Family reunification with refugees

Persons entitled to asylum and recognized refugees have the right to privileged family reunification. They are treated equally in the basic provisions on family reunification.

Persons entitled to subsidiary protection have no legal entitlement to family reunification. The authorities in Germany decide on humanitarian grounds (family separation, illness, specific danger abroad) whether family reunification can be permitted. Reunification is limited to 1000 people per month. Only spouses and underage children as well as parents of underage refugees can submit an application. Family reunification is excluded if the marriage was only entered into after fleeing the country of origin. The same applies if the family member entitled to subsidiary protection has committed serious crimes.

Persons entitled to national protection, i.e. persons with a ban on deportation, are excluded from family reunification. Only in exceptional cases can family members receive a residence permit for reasons of international law or humanitarian reasons or to safeguard the political interests of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Prerequisites

In principle, spouses who have reached the age of majority, as well as underage, unmarried children, adopted children and stepchildren may join you.

Other family members are only permitted to join you if there is exceptional hardship. This is then a discretionary decision.

Your family members must fulfill the passport requirement. In addition, your family members are subject to the same regulations as you as a person entitled to permanent residence.

Exceptions

Other requirements that citizens from third countries must generally fulfill for family immigration are often waived in the case of refugees.

Immigrants do not have to demonstrate basic knowledge of the German language. The exception only applies to your spouse if you were already married before you came to Germany.

You do not have to be able to support yourself or your dependents if you can prove that you have tried to find work. The care of your relatives falls under SGB II legislation.

You do not have to provide sufficient living space for your family if you can prove that you have made efforts to find suitable accommodation.

Family reunification with a child

If you are a minor yourself and no adult with custody rights is staying with you in Germany, a person with custody rights is entitled to join you. It does not matter whether there is sufficient living space available or whether you are able to support yourself.

The adult with custody must enter the country as long as you are a minor. The adult's right of residence only exists until you yourself reach the age of 18.

Duldung is not a residence permit, but a temporary residence permit. Because the obligation to leave the country still applies, people with a tolerated stay permit are excluded from family reunification.

Family reunification can only take place once the asylum procedure has been successfully completed. You must then submit the application to the local immigration authority within 3 months.

Your relatives apply for a visa for the purpose of family reunification at the German diplomatic mission in their country of origin or the country in which they are currently residing. If you apply for family reunification in Germany beforehand, this can speed up the process.

You should therefore state the names and dates of birth and current place of residence of the person joining you in your application and submit complete copies of the civil status certificates. All documents should be available in your language and as a translation.

Global consent is required for family reunification for people from Syria. The visa for family members is issued without the consent of the immigration authority.

If you apply for family reunification, the immigration authority will ask the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) to check whether your protection can be revoked or whether there are other grounds for deportation. Only if this is not the case can the immigration authority approve family reunification.

Your relatives may only join you if they have not committed any crimes that would prevent them from being granted asylum.

Your relatives must not be subject to an entry or residence ban in Germany. An application to lift or shorten the time limit must be submitted to the immigration authority that issued the ban.

The ban may be lifted in order to protect legitimate interests. A condition is often the reimbursement of the costs of the previous deportation.

According to the Dublin III Regulation, family reunification is also possible if a relative is already residing in an EU or EEA member state at the time when you enter Germany as a person entitled to family reunification.

It is then at the discretion of the Immigration Office whether you have sufficient living space for family reunification and must be able to support yourself independently. They will always check whether it is possible to live together in the third country.

If your family members are already in Germany with you, you can apply for family asylum. If you have been granted incontestable protection as the person entitled to asylum, your family members will also be granted asylum and thus a refugee passport.

Family asylum cannot be granted if a national ban on deportation has been established.

With regard to family asylum, the following count as family members

• Your partner in a marriage or registered partnership, if the marriage or partnership already existed in the country of origin. The application for asylum must have been submitted before or at the same time as your application, but in any case immediately after entry.
• Your underage, unmarried children.
• Your parents or other adults who have custody of you. This only applies if you yourself are a minor and unmarried. Your unmarried siblings who are minors, if you are a minor yourself.

Children born in Germany

Family asylum can also be applied for children who are born in Germany after their parents have applied for asylum. The parents must inform the Immigration Office or the BAMF immediately after the birth.

They can provide their own reasons why the child should be granted protection. Alternatively, the same information applies as for the parents. Minor children may not be returned separately from their parents if the decision is negative.

If you have been granted incontestable protection against deportation, your spouse and unmarried minor children will also be granted protection against deportation. All other requirements for the granting of family asylum must be met.

In some federal states, there are admission orders for the granting of residence permits in accordance with Section 23 (1) of the Residence Act.

The condition for admission via the state program is that the beneficiary relatives have close relatives in Germany. A residence permit can be issued if the relatives living in Germany submit a declaration of invitation and commitment in accordance with Section 68 of the Residence Act.

The declaration is limited to 5 years. Under certain circumstances, it can also be issued by third parties.

National admission programs are usually limited to certain periods and certain countries of origin. Information on the current regulations can be obtained from the local foreigners authority, advice centers and supporting associations.