Family reunification (Familiennachzug) for labor migrants in Berlin

Federal law: principle of family reunification (§ 27, § 29 AufenthG)

Family reunification is regulated uniformly nationwide in the Aufenthaltsgesetz. § 29 Abs. 1 AufenthG requires that the person living in Germany holds a settlement permit, an EU long-term residence permit, a residence permit, a Blaue Karte EU, an ICT Card, or a Mobile ICT Card and that sufficient living space is available. § 27 Abs. 3 AufenthG allows the authority to refuse issuance if the person being joined depends on benefits under SGB II or SGB XII to support other family or household members; the requirement of § 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 AufenthG (no interest in expulsion) can be waived in certain cases.

Spousal reunification (§ 30 AufenthG)

Required are that both spouses are of age and – as the standard case – proof of basic German skills of the joining spouse before entry. Under § 2 Abs. 9 AufenthG, "basic" skills correspond to level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). § 30 Abs. 1 Satz 3 AufenthG names several exceptions to this language requirement, including (No. 5) reunification to holders of a Blaue Karte EU, an ICT Card, a Mobile ICT Card, or a residence title under §§ 18a, 18b, 18c Abs. 3 AufenthG for employment as a senior employee or executive, and (No. 7) reunification to persons who, immediately before being granted a settlement permit, held a Blaue Karte EU or a residence permit under §§ 18a, 18b, 18d, 19c Abs. 1 AufenthG. For skilled workers in the sense of this strand (Chancenkarte holders do not explicitly fall under these exceptions, since the Chancenkarte itself is not a title to which privileged reunification under § 30 is possible), this means: spouses of holders of a Blaue Karte EU, an ICT Card, or a § 18a/18b/18c Abs. 3 title are regularly exempt from the A1 requirement before entry.

Child reunification (§ 32 AufenthG)

Minor unmarried children are to be granted a residence permit if both parents or the parent with sole custody hold one of the residence titles named in § 32 Abs. 1 AufenthG – including the Blaue Karte EU, the ICT Card, and the settlement permit. Under § 32 Abs. 2 AufenthG, children aged 16 and over must additionally prove German language skills, or it must appear assured on the basis of their previous education and living conditions that they can integrate into living conditions in Germany – this additional requirement does not apply if a parent holds a Blaue Karte EU, an ICT Card, a Mobile ICT Card, or a title under §§ 18a, 18b, 18d, 18f AufenthG. § 32 Abs. 4 AufenthG also allows a residence permit in individual cases to avoid particular hardship.

Living space and subsistence: facilitations for skilled workers

§ 29 Abs. 5 AufenthG expressly exempts spouses and minor unmarried children of holders of a Blaue Karte EU, an ICT Card, a Mobile ICT Card, or a title under §§ 18a, 18b, 18c Abs. 3, 18d, 18f, 19c Abs. 1 AufenthG for certain employment (senior employees, executives, researchers, and similar) from the living-space requirement. For Blaue Karte EU holders, under § 29 Abs. 1 Satz 2–3 AufenthG, living-space and certain income requirements additionally do not apply if the family unit already existed in another EU member state and the person concerned previously held a Blaue Karte EU of another member state. Whether general secured subsistence under § 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 AufenthG also does not apply at all to these groups cannot be clearly determined from the available sources (see "Attention").

Berlin implementation: responsible LEA location

The Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA, State Office for Immigration) is the responsible immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde) for Berlin. The main location Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin, issues residence permits on family and humanitarian grounds; it can be reached by phone at 030 90269-4000, and an in-person visit is only possible after online appointment booking. For family members of persons whose own residence title was issued at the Keplerstraße 2, 10589 Berlin location – this concerns, among others, the Chancenkarte, Blaue Karte EU, § 18a/18b titles, and ICT Card – the Keplerstraße location is also responsible, according to the official overview of locations. Since 23.03.2026, online applications can be made for six groups of cases on family grounds (among others foreign spouses and minor children of foreign nationals), expressly separate from the online procedure for employment titles.

Visa procedure abroad

Joining family members generally need a national visa for family reunification before entry, which is applied for at the responsible German mission abroad in the country of residence. The application is made online via the Auslandsportal of the Auswärtiges Amt; after the uploaded documents have been checked, an invitation to appear in person with appointment booking follows, at which original documents are presented, biometric data is recorded, and the visa fee is paid. In the course of a reorganization of visa sections in 2026, adjustments to responsibilities and the transfer of appointments were made for individual locations (among others Amman, Beirut, Erbil).

Distinction: family reunification in labor migration vs. with protection status

Family reunification to labor migrants (this topic page) is based on a structurally different legal basis than family reunification to persons entitled to asylum, recognized refugees, or persons with subsidiary protection. For persons entitled to protection, § 29 Abs. 2 AufenthG provides under certain conditions (among others application within three months of recognition) for privileged reunification without proof of living space and income; for other forms of protection (e.g. § 25 Abs. 3–4a, § 25a/25b AufenthG), by contrast, reunification is only possible under § 29 Abs. 3 AufenthG on grounds of international law or humanitarian grounds. These special asylum-law rules are not covered in depth here – see the separate topic page on family reunification for persons in need of protection.