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Family reunification in cases of exceptional hardship (other than with a Union citizen)
Exceptional hardship
A residence permit for family members (except spouses, minor children and sole guardians of their minor children) to join Germans or third-country nationals can only be granted to avoid exceptional hardship (Section 36 of the Residence Act).
This exceptional hardship may exist in cases where a family member is urgently dependent on the assistance of another family member and this assistance can only reasonably be provided in Germany (e.g. due to a special need for care). Circumstances that constitute hardship must always arise from the individual characteristics of the specific case (e.g. illness, disability, need for care, mental distress).
Unfavourable educational, economic, social and other conditions in the home country, for example, do not constitute hardship.
What kind of documents need to be submitted
These documents depend on the type of visa you are applying for and must be submitted in addition to the standard proofs:
Certificate of relationship between the applicant and the person living in Germany with an apostille1 and a notarized translation
(original document and one non-certified copy)
1 An apostille is only required for those documents that have not been issued in an EU or EEA country.
| ☐ | Non-certified copy of the passport of the person to whom family reunification is sought | |
| ☐ |
Current extended registration certificate (erweiterte Meldebescheinigung) of the reference person for family reunification (original document and one non-certified copy) |
The registration certificate must not be older than 6 months and must contain details of the civil status. |
| ☐ |
Copy of the German residence permit of the reference person for family reunification, issued on or after March 1, 2024 Copy of the German residence permit (not certified) |
|
| Proof in accordance with Section 36 (2) Sentence 1 AufenthG (German Residence Act) to avoid exceptional hardship | Detailed and up-to-date documentation and a letter explaining why family assistance is necessary and why it can only be provided in Germany, e.g. current medical certificates, certificates from care facilities, home care services, social services, daycare centres, etc. |
The provision of maintenance support requires a payment to family members, which must be used by them to cover their basic needs in Latvia. However, the maintenance must have been paid regularly over a significant period of time.
| Proof of regular support | You must provide evidence for a period of at least 6 months which proves you have received support payments from your relative. You can do this, for example, through copies of the transfer vouchers. |
| Proof of how you will be covered by health insurance in Germany | Confirmation of statutory health insurance or an offer (not a contract) from a private health insurance company. You can find more information on this on our website. |
General information
Please note:
- Due to the high workload and in order to ensure equal treatment of all applicants, the visa section can only accept applications in the requested form for processing.
- Submitting incomplete documents may lead to the rejection of the application.
- Unsolicited documents cannot be assigned to your application.
- All documents, leaflets and application forms provided by the Embassy are free of charge.
- All information on the application procedure is available on our website.
- Please refrain from submitting status requests. Status requests do not speed up the visa process.
- Processing time: Between two and five months, in individual cases shorter or longer.
- If the Embassy has questions during the course of the visa procedure or if additional documents need to be submitted, we will contact you directly.