Citizens of countries other than Switzerland, EU or EEA member states can bring their family members to Germany. The rules that apply depend on the nationality of the family members who wish to join you.
Your spouse is a citizen of Switzerland or an EU/EEA Member State
Even if you are a third-country national, if your spouse is a citizen of an EU or EEA member state, they are entitled to freedom of movement and can live and work in Germany without restrictions. All they need to enter the country is a national identity card.
Your spouse is a not a citizen of Switzerland or an EU/EEA Member State
You can look forward to a future together in Germany, even if your partner comes from a third country. The following requirements must be met for a spouse to join their skilled worker from a third country:
- Residence title: as an employee, you have a residence permit, a settlement permit or an EU Blue Card for Germany.
- Health insurance & money: you have adequate health insurance coverage and resources to care for your family. If you are a citizen of another EU country with an EU Blue Card and would like to live in Germany with your family members on a long-term basis, you only need to provide proof of health insurance coverage for yourself and your family.
- Legal age: your spouse is of legal age, i.e. at least 18 years old
No proof of German language skills is required for family members joining a skilled worker with a valid residence title in Germany. However, to ensure that they feel at home in Germany and are able to cope with everyday life, your family members should be able to communicate independently in German. To find out how this can be achieved, see our “Learning German” section.
Joining a registered civil partner
Unmarried partners can also benefit from family reunification if they meet the conditions for spousal reunification. It is important that the civil partnership entered into under foreign law essentially corresponds to the types of civil partnership that were possible in Germany until 2018. In principle, this means that:
- the civil partnership must be registered in the respective country, i.e. the civil partnership declarations must be recorded in official files or registers
- and the partnership must give rise to legal effects and obligations.
The same applies to civil partnerships between two people of the same sex or where at least one person is neither female nor male.