Lawyers outside of Germany

EU+ family reunification refers to the process of reuniting family members with an individual who is a citizen of the EU, EEA, or Switzerland and has moved within Europe.

Directive 2004/83/EC outlines the requirements for EU+ family reunification. The Directive applies uniformly throughout Europe. 

EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

EEA: All of the above + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway

Key Terms for EU+ Family Reunification

Refers to belonging to a certain state with all rights and obligations.

The country of which you are a citizen. If you have multiple citizenships, there will be multiple nation states.

The country where you live but are not a citizen.

Example: A German citizen lives in Austria. Austria is the state of residence. The nation state is Germany.

Family members always include:

• Your spouse
• Your children and grandchildren under the age of 21
• Children and grandchildren of your spouse under the age of 21

Additionally, the following relatives are considered family members if they are financially dependent on you:

• Your parents and grandparents
• The parents and grandparents of your spouse
• Your children and grandchildren aged 21 and above
• The children and grandchildren aged 21 and above

Relatives are financially dependent on you if you provide material support for their basic needs abroad (housing, food and healthcare).

Additionally, your family members must rely on this support because they they lack sufficient resources to cover these needs on their own.

The material support can be provided and verified in various ways.

Examples:

• You own a home abroad where your children, who are above the age of 20, live rent-free.
• You pay rent and medical expenses for your parents abroad.
• You have been sending money to your relatives abroad for at least 6 months, covering at least 20% of their living expenses.

Your resources consist of all legal income and assets, e.g. wages, maintenance payments, pensions, and other contribution-based public assistance.Your resources are considered sufficient if you do not require (additional) social assistance to meet basic needs (accommodation, food, health care). 

Health insurance must be comprehensive and not limited to emergencies.

Social assistance refers to any state benefits that are not funded through contributions from the recipient.

Example: “Bürgergeld” in Germany.

Permission to enter a country, which is issued by an embassy.

For EU+ family reunification, visas are issued to family members abroad by the embassy of the state of residence.

Example: A Swedish citizen lives and works in the Netherlands. His family members live in Morocco. The visas for his family members would be issued by the Dutch embassy in Morocco.

For EU+ family reunification, an expedited visa procedure must be carried out. This includes immediate scheduling of appointments and prioritization of application processing.

Law firm Jurati (www.jurati.de)

If the online tool refers you to advice from a lawyer in a country other than Germany, you can find a list of colleagues here.