Someone from my community asks: "My father is residing in Germany since 1980. He is retired and has a permanent residence permit. He got married there but last year his wife passed away. I'm 33, married with a child. Can I come to Germany through my father's permanent residence? What should I do?"
Hello ayset, thank you for your question. The short answer is unfortunaley not. You can only have close family members come to live with you in Germany. These are:
--> Wife or husband or a registered life partner. They must have been over 18 years of age at the time of marriage. Important: If you got married after you arrived in Germany, you must have had a residence permit for at least 2 years to bring your spouse to Germany.
--> Unmarried minor children
--> If you are a minor and single: your parents or other adult persons who have your custody. In principle, you can only ask for your minor siblings to join you if their livelihood is secure and sufficient living space is available.
Otherwise, there must be a case of "exceptional hardship" for underage siblings and other family members to come to Germany. In these very rare cases, one may be issued a visa also referred to as a "hardship rule". It is, in fact, an emergency clause of the Right of Residence Act. In practice, it is very difficult to obtain a visa through this emergency clause- i.e. there must be a looming danger to the life and limb of one of your family members. And you have to meet many requirements, e.g. be able to secure a livelihood.
You can find more information on family reunification for immigrants here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/family-reunification-for-immigrants
The father can however, invite his/her child to come here on a tourist visa if the child wants to come here on a short term basis. See more information here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/visa-invitation-letter
and here about the deceleration of commitment: https://handbookgermany.de/en/declaration-of-commitment-visitor-visa
I hope that the person can soon reunite with their father in Germany.
Best wishes
Yara
Thank you so much for all the information!