Federal Administrative Court, September 4, 2012, Case No.: 10 C 12.12
The requirements for family reunification of spouses with German citizens or foreign nationals are frequently the subject of judicial decisions.
We have therefore previously reported on relevant court cases:
Family reunification unlawful due to lack of secured livelihood of the family
No family reunification due to false information on Schengen visa
In the above-mentioned decision, the Federal Administrative Court ruled that the statutory requirement to provide proof of German language skills when foreign spouses join German citizens applies only in a limited manner.
Facts of the Case:
Afghan woman married German citizen
The plaintiff in this case is an Afghan national. She married a compatriot who had entered Germany in 1999 and held both Afghan and German citizenship.
In May 2008, the plaintiff applied for a visa for family reunification with her husband at the German Embassy in Kabul.
Embassy denied visa due to lack of language skills
The embassy rejected this application on the grounds that the plaintiff had not provided sufficient proof of language skills. The plaintiff argued that she was illiterate.
The administrative court initially rejected the case, reasoning that the Federal Administrative Court’s jurisprudence, which upheld the language requirement for family reunification with a foreign spouse as constitutional, could also be applied to family reunification with a German citizen.
Administrative Court: Feasibility of living together in Afghanistan
The administrative court was of the opinion that it was not apparent why it would be unreasonable for the naturalized husband to temporarily return to Afghanistan to live with his wife.
Decision of the Federal Administrative Court
Federal Administrative Court did not agree with the administrative court
The Federal Administrative Court did not follow the administrative court’s view. According to the Residence Act, the language requirement that applies to the reunification with a foreign spouse only applies correspondingly to reunification with a German spouse (§ 28 Abs. 1 Sentence 5 Residence Act in conjunction with § 30 Abs. 1 Sentence 1 No. 2 Residence Act).
While the legislator generally requires proof of basic German language skills for a spouse seeking reunification with a German citizen before entering the country (to promote integration and prevent forced marriages),
the protection of marriage and family under Article 6 of the Basic Law requires a careful balance between these public interests and the private interests of those concerned in living together as a family in Germany.
Living together abroad unreasonable for German citizens
In this balancing of interests, it is particularly significant that a German citizen cannot generally be expected to live abroad to maintain the marriage.
Unlike a foreigner, a German citizen is granted the fundamental right to reside in Germany under Article 11 of the Basic Law.
Therefore, a constitutionally appropriate application of the legal rules on the language requirement is necessary.
The merely „corresponding“ application requires that only reasonable efforts to learn the language be expected from the foreign spouse, which should not exceed a period of one year.
If such efforts are unreasonably impossible in the country of origin or do not lead to success within one year, the foreign spouse must be granted an entry visa.
The necessary language skills must then be acquired after entry into Germany to enable the spouse to obtain a residence permit in Germany.
Source: Source: Federal Administrative CourtSource: Federal Administrative Court
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2 responses
i am a macedonian citizen but i was born in germany and have my residence permit my husband is serbian and illiterate since 2 years we are fighting to be together for good but it is difficult because of this test does it apply to us now or only to german citizens.
Hello, I am 18 years old and want to bring my husband from Kosovo, what are the requirements?