Blue card processing time for main Applicant & Spouse

You can apply together, but since the processes are separate (and the FRV depends on your Blie Card approved first), they will not be approved together.
So either you wait for their FRV, or you go ahead to Germany first and they follow later.

Hi Beppi,
Thanks for your fast response on the above.

I still have few more clarifications. The company offered me a job in Germany arranged a re locator for me and the re locator applied for visa pre-approval for me in Germany (through Labor office) , How that pre approval help my visa ? is that a mandatory step all blue card applicants need to go through now ? because I did not see the pre approval step as part of the Visa check list.

I have never heard about a „ pre-approved“ visa and I din‘t think it exists.

beppi wrote:

I have never heard about a „ pre-approved“ visa and I din‘t think it exists.

I think I understand what the poster means by “pre-approval”. People confuse what a blue card is, a residency permit – and not actually a visa. A third country national (most non-EU) needs a work visa to enter Germany for the purpose of working. They then apply for a residency permit. A blue card has special benefits but also qualifications. But it is also unnecessary as one would get a normal limited residency permit anyway. So it sounds like the visa has been applied for and they assume the blue card will get issued on the merits of the person's qualifications and salary level.

I am posting a link to the Germany Immigration authority page about the blue card and quoting some relevant passages from it below.

https://www.bamf.de/EN/Themen/Migration … -node.html

“You must meet the following pre-conditions in order to obtain an EU Blue Card:
•    You are a graduate: If you did not acquire your degree in Germany, it must either be recognised or comparable to a German degree. Information on the equivalence and recognition of foreign degrees is available at www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de.
•    You have an employment contract or a binding job offer.
•    You have a minimum annual gross salary of 56,800 Euros. A reduced minimum annual gross salary of 44,304 Euros applies to employment in the occupational fields of mathematics, computer science, the natural sciences, engineering and human medicine (not including dentistry) (as of 2021 - the salary thresholds are readjusted for each calendar year).
•    The employment must match the qualification.

Competent authorities

Validity of the EU Blue Card 
The EU Blue Card is a temporary residence permit that is issued for a period of four years as a matter of principle. If the duration of the employment contract is shorter than four years, the EU Blue Card is issued for the duration of the employment contract, plus three months. It can be extended if the requirements are met. A permit from the competent immigration authority is required for any change of job within the first two years of employment. The conditions for granting the Blue Card will then be re-examined.

If you live outside the EU, you will generally require a visa for the purpose of gainful employment which will be issued by the competent German diplomatic mission. You can enter Germany on this visa. Prior to expiry of the visa, you must subsequently apply to the local immigration authority for the EU Blue Card.”

The main advantage of a blue card is a faster pathway to getting  a more permanent residency title or eventual naturalization. But if it is issued and then the person applies for a FRV then it also has relaxed conditions over a basic limited residency title. But again, it is not necessary for getting the FRV.

Here is what is mentioned from the above mentioned  site;
"Relaxation of the conditions for family reunification: Your family members enjoy less stringent conditions pertaining to family reunification. Spouses are entitled to issuance of a residence title without requiring a knowledge of German, for example, and are granted immediate and unlimited permission to take up employment."

Hi Tom,
Thanks for your Time and detail explanation.

Actually I have the below :

1. I am graduated from well recognized university from Sri Lanka (Bachelor Degree).
I already sent all the necessary documents for the recognition from ZAB in Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz - Central Office for Foreign Education). As per their website they mentioned that I will get the evaluation result in 2 - 3 weeks but since its for Blue card eligibility, They will speedup even lesser duration.

2. I have an employment contract with the Gross Salary way more than stated as a pre request (Salary>56,800) for Blue card requirement.

3. The Job offer is match with the qualification.

4. I booked an appointment for Visa application in German Embassy in Singapore
(Appointment will be last week of this month)

However my only concern now is about my family visa and how long its going to take after my visa get approved even I apply my family visa together with my application.

Because my family staying in Singapore with me under my Singapore employment pass dependency and once I leave from Singapore to Germany, They will not be able to stay here. However I have 2 Months of Notice period in current company after my Germany Visa get approved. Hopefully family Visa will be granted before my 2 Month Notice period ends. Not sure am I taking a risk here.

Hope anyone can have better advice for my situation. Thanks a lot.

If things didn't change since I did the same (coincidentally also in Singapore, but I am German), FRV applications are processed by the administration of the town in Germany, where you intend to live.
There is no general rule on how efficient or overworked they are (and neither can the embassy tell you). In our case, my wife‘s FRV took three months.

I think the elephant in the room at the moment when it comes to things like a FRV getting issued is Covid. Good news is that at the moment it seems that not only Singapore citizens but residents are allowed to come to Germany. They are on a list of only 5 countries currently other than EU or Schengen countries exempted. The problem is that such rules can change quickly and Covid has impacted all official workings for such considerations. So even if allowed, who can say how much time will be needed to process?

And if a spouse and kid(s) don't get the FRV in time and would have to leave Singapore within 2 months – this would be a very bad scenario. If they have to return to India and thus are no longer Singapore residents then they would not have grounds for the Covid exemption as India is not on the list.  Under current rules they would then be stuck in India. But who knows what the rules will be by then? If properly immunized against Covid there might be a Covid passport exemption in place but such a thing is speculative at this point.

Anyway, it is worth looking at the current rules at this official site:

https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs … #f13919566

Thanks Beppi & Tom for your honest feedbacks.
Yes, While we are In Singapore and moving to Germany is the safer choice.
Because I did not see my native country (Sri Lanka) in the unrestricted list.

I may consider request longer joining date  with my new employer.

TominStuttgart wrote:

And if a spouse and kid(s) don't get the FRV in time and would have to leave Singapore within 2 months – this would be a very bad scenario. If they have to return to India and thus are no longer Singapore residents then they would not have grounds for the Covid exemption as India is not on the list.  Under current rules they would then be stuck in India. But who knows what the rules will be by then? If properly immunized against Covid there might be a Covid passport exemption in place but such a thing is speculative at this point.

Sorry for my mistake in writing India rather than Sri Lanka. Of course I know the difference - but the answer is the same since neither are exempted from Covid restrictions.

You could absolutely submit your EU Blue Card Visa application with your family's reunion Visa application.  For EU Blue Card applicants, their spouse and children (if they are 18 years or above), the requirement of a basic A1 German certification is waived.

Please ensure that all of your documents are in order, so as to minimize the waiting time for Visa approval.

Mine only took two weeks from application to approval at the Singapore Visa office.

Hi Kohsja,

Thanks a lot for your information.
Yes I have already applied with all the necessary documents and also the pre approval from labour office in Germany. Waiting for the results.

Thanks all for your king advices. Just to give an update that I got my and my family visa approved. It took 7 days including weekend. Both my and family visa application I have submitted together and they have approved together.

Hi, sorry to jump in and not sure if someone could shed some light

My husband ( turkish national) got a job offer and entered Hamburg 3 weeks ago through his blue card entry visa ( valid for 6 months) . He just got an apartment and got himself registered ( anmeldung) but have yet to submit the documents to obtain the actual blue card.

Question: Can we ( myself and my daughter) apply for FRV while his blue card is still under process?

Any advice and related experience is much appreciated.

Thanks,
April

Charina: FRV can be applied for at the same time as the main visa, or at any time afterwards.
In fact, most people apply for the whole family at the same time, so they can move together.

Oh I see. That's great news! We didn't apply together as it was taking so long to get an appointment as a family versus just my husband's.

Thanks for the answer, much appreciated.

hello Geson @gimmya84 i would like to ask how long did you receive the ZAB? were taking the same path as you. May i also ask if you provide  a german address in your visa application? Thank you in advance