Hello all,
I am an Indian national moving to Germany in the next few months. My visa process is underway. My wife is similarly qualified (both of us are engineers) and will want to find work as soon as possible after we get to Germany...

I would very much appreciate it if someone would share information on how long it would take to get her visa processed so she can join me. My visa process has just started, and ideally we'd like to travel together... or at the most have a gap of a couple of weeks or three. Is this realistic or does it take longer to get her a employment visa based on my work permit/temporary residence permit? My work contract is for an 'unlimited' period...

thanks to all in advance!!

Getting curious about the lack of response... going by other topics here that I saw members on this board are definitely knowledgeable on this sort of a topic.
So I am wondering if my question lacked clarity... happy to provide info if needed.

As far as I know, your wife can apply in 2 different ways to join you here.

1- She finds a job here and applies for a visa based on that. In this case your plan might work.

2- She applies for a family reunion visa, but in this case you should already be here and have passed your probation period and have lived in Germany for 2 years?

Question: What kind of visa is your wife applying for?

You should request your company to process the visa of your spouse as the same time as yours. The spouse visa process takes somewhere between 2 months to 6 months. The visa requirements are specified in the german consulate websites in india.

Normally spouses get automatic workpermits only after 2 years residence in germany. But in case a company offers your spouse a position, they have to apply for workpermit. The labour office in germany will then check whether the position can be filled in by Germans or EU citizens. If no suitable persons are found then your spouse maybe issued a workpermit.

Hii Raj, actually my question is to you ?? As i have several questions answered relating this by you.. but, couldn't find a way to send you as a message. So, posting here.. never mind..

I am ph.D student living in germany since Aug, 2008. My visa states AUFENTHALTSERLAUBNIS AE gemäß § 18 Abs. 4 Satz 1 AufenthG. I am about to finish this in couple of months.

Am i eligible to apply for BE ?? Do you have any idea on this ??

Thnks for the help

I think, you can apply

http://www.aufenthaltstitel.de/beschverfv.html#9

Hii.. Raj, thanks for the quick reply. I can just go to the visa office and then apply?? or is there any procedure?? my spouse is here on family reunion visa, will her visa also changes with mine ??

AxEnNeSo, Raj,
Thank you very much for your responses.
I am concerned now, and it sounds like I should be! I have been under the impression that this is a simple process and the gap between my arrival and hers in Germany would be in the matter of weeks at the most, not months. Clearly something has been lost in translation...
I am currently under the impression that all we need is the marriage certificate, and she'd automatically get the same rights as me, plus all of us (we have a 2 year old) will get an entry visa first.
For example this website:
http://www.workpermit.com/germany/children_and_spouses.htm
says the following:
<quote>"In general, spouses are given the same rights as the spouse already in Germany. Therefore, if the spouse in Germany has the right to work, the spouse who comes to join him or her will also have that right. "</quote>
Or is this somehow not true for Indian citizens?

I realize I neglected to mention... we live in the US at the moment, so would not be visiting the German embassy in India but in the US. I don't suppose this should make any difference whatsoever to the process....

@i4u412

Just go to the Foreign office and speak to them. They will inform you, how the process works.

@globalrecruit

It could be that the process in US is different than india, so they may not carry out the marriage certificate verfication. Since your wife is highly qualified, she may also be excempted from providing the German language cerficiat. So i would assume the visa process will be done in a few weeks time or maybe days and not months as it happens in india. But i would advice you to start the visa process of your wife now itself so that you know if you fulfill all the requirements.

Regarding the workpermit for your wife, well the website is wrong in this regard. But if your salary is more than 66,000 Euros, you may be eligible for the highly qualified visa which is equivalent to the American greencard or permanent residence. Then your wife also get automatic permission to work without delay.

Thanks so much Raj for the response... Sorry about my own delayed note. We got neck deep in our moveout process and visa application process right from the time I last posted here...
I'm moving to Germany today Visa all done, wife's visa applied under the family reunification process. Keeping fingers crossed about hers getting done in the 4-5 week period that mine did. Had to stick with the company's advice about doing hers after mine, but seems like it could have been done together like you suggested... Not sure yet, what works best.
Thanks again guys.

Actually hers got done in 3-4 days not weeks... so quite happy about this process. A lot quicker than the corresponding US processes were.