Does Salary Size Matter for Family Reunification?

"Nothing costs us so dearly,

and is valued by us so cheaply,

as our salary."

Boris Zamyatin

In our articles, we have already mentioned more than once that family reunification (Familienzusammenführung) in Germany is one of the most popular legal grounds allowing a foreign national who is a family member of a German citizen to move to Germany fairly quickly and obtain a long-term residence permit here without particular difficulty. German law devotes considerable attention to the institution of the family and does everything possible to support relatives' wish to be closer to one another. This applies both to blood relatives of Germans (children, parents) and to their spouses. The key condition for such a move is that the family member permanently resides in Germany. That person need not necessarily be a citizen of Germany or the EU. It could also be a non-EU foreign national holding a temporary or permanent residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis or Niederlassungserlaubnis) or a Mobiler-ICT-Karte — the EU "Blue Card." At the same time, it should be kept in mind that the mere presence of a family member in Germany is, while mandatory, an insufficient factor under German law on its own. The general requirements for obtaining a residence permit for family reunification are set out in § 28 of the Act governing the fundamental requirements on the residence, employment and integration of foreign nationals in Germany (Aufenthaltsgesetz):

1) for the purpose of restoring family ties or marital union (if relatives intend to live separately — say, in different cities — no legal grounds for reunification arise. The legislator takes the view that, in such a case, people could just as well live in different countries);

2) where the family member already residing in Germany with whom reunification is sought holds one of the following statuses:

· German citizenship

· status as a German under Article 116(1) of the Basic Law

· a residence permit of the Aufenthaltsberechtigung type

· a residence permit of the Aufenthaltserlaubnis type

· status as a recognized political refugee (Asylberechtigter)

3) where housing space sufficient for the whole family is available (sufficient meaning space that, in size and quality, meets the standards for social housing for Germans);

4) where the family is able to support itself without state assistance (there are exceptions on this point, which we discuss in this article).

Under the established procedure, a person applying for a German residence permit through "family reunification" must, while still in their home country, apply at the German embassy there for a national visa for the purpose of reunifying with a German citizen. Only after obtaining the national visa in their home country may the person entering Germany do so in their new status and then obtain a residence permit under § 28 of the Aufenthaltsgesetz — family reunification.

In our practice, we frequently encounter clients seeking legal assistance who wish to move permanently to Germany to be near members of their family. Our firm's attorneys support such processes both through one-off consultations on individual aspects of the procedure and by taking on cases "turnkey" — from preparing the set of documents, to representing the applicant's interests while the immigration authority reviews their application, all the way to obtaining a positive decision and, where necessary, helping resolve any issues that arise during the first period after the move. At first glance, the procedure may seem quite simple, with no problems expected to arise. However, our varied legal practice shows time and again that every immigration case is highly individual, and what worked perfectly in one case may prove entirely insufficient in another. We would like to share one such case in this article, in which we managed to help our clients resolve a problem that arose unexpectedly during the immigration process and still obtain a favorable decision from the authority.

A middle-aged woman came to us — let's call her Lidia — a Ukrainian citizen. Her story, though similar to many others, had its own particular features. Lidia had divorced her husband about fifteen years earlier and had raised her two sons almost entirely on her own. Although she had to give up virtually all of her personal life, interests and hobbies, she managed to raise two young men who were responsible, courageous and well-educated. Not only did they both earn university degrees at local technical institutions, but they also managed to find jobs in their fields abroad. The elder son moved to England and had even started a family there, while the younger found a good job in the Netherlands, though he was in no hurry to start a family of his own. Things were going quite well; Lidia stayed on alone in her native Lviv, visiting each of her sons once a year. Naturally, the woman wanted to finally live a little "for herself," but she still lacked, for complete happiness, the support of a beloved partner. On her friends' advice, she began occasionally browsing local dating sites. After an unsuccessful marriage, she subconsciously no longer wanted to repeat the mistakes of her youth and thought that if she were ever to meet someone for a serious relationship, it would only be a foreigner. She didn't have to wait or search for long — an efficient, homely, cozy Ukrainian woman quickly caught the eye of many. Lidia, however, was in no hurry; she declined any dubious offers, corresponded calmly, and worked through various details that interested her, until she met a German man named Till (name changed). To this life-experienced woman, he was appealing from the very start — his face in the photo radiated kindness, he answered every "tricky" question in their correspondence graciously, and he was in no rush to meet, willing to wait. As their communication continued, Lidia liked him more and more, and it was clear that he had serious matrimonial intentions. And so, after a year of close correspondence and meetings roughly once a month, they decided to live together and formalize their union legally. The wedding took place quite modestly in Lviv, attended only by Lidia's sons, Till's daughter from his first marriage, and a few longtime friends from both sides. Once the celebration was behind them, it was time to make further plans for their life together and to obtain a residence permit for the newly married wife of a German citizen. Till initially had not even the slightest doubt that the process of obtaining a national visa for Lidia, and later a German residence permit, would go "without a hitch." The problem, as often happens, arose quite unexpectedly. The website of the German Consulate in Ukraine stated that the set of documents required for family reunification had to include a document proving that the person residing in Germany had sufficient income to support their wife in her new country. Just shortly before his wedding to Lidia, Till had left one job and had already received an offer from a new employer. However, during that very period, he was living on unemployment benefits. Fortunately, the happy newlyweds didn't give up and came to our law firm for a consultation in time. The attorney who took on the case listened carefully to the clients and promised to do everything necessary and possible for a favorable outcome in this matter, as there was a real chance of success under § 28 of the Aufenthaltsgesetz. He reviewed all the available documents and advised on how and where to obtain an apostille, translation, and notarized copies. He then prepared and attached to the set of documents a statement of his own explaining that Till, a German citizen, was a highly paid professional who had left his job on his own initiative and already had in hand an offer for a new job at a higher position with a higher salary and performance-based bonuses. As a result, although the man was temporarily unemployed at that moment, there was no doubt about his financial standing. Moreover, proof of financial means is not a mandatory requirement in the case of reunification with a German citizen, as it would be in other, comparable family reunification cases in Germany. On top of everything else, our client's husband owned a three-story house with a garden in Potsdam, where he was living alone at the time. So there was no question of insufficient housing space here either.

As we expected, about four weeks after the set of documents for a category "D" national visa on the grounds of reunification with a German-citizen husband was submitted, Lidia received a favorable decision at the German embassy in Kyiv, and a month later she wrapped up her affairs in Ukraine and moved to join her worthy husband. Naturally, we continued to handle her case after the move as well — first, Lidia was registered at her husband's address, after which she was granted a three-year residence permit by the immigration authority. We also informed Lidia of her right, after three years of living together in Germany, to obtain a permanent settlement permit, and explained what requirements she would need to meet on her end to achieve this successfully.

We wished the young family good luck and happiness in their marriage. We are confident they truly deserve it. And should any legal questions arise, we — professionals in our field with a rich track record of successfully resolved matters — will be here to help.

Immigration & Residence Law

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