Family reunion visa process

The message says that your husband was contacted to supply additional documents before end of October.
It does not say whether the documents are needed in original or if a scanned copy is sufficient. Your husband should call them and ask!
The processing time, after all documents are submitted, can be 3 months or longer in my experience (it depends on the local authorities of the town you want to move to).

Hello.I am in same case,mean my husband.We send all documents by email(scan)and now waiting for his appointment(i think in february)

I am aware of the waiting time, just I wonder if they sent any notification to our apartment in Berlin and we didn't get it because my husband wants to wait with me in the USA. He's freelancing so he can be flexible. Hope it's not an issue for them

Collas: German officials will send all communication to his registered address by post (they are not good at online yet, and many regulations even REQUIRE paper to be sent). He is (by German law) required to be reachable there and able to react within two weeks, so he better get someone to check his mail there and forward it!

Thank you. We are trying to get hold of that letter.

I got hold of my case officer. He listed items like tax audit report, Profit and Loss statement from husband, but he only got to Germany in June, what tax can he own?

I am  stressed because I always thought we just need to have enough fund in our bank.

Don't know if anyone has experienced that.

I assume (but you better confirm that with the officer) they want to check whether your husband has sufficient financial means for your living cost - you won't get a family reunion visa without that.
If your husband cannot provide the requested documents, he should explain to the officer why thois is so - and suggest alternatives (e.g. valid contracts with clients that show to-be-expected revenue).

collas wrote:

I got hold of my case officer. He listed items like tax audit report, Profit and Loss statement from husband, but he only got to Germany in June, what tax can he own?

I am  stressed because I always thought we just need to have enough fund in our bank.

Don't know if anyone has experienced that.

Like you mention, it cannot be directly about pay tax payments since he hasn't been there long enough to be required to file. You should look closely at what they ask. I assume they want copies of tax statements from wherever they have been filed in recent years as proof of income - not really proof of tax payment per se. This is standard procedure.

I would have thought they would have checked this before giving him his visa. It can be that they accepted his income as enough to grant him a visa as an individual but when a partner comes in question then they logically expect one to earn more to pay their way. If the level needed is in question then they can ask for additional documentation - which is anyway better than an outright refusal.

I asked if we can provide our bank statements, he said those are not good enough, but he crossed out Tax Audit form, leaving just the profit and loss statement (for 3 months?) My tax adviser said it's doable. Let's see what happens.

Hi here !
It is been a while ! Please, who could please  share his experience about his family reunion visa precisely on the verification fees for the marriage certificate and other documents. Does this fee exist and how does this verification take place?  Must I pay for the visa fee when my spouse is a German? Regardless of your country of origin and where you obtained your visa your reply will be appreciated and honored.
Best regards

adeatom wrote:

Hi here !
It is been a while ! Please, who could please  share his experience about his family reunion visa precisely on the verification fees for the marriage certificate and other documents. Does this fee exist and how does this verification take place?  Must I pay for the visa fee when my spouse is a German? Regardless of your country of origin and where you obtained your visa your reply will be appreciated and honored.
Best regards

Official documents like marriage certificates need to be translated by a certified translator. The cost depends on the place doing the translation but of course certified translations will cost more than ones  from someone without certification. You then submit the required documents along with the certified translation.

There is no fee for verification of a marriage certificate - and a family reunion visa is free of charge for spouses of Germans.
But Tom is correct about the need for certified translations of all foreign documents. Depending on the language and complexity of the text, this can cost between €20 and €200 per page.

I didn't say there is a fee for verification! I wrote that one has to submit a certified translation of required documents - and one has to pay for them. I cannot begin to speculate on such costs in another country.

But I stand corrected from my original statement of spouses of Germans needing to pay a visa fee. They get a waiver from the usual 60 Euro fee.

How or if a government agency actually verifies a document is something nobody will know. Such things will be done at their discretion and will basically be included in any visa fee, which in this case if waivered anyway. There is no separate “verification fee” I've ever heard of.

Infact thank you very much for your replies.
I found your statements helpful both Beppi and Tom.I appreciate these alot.

Good day here!
I will like to start by appreciating the useful post and the experiences the members of this forum have been posting right from the onset of my membership in this forum which I fond very interesting, useful and helpful, they have taken alot of positive impacts on my travel process even before my marriage. These have taught me many which also give opportunity to enlight people as well concerning the issue of travel process when it is needed through the knowledge I always gain here. Many Kudos for this forum.
I have some challenges in terms of gathering my family reunion visa application documens and as well as filling of  visa application form in some parts of the form such as :
My first challenge is,  it is stipulated that the marriage certificate must be included and the divorce paper but this statement of divorce paper. I want to know whether the divorce paper of mine or my spouse divorce paper in Germany I must submit for my visa.
Secondly:should I submit all my school certificates with the visa application but these are not stated in the requirements given and as well as the training certificate.e. g plumbing certificate?
NOW, on the issue of filling of the form
In column number six(6): the question is how would you be lodged and these options are given
Individual room,joint apartment, collective room, others
Which one should I choose when we want to live together with my wife in a room?
In column number seven (7): Do you reserve any house apart from that of Germany?  What would I answe here?
In column number eight(8): is it planned that your members of your family to accompany you to Germany?  Meanwhile my daughter will go to Germany but not now how could this question be tackled?
in column number nine(9): I don't have intention to stay more than 12 months in the territory of Germany and demand for the visa of throughout my stay in Germany?  Please what does this mean?  Kindly help me out of this.
In column number twelve (12):how could I answer this question?  How long do you intend to stay in Germany?  When I intend to join my wife completely.
In column number thirteen(13): what is your financial or means of subsistance?  When my wife works and earn salary what must I write in this column?
ColumnB of 13:Do you have health insurance?  What is the answer to this question, please?
Thank you in advance for the quick answers to my post because "struggling continue until success is achieved"I appreciate you all. Thanks
Best regards

Where did you get the English translation of the visa application form from? Some of it really sounds very strange!
Maybe you German spouse can help you understand the German original, which is certainly clearer.

Thank you for your quick response but I got this from German embassy of my country( Benin Republic). Must I attach my academics certificates from Primary to University?  Because my university certificate not ready, I only have my statement of result, could I attach this with my application? About the children Information, please does this mean that only the Name I include during the application could travel with me in the future? 
Best regards

You better ask the embassy which documents they need.
And your children can only join you if they have visa of their own.

adeatom wrote:

Good day here!
I will like to start by appreciating the useful post and the experiences the members of this forum have been posting right from the onset of my membership in this forum which I fond very interesting, useful and helpful, they have taken alot of positive impacts on my travel process even before my marriage. These have taught me many which also give opportunity to enlight people as well concerning the issue of travel process when it is needed through the knowledge I always gain here. Many Kudos for this forum.
I have some challenges in terms of gathering my family reunion visa application documens and as well as filling of  visa application form in some parts of the form such as :
My first challenge is,  it is stipulated that the marriage certificate must be included and the divorce paper but this statement of divorce paper. I want to know whether the divorce paper of mine or my spouse divorce paper in Germany I must submit for my visa.
Secondly:should I submit all my school certificates with the visa application but these are not stated in the requirements given and as well as the training certificate.e. g plumbing certificate?
NOW, on the issue of filling of the form
In column number six(6): the question is how would you be lodged and these options are given
Individual room,joint apartment, collective room, others
Which one should I choose when we want to live together with my wife in a room?
In column number seven (7): Do you reserve any house apart from that of Germany?  What would I answe here?
In column number eight(8): is it planned that your members of your family to accompany you to Germany?  Meanwhile my daughter will go to Germany but not now how could this question be tackled?
in column number nine(9): I don't have intention to stay more than 12 months in the territory of Germany and demand for the visa of throughout my stay in Germany?  Please what does this mean?  Kindly help me out of this.
In column number twelve (12):how could I answer this question?  How long do you intend to stay in Germany?  When I intend to join my wife completely.
In column number thirteen(13): what is your financial or means of subsistance?  When my wife works and earn salary what must I write in this column?
ColumnB of 13:Do you have health insurance?  What is the answer to this question, please?
Thank you in advance for the quick answers to my post because "struggling continue until success is achieved"I appreciate you all. Thanks
Best regards

Some of this is hard to answer because the questions are not clear. Not to be insulting but the English is so bad that much of it is not really understandable. You posted before about a marriage certificate and now you suddenly mention divorce papers? If one is married before, they need to prove a proper divorce to be eligible to remarry and thus need divorce papers from where the divorce was done. How can one answer your questions if you don't openly say your situation; when and where were you married and when and where did you get divorced? And are you now remarried with a German or is it just planned – and when and where. Marriage status is very important to the German bureaucracy. They won't let one marry unless they can prove they are eligible - either never married or legally divorced. If remarried in a foreign country, they can demand divorce papers to see that any previous marriage was properly ended.

I don't see any reason for submitting things like school certificates if not asked for but I don't know that it causes any harm. I would think the highest level degree is enough. Say one has a degree from a University then showing that they finished previous schools seems unnecessary.

Concerning the question 6, if you plan to live in a room together then just say so. But be aware that there is an expectation of minimum space of 12.5 sq. meters per person.

Concerning question 7. Simple question just answer it. Do you maintain a house outside of Germany – or not.

Concerning question 8. I would think it is best to mention the daughter but that she will come later - or else there might be problems later for her to come. Anyway if she comes later than you cannot all be living in just one room – and will need another minimum 12.5 meters of space.

Concerning question 9. Again, simple question! Are you intending to stay longer than 12 months in Germany or to live elsewhere? Unless you definitely intend to leave within 12 month then you need to make it clear you plan to stay longer.

Question 12. This relates to question 9. Unless you have a definite plan and date to leave Germany then you need to say indefinite.

Question 13. You need to let them know your combined income. If you have no job lined up yet then it will be the income of your wife – and have to be enough to support both of you.  If your incomes are too low then showing proof of financial assets can possibly exempt you. Say one has no job and is marrying a German who only has a 450 Euro/month job – thus not enough to support both – BUT you can show you have half a million Euros available in the bank – then they would undoubtedly not have a problem.

Question 13B.  One needs to get German health insurance once you move to Germany. Until you get into the system you should at least have a travel insurance that will cover medical emergencies.

Any way Tomin!  You have answered my questions and I appreciate this. But I don't see what is not clear on my first question and the English that I used that was not clear. I said it was written on the list of documents requirement for family reunion visa in my country ( 🇧🇯)  that I should submit the marriage certificate and divorce paper for my family reunion visa. And I want to know whether it is my divorce paper or my spouse divorce paper, they are talking about  if I have one. The divorced paper of my German wife was submitted before to the office in my country Benin in Africa where we celebrated our marriage.I was not married before so I have no divorce paper. Just to know whether they asking for my wife divorce paper or not. Simple as ABC.  Thank you, if my English is not good you can please correct me because we learn everyday.
Best regards