and wanting to be absolutely certain that this reflected Antonina's own wishes, our lawyer asked Klavdia to speak with Antonina first and have her confirm her final decision in writing, in her own words. He also explained once more that if Antonina left for Germany while Vladislav remained, he would lose any future opportunity to enter the country — since everyone named in a resettler application must move to Germany together with the recognized resettler. It was therefore essential that Antonina not leave until the proceedings concerning her son had concluded. Family reunification would technically remain an option afterward, but that would mean starting the entire process over, with no telling how long it might take. A few days later, Klavdia called back and confirmed our lawyer's expectation: Antonina would not go anywhere without her son.
With Antonina's case already decided favorably, our lawyer could now focus entirely on her son. He soon wrote to the authority requesting that Vladislav be exempted from any language test or certificate requirement. To grant this, however, the authority needed documentation confirming his intellectual inability to sit a language test. Although we had already submitted medical certificates, the authority considered them insufficient for such a decision — it wanted specifics: an explicit written statement, referenced in the certificates, confirming that Vladislav's health condition made him unable to learn any foreign language at all. That statement was, indeed, absent from the certificates we had provided — not because it wasn't true, but simply because of how such certificates are formally drafted. In Russia and other CIS countries, medical certificates rarely include the level of detail customary in Germany; they typically follow a standard template stating only a diagnosis and prescribed treatment. In Germany, by contrast, a patient's medical opinion comes with a thorough account of causes, symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment method, prescribed medication, and expected duration of treatment.
Given the situation, it was easier to obtain a certificate in Russia that met German requirements than to argue the point with the authority. Our lawyer therefore explained in detail exactly what was needed from the clients and specified precisely what the certificate had to state. Having sent the clients a list of what the medical certificate needed to cover, he awaited the results — which now depended on Antonina's ability to explain the purpose to the doctor. The results were not long in coming: the certificate arrived with exactly the content required for a favorable outcome. The doctors had documented everything in detail, confirming Vladislav's reduced intellectual capacity caused by a brain condition and, crucially, his inability to learn any foreign language or sit a language test.
Our lawyer immediately forwarded the certificate to the authority. As expected and hoped for, an affirmative response soon followed: having reviewed the medical certificate, the authority found it sufficient and exempted Vladislav from proving German proficiency. Antonina's son was thereby included in the admission decision and could lawfully move to Germany together with his mother.
In closing, it's worth noting that even one's closest relatives are not always able to assess a situation objectively and reach the right decision on your behalf. Before entrusting a relative with handling matters for you, make sure their understanding of your situation is accurate. In this case, everything ultimately worked out well — but only because our lawyer insisted on obtaining direct confirmation from the client and stepped in at the right moment. Had he treated the matter with indifference, the consequences could have been serious, and putting things right could have cost a great deal of both time and money.
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