Hello,

I hope this serves as good reference to many who are (or will be) in a similar situation as mine. The good news for spouses of Blue Card holders - spouse is not subject to mandatory integration course AND gets work authorisation right away.

1. I arrived in Germany in Jan 2013 on an employment visa, and subsequently received a Blue Card in Feb.

2. We were marriaed December 2012 through a court registered marriage in Mumbai.

3. After marriage my wife got her name changed on the passport. We also had a joint bank account.

4. Wife applied for a family re-union visa on 21.2.2013. Application was accepted. Officer said they'll reply within 3-4 working days if more documents were necessary.

5. My wife had already taken the A1 exam in 2012. However, the visa officer said specifically that it wasn't required as husband is a Blue Card holder.

6. No response for 2 weeks. On 7.3.2013, wife received an email asking to pay INR 9500 as marriage verification fee.

7. On 27.3.2013, I received a letter from the Aliens Office in Munich asking me to submit proof of salary and accommodation. The officer in Munich showed me his official documents indicating that spouse visa applicants in India are subject to a marriage verification process. He said that once the Consulate submits its verification report to him, he will approve and send it back in 2 weeks.

8. On 19.4.2013, an agent from the Consulate visited my wife's residence. He asked a few questions, verified the address, checked her documents (ration card, Pan card etc.), rang the neighbours to ask questions about the family etc. About half an hour later he departed, saying that he will submit the report in 1 week.

9. So 1 week after that and 2 weeks of approval time as promised by the officer in Munich, my wife got a call on 7.5.2013 that her visa is approved and ready for stamping.

10.  In Munich, more good news! My wife applied for a residence card. The officer said she doesn't need any mandatory integration course, plus she gets work permit right away with the resident card!

Voila! Less than 3 months and it was done. Nonetheless, it seemed to be a long wait during the process itself.

Thank you so much for a structured explanation of the process.

Is there a need to have Tax card number?
After working for 5months (Have Blue card) and getting salary, my office admin mentioned today that I dont have Tax card number yet. 

Is there any issue and will this have any impact on Family reunion visa?
Each month my tax are getting cut.

Thanks
Mani.

Hi Mani,

There is no link between tax status and family re-union visa of spouse. Even if you are married but your wife is not living with you in Germany, you can't claim "married" status for tax benefits. So don't worry about that.

About your tax status: I'm pretty sure you have a tax number and you are in Tax Class 1, else your company can't process your salary. In Germany taxes are deducted at source, quite like in India and hence my company asked me to send the tax certificate soon after joining. If they don't have it, they will probably fall into legal troubles. When your wife comes to Germany legally on a spouse visa and when you do the registration (Anmeldung) at your local district office, then you can send this Anmeldung as proof of married status to the tax office and get yourself in Tax Class 3. You will easily save 300-400 Euros each month with Tax Class 3 (but I won't comment about the additional expenditure as a couple

Hope this helps.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the details of application for Spouse visa. This thread is going to be my reference for next couple of months as my wife is going to apply for Family reunion visa in 1st week of Dec 2013. Considering your expereriences our best bet to get that visa approved is around 1st-2nd week of Feb 2014 (considering no issues with documents and marraige verification).

Thanks.

Good luck nox. Take it easy and be patient.

Hi
It was quite informative and helpful. I see that the visa website diplo.de is not that structured and I am having trouble finding link to Spouse visa application form.

Can you please help me with the link as you have already gone through the process and also can you please update me if you have approached any third party company for assistance with your spouse visa process.

In anticipation of an early reply


Thanks Much,
Fayaz

Hi Fayaz, the spouse visa is in fact called as family reunion visa on the diplo website. This is the link to the Mumbai Consulate. Usually the information provided on the website is exhaustive, including the documents necessary for application. http://www.india.diplo.de/Vertretung/indien/en/05__Mumbai/Visa/Visa1/Visa__Familyre-union__Visa__Seite.html

I did not approach any third party for assistance for the visa application, and I advise you to not use any other services because the Consulate does not authorise any private agents.

The only exception was that the HR of my company in Germany provided me a relocation agency for finding a flat, residence card and other admin work in Munich. After my wife applied for her visa in Mumbai, this agency tracked from time to time the status of the application at the Alien's Office in Munich. But this is was just informal status tracking as the agency had good relations with the visa officer here. Else, you can only apply and wait for them to come back to you.

Hi,

Could you please let me know how you send the invitation letter to your wife for family reunion visa. I mean, did you send a scanned copy with your signature or signed print-out via post/courier?

I asked this query to Mumbai consulate, but have not received any response from them.

The reason for asking this is: for my initial 90 days visa, the Mumbai consulate asked me to get the original signed contract from the company. So, the company had to send me the original signed contract via post/courier.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Hi Nox, I sent a colour scan of the original. Additionally, I also faxed a copy of the letter directly to the Consulate on the day of the appointment. As long as you use a letterhead with home and office address and attach a copy of your residence permit, this should be enough. Asking the Consulate is useless, 90% times they don't reply and 10% their reply is a standard "check our website".

Well, and if you are not pressed for time then you can send the original by ordinary post from Germany. It will reach an Indian address in 12-14 working days.

It's different when you apply for your own visa and the original working contract is mandatory, they only check and return it back. Same happened to me.

Hi All,

My wife got the visa recently in one and half months. To speed up the process Be ready with the following docs in advance.

1) insurance proof of ur wife : its just a letter from ur krankenkasse specifying that after the arrival your wife will be insured. The line nach der einereise is important so specify that explicitly to the krankenkasse.
2) salary slips last six months
3)wohnraumerklarung : its a formular that your vermieter have to be filled.
4)aktuelle arbeitsbescheiningung: from ur employer that you are currently working there
5) arbeitsvertrag.

The marriage enquiry in india normally takes 3 weeks and then the ABH normally receives the complete file of your spouse from india per post and then they process it here and post you letter  to submit these docs which takes minimum of two weeks, to save this period you can in advance submit all the docs at the ABH.

Thanks

Hi Sunny,

How does (1) work? Should I go there to the insurance office and simply tell them that I need a letter stating what you mentioned? Should I pay/give any other documents?

And you simply took an appointment with ABH and submitted the documents yourself? Will they have correct reference?

Thanks!

Hi All,

I came to Stuttgart, Germay on an unlimited employment contract on 10 Jan 2014. I have also got a blue card here. I have invited my wife now on a Family reunion visa.
We applied for her visa on 06 Mar 2014. During the visa interview, she was asked for a tentative travel date and she informed it to be 20 Mar 2014, and the interviewer was OK with this.

Today, I enquired with the ABH (Ausledersamt) if thy have received her application and documents. I was shocked to know that they have still not received the online application from Bangalore consulate nor the document original/copies.

I would like to know if this is normal or I contact the Consulate in Bangalore and ask about the status. Its 2 weeks now and we have not yet received any word on the verification of any documents.

Please do reply with your valuable exprience and suggestions.
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Hi Kod,

Just seen your post addressed to me.

1) if you are having a gesetz versicher then just visit them and ask i need a letter for my spouse stating that ' nach der einreise' ur wife will be insured . they are goin to ask you for the german transalation of your marriage certificate.you can get this translation from india as well from the indo german chamber of commerce. According to words etc it cost me apprx 2000 Rupees. You need not to visit them just contact them on telephone and send payment via draft.

2)The day your wife will apply visa from her home country, The responsible ABH gets that information online the same day. so i just them and say my wife applied for the visa and i want to submit the required documents in advance to you since i am going out of germany for some dienstreise. this will save at least two weeks in the whole process.

Thanks

Hi 10Dulkar,

May be i  am replying to the post too late but anyway, Thanks for the informative post.
I would like to explain my current situation and would like to have some sggestions from you and fellow members:
1. My current blue card will expire by 20th July 2015 and will be ready for extension.
2. I am gettng married on 19th of april 2015 and will be applying for Family reunion visa for my wife from New delhi cosulate.

My questions are:
1. Do i need to update to AuslaenderBehorde in Germany about my marital status before my wife apply visa in New Delhi or both the things can happen parellel.
2. Will consulate make any objections while accepting the documents, due to Date of Blue card expiration is approaching near.
3. When should i file extension of Blue card to avoid hassle

Hello Harsh,

Your blue card expires on 20 July , but you can now already make an application to extend your BC. My wife applied for extension 6 months before expiry and they accepted the application. This will ensure that you receive new resident permit before your wife starts her visa application. It won't matter to you if you extend your residency now or in July 2015. But with this, all other questions are answered.

Hope that helps.

Hi 10Dulkar,

Thanks for the reply, even i thought the same, but the lady at auslaenderbehorde told me that i should come in May, after my marriage. But that will put me in a very dicey situation.
I am tinking of moving to new place which come under different aslaenderbehorde.

Perhaps you could try once again explaining your situation to another officer, if possible. Even worst case there's no reason to worry. As long as you have a valid BC the Consulate will accept your wife's application. Then when you apply for extension you will receive something from the AB that you can fax to the Consulate or have your wife submit a photocopy to the Consulate.