Aufenthaltserlaubnis aus familiären Gründen Erteilung für den Familiennachzug eines ausländischen Elternteils zu einem minderjährigen Deutschen

If you want to join your German minor, unmarried child in Germany, you can obtain a residence permit for family reunification.

You can join your German, minor, unmarried child if you come from a country outside the EU or the EEA, have personal custody of the German child and intend to exercise this custody.

Personal custody includes the right and at the same time the duty to care for, raise and supervise the child and to determine its residence. A child is a minor if he or she has not yet reached the age of 18. A person is single if he or she is not married and has not been married before; a person living in a registered partnership is not single either.

If these requirements are met, you must be granted a residence permit.

You can also join your child if you do not have custody of the child. The prerequisite for this is that you and your child already live together as a family in Germany. A family relationship is assumed if the relatives maintain regular contact with each other that goes beyond mere visits. If the requirements are met, the authorities will decide whether to issue a residence permit on a discretionary basis.

Under certain circumstances, the Aliens' Registration Office may require you to attend an integration course. This will then be noted on your residence permit.

The residence permit is a temporary residence title and is issued for at least one year.

• Valid passport or passport replacement
• Current biometric photo
• Visa, if it was required for entry
• Birth certificate of your child
• Proof of custody, if applicable
• If necessary, proof of living together as a family
• Current certificate of registration

In individual cases, the Aliens Department may request further documents.

• You have a recognized and valid passport or passport replacement and - if required for entry - an appropriate visa.
• Your child is a minor, unmarried and has German citizenship.
• You have the right of custody over your child and wish to exercise this right or, as a parent who does not have the right of custody, you are already living with the child in Germany.
• There is no interest in deportation against you.
• Your stay does not endanger or impair the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Issuance of residence permit: EUR 100.00

Under certain conditions, a fee reduction or fee exemption may be considered.

Notes:

• Additional fees may apply for the issuance of the residence permit in the form of the electronic residence title, which can also be used as electronic proof of identity.
• The time and the form of the fee collection as well as the payment vary depending on the authority.

The procedure is as follows:

• Depending on the foreigners authority and your request, it may be possible to apply via the Internet. Find out whether your foreigners authority offers electronic application for the residence permit.
• If the application is only possible in person, make an appointment with the Aliens' Registration Office.
• During the appointment, your application will be received and your supporting documents will be checked (bring them with you to the appointment).
• For the production of an electronic residence permit (eAT card) your fingerprints will be taken.
• In the case of an electronic application, the Aliens' Registration Office will contact you after receiving your online application to arrange an appointment at the Aliens' Registration Office, if necessary.
• During the appointment, your supporting documents will be checked (bring them with you to the appointment) and your fingerprints will be taken for the production of the eAT card.
• If your application is approved, the Aliens' Registration Office will arrange for the eAT card to be produced.
• After about six to eight weeks, you can pick up the eAT card at the Aliens' Registration Office.

The eAT card must always be collected in person.

• The residence permit should be applied for no later than eight weeks before the expiry of your still valid visa or your current residence permit or - if you are legally residing in Germany without a visa - within 90 days of entry.
• Action period: 1 month

An appeal against the decision of the Foreigners' Registration Office may be filed with the court specified in the decision.

• Residence permit for family reasons Issuance for family reunification of a foreign parent with a minor German citizen
• Third-country national parents of an unmarried German minor who wish to join their children can obtain a residence permit for family reunification if they have custody of the child and wish to exercise this custody.
• Parents who do not have custody of the child can join their children if they are already living with the child in Germany.
• Under certain circumstances, the foreigners authority can oblige the person joining the child to take part in an integration course.
• Depending on the foreigners authority and the request, the application can be made via the Internet or in person.
• A fee is charged for the issuance of the residence permit. The timing as well as the form of payment varies depending on the authority.
• Responsible: the foreigners authority responsible for the applicant's place of residence.

Please contact the foreigners authority responsible for the applicant's place of residence.

The immigration authority responsible for the applicant's place of residence.

• Online procedure possible: Occasionally
• Written form required: Yes
• Personal appearance required: Yes