Spouse reunification — Family immigration

From Auswärtiges Amt

“The visa fee is 75 euros, payable in Vietnamese Dong. Visas for spouses of German citizens are free of charge. Visas for spouses of EU/EEA nationals are also free of charge. We cannot guarantee a specific processing time, as the foreigners-authority at your future residence in Germany must be involved during the procedure, and the consular post has no influence on their processing times. Only after receiving the response from Germany can the consular post conduct the final review and decision. As a rule, the foreigners-authority's processing time is at least three months. In individual cases it can be significantly longer. Note on appointment booking: when the family-reunification application is filed alongside a skilled-worker (Fachkraft) visa application by the same family, all family members' applications must be filed together at the external service provider VFS. After entry: Everyone who lives in Germany must be registered. Within two weeks of moving in at the latest, you should do this at the Einwohnermeldeamt or Bürgeramt. After entry, contact the foreigners-authority at your place of residence in Germany. There you apply for your residence title (Aufenthaltstitel).”

— Federal Foreign Office of Germany · German diplomatic missions

What you need

You must submit a VIDEX application form, biometric photos, and a valid passport. The marriage certificate evidences the marriage; Vietnamese certificates must first go through the two-step legalisation chain, German marriage certificates do not need legalisation. If you or your spouse have been married before, submit the divorce judgment or order (with legalisation for Vietnamese judgments). Your spouse in Germany provides a residence registration certificate (no older than 6 months; not required if you are moving from abroad together) and a passport copy — for third-country nationality, also a copy of the residence title. You must submit an A1 language certificate from a recognised examiner (Goethe-Institut, telc, ÖSD, TestDaF, or ECL) — exceptions for applicants who clearly speak German fluently (verified by short interview at the counter), for EU/EWR sponsors (EU freedom-of-movement applies — no language certificate), and for certain residence-title categories of the spouse. Private medical insurance with cover from the day of entry for at least three months is submitted only AFTER visa approval — the visa section will notify you by phone. You do NOT need to submit a sponsor's declaration (Verpflichtungserklärung) at application time; if needed, the foreigners-authority will request it directly from your spouse during processing. All documents not issued in German or English must be submitted together with a translation.

Checklist

Application and identity

Application form (VIDEX). On your application form you state all information about your entry into and stay in Germany. Please fill in this form completely, print it, and sign it yourself *
Two recent biometric passport photos (45 mm x 35 mm). Information on biometric passport photos is in the photo specifications template. Glue only one photo onto the application form and bring the second loose *
Valid passport (or recognised substitute travel document). The document must still have at least two blank pages (your visa will be glued in here later if the decision is positive) *

Civil-status documents

Marriage certificate. Vietnamese certificates must first be legalised. Exception: a German marriage certificate does not need to be legalised. If your marriage certificate was issued neither in Germany nor in Vietnam, consult the German consular post responsible for the place of issue for the correct procedure *
Where applicable, divorce judgments or orders. If you or your spouse have been married before, submit the divorce judgment or decree. If there have been multiple previous marriages, submit the judgments or orders for all of them. Vietnamese divorce judgments must first be legalised. Exception: a German divorce order does not need to be legalised

Documents from your sponsor in Germany

Meldebescheinigung of the partner in Germany. The certificate may not be older than 6 months at the time of application. Exception: if your spouse currently lives abroad and is moving to Germany together with you, no Meldebescheinigung is required. In that case, please state the intended residence in Germany *
Passport copy and where applicable residence title. If your spouse holds German nationality, a passport copy alone is sufficient. If your spouse does not hold German nationality, please attach a copy of their residence title (Aufenthaltstitel) *

Language skills

German-language certificate. You must show that you have basic German skills. Submit an A1-level language certificate from a recognised examiner. Currently these are: • Goethe-Institut e.V. certificates; • telc GmbH certificates; • Austrian Language Diploma (ÖSD) certificates; • „TestDaF" from the TestDaF-Institut e.V. (institute of FernUniversität Hagen and Ruhr-Universität Bochum; exam level starts at B2 CEFR); • ECL Prüfungszentrum certificates. Exceptions: if you clearly speak German fluently, you do not need to submit a certificate. In that case your German skills are verified by a short interview at the consular post's counter. If your spouse does not hold German nationality but holds the nationality of another EU/EEA state, you do not need to submit a language certificate, because EU freedom-of-movement applies. If, however, your spouse lives in Germany and holds German nationality, EU freedom-of-movement does NOT apply and basic German skills must be evidenced. Further exceptions apply, among other things, to certain residence titles of the spouse in Germany *

Medical insurance

Medical insurance. Insurance cover from the day of entry for at least three months is to be submitted only when the visa can be issued. The visa section will notify you by phone *