Family reunification for §22 S. 2 status Holder

ABC • 27 June 2023

I hope my email will find you well. I am ABC, medical student and social worker.On 1st of March we have shifted to Germany along with my parents and siblings with the help of Deutsche Gesellschaft für InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ). In February we shifted to Pakistan where my wife lives. While we were in Pakistan I got married on 18th of February,2023 but I left my wife in Pakistan on 1st march as we departed towards Germany.She has Pakistani nationality. I just want to know how can I proceed my family reunification process.It would be great if you can help me . 

I have now three years residence permit and my case is  §22 S. 2  

 

Answers (14)

Moderation

Dear ABC
thanks for reaching out to us. Very glad to hear that you and your family got to Germany and you got married in Pakistan before your arrival.
Generally, Family reunion is only for immediate family members, which includes your wife. However, application for family reunion with a residence permit §22 is still very complicated, have very high hurdles and needs a lot of patience. They are often only granted if there are humanitarian reasons, such as bad sickness and you are the only caretaker. You can read more about this on our website: https://handbookgermany.de/fa/afghanistan-info?thema=familiennachzug
It is very recommendable to reach out to a migration counselling centre, so they can have a look at your whole situation. They can also check if you should consider to apply for asylum but you should think about this with support by a counselor. You can tell me the city you are currently live in or have a look at this search mask: https://bamf-navi.bamf.de/en/Themen/Migrationsberatung/
Please let me know in case you need support or have further questions.

ABC

I have talk with them already, they have told me that it is difficult to bring here now . You should work now and then you can invite her . As I am planning to continue education so it might take long time to bring her here . My wife is psychologist and has master degree from Pakistan . Is there any other way for students to bring family members?
Thanks

Moderation

Dear ABC I am sorry to hear. Generally, for family reunification the applicant needs to make sure that their livelihood is secured. it is very understandable that you want to continue your studies.
You might consider your wife to apply for her own visa, e.g. for a language course, job seeker or a work visa. You can find more information about the requirements and the different types of visa here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/immigration
I hope that you will find a way to be together soon. Please let me know if you have further questions.

ABC

Thank you .For Language visa she must need approval letter from Language courses. How can we get approval letter from Language School ?
In Addition ,for work visa she must need contract . Where can we find info about Psychologists vacancies for Foreigners .
Thanks

Moderation

Happy to help, ABC
For a language course, she will need to actually sign in at a language course. Unfortunately, the fee and all the expenses for her stay need to be covered by herself. She could sign in at Goethe or Volkshochschule (VFS). Please make sure that the course takes at least 18 hours per week to make sure that her visa will be granted. Additionally, I would like to mention that an additional hurdle is often a specific amount that should secure hr livelihood during her stay. This can be shown by a so-called blocked bank account. The embassy usually requests about 11.208€ on that account. Here you can find more information about blocked bank accounts. I will also provide you the list of necessary documents which are needed to apply for a visa for language courses.
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She could try at job posting platforms, like monster, Stepstone, Indeed. Alternatively, she can also directly visit company websites to explore potential job opportunities. Please note that there are various options to work with a degree in psychology and in some fields you will need an additional approbation.
However, it is highly recommended to first check if her degree has already been recognized. This means verifying if her degree has already been compared to a German degree in her field. You or she can check if the university she studied at and her degree are already listed on the website, called anabin. This will give her an indication of whether her degree is recognized in Germany and improves her chances on the job market. Unfortunately, the website is only available in German. However, her university should be listed with an H+ and her degree should mention "Entspricht" (equivalent). In case either is listed on that website, she can still consider to apply for an acknowledgment process. Even though it is more time and cost consuming, it will help her get the visa as a skilled worker easier.
If you need support in finding her university and her degree, please let me know the exact name of both, so I can support you. In case you want to know more about the acknowledgment process, IQ Network can help you with that. In Hessen there are 3 IQ Network locations: Frankfurt, Kassel and Wiesbaden. Since they are a bit far for you, some of them also provide online counselling. Please let me know if you have further questions.

ABC

Thank you for your information. I have checked her university and degree it is H+ .
Is it necessary for her to learn German Language in Pakistan if she is coming here for job or she will get the language course here ?

Moderation

It is great tha her university is listed positive, ABC You should also check the degree, if it says her degree is equivalent ("entspricht").
Actually, her needed language skills depends on her job. If she would like to work as a therapist, she will need a pretty high level of German. If the position only requires a psychology background, the language skills can be discussed within her future team. Sometimes it might have advantages to be able to speak more than German.
However, she surely can consider to start learn German already. This can of course increase her chances on the job market.
Please let me know in case you need support finding her degree or have more questions.

ABC

Thank you . She has double master in Psychology from two different Universities. She has one degree from Quaid -I-University Islamabad. In Major of Applied Psychology and another master from Islamic international University Islamabad.
Both universities are in Pakistan .

Moderation

Hello ABC thanks for getting back to me.
Indeed, I also found both of your wifes universities. They are both already acknowledged, as their status are both H+. Please find them attached.
Unfortunately, I had no luck with her degree. May I ask what the exact wording on her diploma is? I can try again.
Additionally, if you tell me her bachelors degree, I can have a look for this, as well. At the end, if it is not determining for her position, it doesn't matter which degree she will present at her embassy appointment. It is only important to have an acknowledged degree, to be considered as a skilled worker.

ABC

Thank you . Actually she is doing Master in Clinical Psychology from International Islamic University .

Moderation

Dear ABC thank you for the new information.
Actually, the university and the degree are independent of each other. The database generally listed the degrees from each countries. Unfortunately, no one with a degree in Clinical Psychology has go through the acknowledgement process before.
However, may I ask which bachelors degree she is holding? For a visa application one acknowleged degree is sufficient to get a visa as a skilled worker and without going through a time and cost consuming acknowledgement process. Did you wife studied 4 years and also graduate in Clinical Psychology as a Bachelor?

ABC

Thank you . Actually this university provides Master degree in 35 different majors and clinical psychology is one of them . Here we do not have option of sending pictures ,I would have send you some screenshots of their website. As far as her Bachelor degree has concern she has completed it from Quaid I Azam university Islamabad.(Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in 2014 .
Then she has done Master in Applied psychology from the same university in 2018 . Now she has completed Major in Clinical Psychology from International Islamic University islamabad.

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