Germany is one of the world's most attractive countries for immigrants. A stable economy, state social support, free education, and many other advantages mean that foreign students, skilled workers and other categories of migrants continue to arrive in Germany. Once such a person decides to build their future life in Germany, the question of reuniting with parents left behind in another country tends to become increasingly pressing over time.
Since clients regularly approach our law firm asking us to explain how to legally bring their parents to Germany, we decided to examine this question in more detail in this article, using a case from our firm's practice.
Special Reunification Cases
In individual cases (serious illness, childcare needs), family reunification is possible even without fully satisfying the formal requirements — a well-constructed legal justification plays the decisive role.
Svitlana (name changed) became a client of our law firm more than five years ago, initially approaching us to launch, with our help, the procedure for obtaining a German residence permit. That permit was obtained successfully, and our client, having found good employment and started a family, felt entirely at home in Germany. The one circumstance that troubled Svitlana more and more with each passing year was that her elderly mother, whose health left something to be desired, remained in Ukraine.
For this reason, Svitlana came back to our law firm to ask what could be done to bring her mother to Germany.
Our attorney explained that, under Article 6 of Germany's Basic Law, marriage and family enjoy special state protection, and that Section 27 of Germany's Residence Act (Gesetz über den Aufenthalt, die Erwerbstätigkeit und die Integration von Ausländern im Bundesgebiet) accordingly allows a residence permit to be issued for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a marriage and family in Germany. The law does provide for reunification with a spouse and/or child (Sections 30 and 32 of the same Act). Other family members of a foreign national permanently residing in Germany — and of a person who has already acquired German citizenship — may, however, be granted a German residence permit only in exceptional cases, where issuing the permit is necessary to prevent serious hardship for the applicant or a relative (Section 36(2) of Germany's Residence Act). What counts as "serious hardship," and what qualifies as an exceptional case, is determined by Germany's authorities on a case-by-case basis.
Our attorney clarified that the most common example of an exceptional case is the need for ongoing care for a sick parent. However, the seriousness of the illness and the impossibility of arranging such care in the parent's country of residence must be thoroughly documented. Obtaining a German residence permit for elderly parents is accordingly a very difficult procedure with only a limited chance of success.
In light of the above, our attorney suggested that Svitlana have her mother's medical records and her treating physicians' findings analyzed to determine whether it might be possible to apply for a corresponding German residence permit for her mother. Svitlana, understandably disheartened by these statutory requirements, gladly seized this chance and provided our attorney with all of her mother's available medical documents.
Having carefully reviewed the documents submitted, the attorney, drawing on many years of experience with such matters and current case law, informed Svitlana that, unfortunately, her mother did not yet suffer from chronic illness or a steadily deteriorating state of health sufficient to justify issuing a German residence permit, since she did not require ongoing care. For this reason, our attorney recommended that Svitlana closely monitor her mother's health during visits on a tourist basis, since, should her condition significantly worsen, our law firm could immediately initiate the process of obtaining a corresponding residence permit for Svitlana's mother.
Our attorney's next meeting with Svitlana took place roughly a year and a half later. Our client explained that, during Svitlana's most recent visit to Germany, her mother's health had suddenly deteriorated sharply; she had been urgently hospitalized and had already spent more than three weeks receiving inpatient treatment under round-the-clock medical supervision. Since the visa her mother had obtained to visit her daughter was soon due to expire, Svitlana once again turned to our law firm.
Our attorney asked Svitlana to provide copies of the relevant medical findings and, after reviewing them, informed her that there was now a real possibility of obtaining a German residence permit for her mother. Svitlana was overjoyed at this chance, as she had been deeply worried about having to send her mother back to Ukraine, where the standard of medical care was worse, while she herself would obviously be unable to remain permanently at her mother's side.
To support the application for a German residence permit, our attorney also requested a certificate confirming that transporting Svitlana's mother to Ukraine was currently impossible or highly inadvisable, since she required ongoing medical care. In addition, the attorney asked Svitlana to provide evidence of her financial stability and her ability to care for her mother, together with a copy of her mother's health insurance policy. Once the required documents had been obtained, our attorney submitted a carefully argued application to the immigration authority, requesting that Svitlana's mother be granted a German residence permit, and attached all the necessary evidence.
To Svitlana's indescribable joy, the competent authority accepted the arguments our attorney had presented and granted her mother a three-year permit to reside in Germany.
Once that period had elapsed, Svitlana again came to our law firm, this time asking us to have her mother's residence permit extended, since her mother continued to require ongoing medical care despite her health having stabilized.
To this end, our attorney arranged a meeting with the immigration authority and personally set out the circumstances of the case to the relevant official. The medical certificates confirmed that Svitlana's mother remained under ongoing medical supervision and that Svitlana, with whom her mother permanently lived, was providing her care. While reviewing Svitlana's mother's passport, however, the official noticed customs entry stamps showing that she had flown to Ukraine twice. On this basis, the official concluded that our client's mother could not be that ill if she was flying abroad. This fact came as news to our attorney as well, since Svitlana had never mentioned her mother's trips or their purpose. In this situation, however, swift and decisive action was required, so the attorney emphasized that there had only been two such trips and suggested that they had likely been connected with sanatorium treatment in Ukraine — with Svitlana's mother accompanied throughout by her daughter — meaning these trips could not be taken as evidence that she no longer required ongoing medical care, as confirmed by the corresponding medical certificates.
The immigration official once again carefully reviewed all the documents our attorney had submitted and agreed to extend Svitlana's mother's German residence permit for a further three years.
We would once again like to draw your attention to the fact that every case is assessed individually by the authorities, taking into account the specific circumstances involved, so it is simply not possible to devise universal recommendations. We accordingly recommend seeking legal assistance from a qualified attorney with broad experience in the relevant field, capable of effectively defending your legal position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common "exceptional case" justifying a residence permit for a parent who is not a spouse or child?
The need for ongoing care of a sick elderly parent — but both the seriousness of the illness and the impossibility of providing such care in their home country must be thoroughly documented.
Can an application for a residence permit be filed before a relative's health actually deteriorates?
You can seek advice in advance, but if there is no chronic illness or ongoing decline yet, the chances of success are low — it is better to closely monitor the relative's health during visits and reapply as soon as significant deterioration appears.
Can a relative's trips back to their home country during a residence permit's validity jeopardize its renewal?
Yes, the authority may treat this as evidence that ongoing care is not actually needed — but a small number of trips made for a specific medical purpose (for example, sanatorium treatment accompanied by a caregiver) can generally be explained and defended.
All rights reserved. Copying or republishing this article requires a link to the original source.
