The family reunion visa lets your spouse, kids, or sometimes parents join you in Germany long-term. It's a national D-visa that turns into a residence permit once they're here.
Here's what nobody tells you upfront: the process itself isn't that complicated. The wait times are what kill you.
What This Visa Actually Is
This is a national visa (D-Visum) for close family members—spouse, minor children, sometimes parents—to move to Germany and get a residence permit for family reasons (Aufenthaltserlaubnis aus familiären Gründen).
The legal basis is §27-36 of the Aufenthaltsgesetz (the Residence Act). Specifically:
§28 if you're joining a German citizen
§29 if you're joining a non-German foreigner
§30 for spouses
§32 for children
You don't need to memorize these, but knowing which section applies helps when you're trying to figure out why the embassy is asking for specific documents.
The Process (From Outside Germany)
Step 1: Check if you're eligible
Usually it's spouse, registered partner, or minor children. Sometimes parents of minors or other relatives in special cases (§36).
The sponsor in Germany needs:
Valid residence permit or German citizenship
Enough income to support the family
Health insurance
Adequate housing (varies by case, but basically you can't bring someone to live in a studio if you already have three people there)
Step 2: Book an appointment at the German embassy
This is where it gets annoying.
You book through the German embassy or consulate website for the applicant's country. The wait time for this appointment is the biggest bottleneck in the entire process. Some posts? A few weeks to maybe two months. High-demand posts (parts of Asia, Middle East, Africa, Balkans)? Sometimes 6-12+ months just to get the appointment.
There's no way around this. You can't expedite it by calling or emailing every day. You just wait.
The only way to know what's realistic for your specific embassy is to check their website or ask in local expat groups for that country. Don't trust general timelines—they vary massively.
Step 3: Prepare documents
Every embassy has a PDF checklist on their website. Use that one. Not the general German government site, not some blog post from 2019—the actual checklist from the embassy handling your case.
Typical documents you'll need:
From the applicant:
Valid passport
Completed visa application form + biometric photos
Marriage certificate or birth certificates (with apostille or legalization if needed, plus German or English translation)
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Proof of basic German (A1 level) for spouses in most cases—though there are exceptions if you're joining an EU Blue Card holder, highly skilled worker, or if learning German where you are is genuinely impossible
Proof of relationship (photos, chat logs, visit records) if the embassy suspects it might be a fake marriage
From the sponsor in Germany:
Passport/ID + residence permit (or German ID if you're a citizen)
Meldebescheinigung (registration certificate) showing current address
Work contract + last three months of pay slips
Proof of health insurance
Rental contract, sometimes a landlord confirmation that there's enough space
They can ask for more stuff—divorce decrees, custody orders, extended civil documents—depending on your situation.
Step 4: Attend the visa appointment
You submit the application, pay the fee (around €75 for adults, reduced or waived for minors in some cases), and do a short interview about your relationship and situation. It's usually straightforward if your documents are in order.
Step 5: Wait for processing
Here's what actually happens after the appointment:
The embassy sends your case to the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners' authority) in Germany where your sponsor lives. They check housing, income, whether the marriage looks legitimate, all that.
This takes:
8-12 weeks for straightforward cases
6+ months if documents need to be verified back in your home country or if the office is backed up
If you're joining someone with subsidiary protection (not full refugee status), there's a federal quota of 1,000 visas per month for the whole country, so delays of many months are common.
Step 6: Get the visa and enter Germany
If approved, you get a D-visa in your passport, usually valid for 3-6 months to enter. Once you're in Germany, you register your address (Anmeldung) and then go to the local Ausländerbehörde to get your actual residence permit.
Realistic Timelines
Stop asking "how long does it take?" The answer is: it depends, and nobody will give you a guarantee.
Here's what's realistic based on the bottlenecks:
Getting the appointment:
Low-demand embassy: 2-8 weeks
High-demand embassy: many months
Processing after the appointment:
Straightforward spouse or child reunion with clear documents: 8-12 weeks is common
If they need to verify documents in your home country: add 3-9+ months
Family reunion to subsidiary protection: expect long delays because of the quota system
I've seen people get through in three months total. I've also seen people wait over a year. It's not fair, but it's how it works.
What Actually Helps
Use the exact embassy checklist
Every German embassy has small differences in what they want. Don't use a generic checklist. Download the PDF from the specific embassy handling your case and follow it exactly—spelling of names, number of copies, which translations, whether they need apostilles.
Get your civil documents ready early
Birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, custody judgments—with apostille or legalization if your country requires it. These are often the main delay. Start this process before you even book the appointment.
The sponsor should prepare in parallel
Up-to-date pay slips, health insurance proof, rental contract—have all this ready before the embassy forwards your case to the Ausländerbehörde. Don't wait until they ask.
Language requirement
If A1 German is required for your situation (usually for spouses, but there are exceptions), start the course early. Waiting times for Goethe or ÖSD exams can be long depending on where you are.
If you think you qualify for an exception (Blue Card spouse, disability, genuinely impossible to learn German where you live), be ready to prove why.
Follow up, but don't harass them
After 8-12 weeks from your appointment, a polite email with your file number asking for a status update is normal. The sponsor can also contact their local Ausländerbehörde in Germany to check if the file arrived and whether anything's missing.
Emailing every three days won't make it faster. It just annoys people.
Keep copies of everything
Digital scans of all documents, certified translations, apostilles, all correspondence. You'll need this if something gets lost or if they ask you to resubmit.
The Real Bottleneck
The process itself isn't that complex. The legal requirements are clear. The documents are predictable.
The problem is the wait times, and those are outside your control. You can do everything perfectly and still wait a year because the embassy in that specific country is overwhelmed.
This is frustrating, but understanding it upfront helps you plan. Don't quit your job or sell your apartment based on optimistic timelines you saw on Reddit. Assume it'll take longer than you hope.
What I Haven't Covered
This is general guidance. Your situation might be different if:
You're joining someone with subsidiary protection (not full refugee status)
There's a previous visa rejection or immigration issue
Custody situations with children
Same-sex marriages (recognized in Germany even if not in the home country, but embassy procedures vary)
For complicated cases or if you've already been rejected, talk to a specialized immigration lawyer. Don't try to DIY your way through an appeal.
If you want more specific info—like realistic wait times for a particular embassy, or a tighter checklist based on your exact situation—tell me:
Who's the sponsor in Germany (German citizen? EU Blue Card holder? Student visa? Refugee status?)
Which country and embassy is handling the application
What type of family reunion (spouse, child, parent)
Then I can give you something more tailored instead of this general overview.
