Documents Required for a Family Reunion Visa in Germany

Key Takeaways

• You submit family reunion visa documents for Germany, including copies of your sponsor’s documents.
• Each German mission publishes its own family reunion visa checklist.
• If you join a spouse, all three missions we compared ask for a marriage certificate and proof of A1 German, unless an A1 exemption applies.
• A foreign public document needs an apostille or legalization, unless an EU rule, a treaty, or your mission waives it.
• A German mission can require a certified translation but generally cannot certify the translation itself.

Table of contents

Family reunification in Germany lets a person who lives in Germany (sponsor) bring close relatives to join them.

Spouses and minor unmarried children are among the closest relatives who qualify. Parents and other relatives qualify only in narrower cases.

You apply for a family reunion visa at a German embassy or consulate (the German mission). It is a national visa for stays over 90 days.

Which documents do you need as the family member abroad for a family reunion visa in Germany?

These are common requirements for a family reunion visa in Germany.

As of Oct 2026, the lists below compare the checklists of the German missions in Kuwait, Islamabad, and Tehran (Apr 2026).

• Valid passport.
• Application form. Fill in your visa application form. Missions use either the VIDEX form or the Consular Services Portal.
• Biometric photo. Prepare two photos. The photo is usually required to be no older than six months.
• Birth certificate. Prepare the applicant’s and sponsor’s birth certificates.
• Marriage certificate, if you are joining a spouse.
• Proof that earlier marriages have ended. Submit the divorce decree or the death certificate of a former spouse, if you were married before.
• Proof of German language skills. Submit an A1 German certificate if you are joining a spouse, unless an A1 exemption applies. Your mission may also limit the age of the A1 certificate to one year when you apply (e.g., Islamabad).

Your mission may also ask for proof of your residence (e.g., civil ID, residence permit, resident registration certificate) in the country where you apply.

NOTE: Every German mission publishes its own document list. Check the list of the German mission that handles your application.

Which documents does your sponsor submit with your family reunion visa application?

Your sponsor should meet the requirements for family reunification in Germany, which include income, housing, and health insurance. These are some documents that are commonly required to prove them:

• Passport
• Residence permit
• Proof of address. A registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung). The mission sets the document’s age limit, usually six months.
• Income and housing. Proof of income and housing (e.g., a work contract, payslips, a rental agreement).
• Health insurance. You should have family health insurance through your sponsor. Some missions ask for a confirmation of that coverage.

How do your family reunion visa documents change with your family relationship?

Your relationship to your sponsor can require you to submit additional documents to prove your relationship.

For spouses and registered partners

• Marriage certificate, if you’re joining your spouse.
• Civil partnership agreement, if you’re joining your registered partner.
• Your German spouse’s passport. If your sponsor is a German citizen, your German spouse also submits a passport or a certified copy of it.
• Proof of income, if your sponsor is a German citizen. Bahrain (2025) lists proof of earnings or financing (e.g., a work contract or scholarship) for families of German citizens as well.

The marriage date on your certificate affects the conditions of spousal reunification in Germany. If you married after your sponsor received the permit, the authorities may still let you join at their discretion (§ 30(2) AufenthG).

For minor children joining a parent

• Birth certificate
• Proof of custody or the other parent’s consent. A child joining one parent submits the court decision that gives that parent sole custody. An alternative is submitting the other parent’s consent.
• Other family documents. These depend on your family’s situation (e.g., the parents’ marriage certificate, a divorce decree, or a paternity or adoption certificate).

A child aged 16 or 17 of a foreign sponsor needs German or proof of the ability to integrate. This applies if the child does not move together with the parents or the sole custodial parent (§ 32(2) sentence 1 AufenthG).

For families of recognized refugees and asylum grantees

If your sponsor is a recognized refugee or asylum grantee, your family adds proof of your sponsor’s protection status.

• Decision of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Submit all pages of your sponsor’s BAMF decision (BAMF-Bescheid), including proof of when it was received.
• Timely notification. Submit the printed timely notification (fristwahrende Anzeige) if your family used it to meet the three-month application deadline for refugee families. It does not apply to families of people with subsidiary protection.

Family reunification for refugees in Germany explains how the three-month deadline works and when income and housing are waived.

What are the certification and translation rules for your foreign documents in a family reunion visa application?

The issuing country and your German mission decide whether your documents need an apostille. Your mission also sets the translation requirements.

Which of your foreign documents need an apostille or legalization for a family reunion visa?

Your foreign public documents (e.g., marriage, birth certificate) need an apostille or legalization.

An apostille and a legalization work differently:

• Apostille. A designated authority of the issuing state confirms the signature and the issuer’s authority on the document.
• Legalization. A consular official of the state where the document will be used confirms the signature and the issuer’s authority.

Two kinds of documents can skip the apostille and legalization or follow a lighter route:

• Certain public documents that the authorities of an EU member state issued, under EU Regulation 2016/1191 (e.g., birth, marriage certificates).
• Certain documents covered by a bilateral treaty on civil status or document authentication with Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, or Switzerland. The treaty waives legalization for those documents or replaces it with a special intermediate certification (Zwischenbeglaubigung).

Check your mission’s page before you order an apostille, because the mission can waive and handle the apostille differently.

Do your family reunion visa documents need to have translations?

Yes, most missions require a certified translation of documents that are not in the mission’s accepted languages. Some missions also accept German or English.

A German mission generally cannot certify a translation, so you should arrange the certified translation yourself.

Missions often keep a list of translators. For publicly appointed translators in Germany, search the Gerichtsübersetzer database or the database of the Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer.

Do you bring original documents or copies to the family reunion visa appointment?

Bring the original documents and copies to the family reunion visa appointment. The number of copies differs by mission, so bring the original plus two copies.

At the in-person appointment, the mission:

• Checks your original documents.
• Collects your fingerprints and a photo.
• Takes the visa fee.
  • 75 €
  • 37.50 €, for a child under 18
  • Free if you join a German spouse

Read the full application process for family reunification in Germany ->

FAQ

References

• Auswärtiges Amt, Beglaubigung / Legalisation / Apostille / Beschaffung von Urkunden
• Auswärtiges Amt, Internationaler Urkundenverkehr
• Auswärtiges Amt, Das Haager Apostille-Übereinkommen
• Auswärtiges Amt, Consular Services Portal
• Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG)