Artist Visa - can I bring along Wife and son?

I am an American self-employed performing artist. I am now married to a German but was confronted by some of these questions before I got married. In general, they don't want to give work visas to non-EU country citizens unless the skill is something they can't find a qualified EU- worker to do. The advantage of being any kind of artist is that one is (theoretically) offering something unique and individual. It is a good idea to present what you do as having a market potential. The main thing is proving you can make a living. Showing you made money in the States establishes a track record of sorts but doesn't guarantee you can do the same in Germany - or are you planning to do art work and continue to sell it State side? If yes, tehn I doubt they care where the monexy comes from as long as you have an income. Unless you can show contracts proving a continued income it might be difficult short of being famous in a field. Language skills are important because in most any field they find a strong correlation between speaking the language and being successful. The other problem is that if you are not married to a German, then the visa will be limited to 6 months to 2 years. When it runs out one has to apply again, with no guarantee even if one was reasonably successful; it is at the discretion of the local city authorities. If the person deciding doesn't like you, or Americans, or thinks there are too many similar local artists, they might not extend your visa. In this case one could try moving to another municipality where they might be more open. I think it is hard for many people to try setting down roots and establishing a future in a country where the right to stay is always so conditional but that is a personal decision.  Bank statements are definitely a plus if you can show you have resources to back up any shortfalls in income while you establish yourself. To sum it up, the more capital you come with, the more potential for success you can show and the better language skills you have to integrate with – the better. A modern American Van Gogh with genius skills but no commercial success, no capital and not speaking German would likely get turned down. I doubt authorities want to break up families so it makes sense that you apply for your wife and child to accompany you. The drawback could be that they will (rightfully) calculate that you have to make even more money to survive. A thing you might need to consider is all countries tax the world wide income of their residents. And America also taxes its citizens worldwide. You will need to look into things like the foreign earned income exemption and foreign paid tax credits. If you get accepted to the German Künstlersozailkasse which means you are insured under the Germany social security system which includes not only retirement benefits but also your health insurance, then you must give the IRS a form issued yearly showing this. If not, you will be liable for American self-employment Social Security taxes. One cannot just file to one country and think the other will not care. If done right and you make under 90,000 USD or so then you will not have any tax liability to the States but you HAVE to file returns anyway. If it comes so far that you make it to Germany and want to know more about the tax situation you can feel free to contact me.