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Family Reunification Visa

04.02.2025 - FAQ
Vater, Mutter und zwei kleine Kinder am Frühstückstisch
Gemischtnationale Familie © Colourbox

Would you like to join your spouse, parent or child in Germany? We have compiled the most important information for other long-stay visas below.

Please read the following information carefully and in full before booking your appointment!

Preparing your application

Prepare your application by following the steps below:

  1. Use our Visa Navigator to make sure you need a family reunification visa.
  2. Register in our appointment system. Click here to book an appointment. Please note the instructions below for making an appointment!
  3. Read our information sheets on your visa category carefully and in full.

Important note: Please do not send any unsolicited documents to the visa centre. Unsolicited documents will be deleted and cannot be assigned to any process.

General Information

The following documents must be submitted in the original plus a copy of all originals. The documents must be sorted into two folders:

  1. Folder: Original documents
  2. Folder: Copies of all original documents (front and back)

The pages and documents must not be stapled or bound in any other way!

Submitted original documents will be returned after the visa procedure has been completed. Please note the information on the General Data Protection Regulation

  1. Fees: Depending on the type of application.
    1. Applications for foreign spouses, foreign fiancées and German fiancées: Applicants up to 18 years 25,000 XAF, from 18 years 50,000 XAF
    2. Applications for German spouses and spouses with European Union citizenship (EU/EEA): Free of charge.
  2. Visa application form: Printed visa application form: VIDEX - Long-term stay, signed by the applicant.
  3. Passport photos: A current passport photo, size 35 x 45 mm, biometric (face taken from the front), not retouched, eyes not covered, background light-coloured (see photo sample table).
  4. Passport: Valid, signed, valid for at least three months, at least two blank pages, copy of the data page and all pages with visas and entries / stamps, copies of old passports with visas, copies of old residence permits in Germany.
  5. Carte d'Identité Cameroon: CNI or proof of CNI, foreigners in Cameroon: Cameroonian residence permit.
  6. Birth certificate: Original birth certificate (no duplicates: applications without originals cannot be processed) and original court judgement (Grosse and Certificat de non Appel) if the birth certificate was issued on the basis of a judgement.
  7. Identity documents of the reference person: Depending on the type of application.
    1. Joining the German spouse: Copy of identity card, copy of passport data page and all pages with visas and entries / stamps, copies of old passports with visas, in the case of naturalisation: copy of naturalisation certificate.
    2. Joining a foreign spouse: copy of Carte d'Identité, copy of passport data page and all pages with visas and entries/stamps, copies of old passports with visas, copy of German residence permit.
  8. Marriage certificate or application for marriage (§ 13 Abs. 4 PStG): Depending on the type of application.
    1. Married couples: Marriage certificate for spouses
    2. Fiancées: Certificate of registration of marriage according to § 13 para. 4 PStG
  9. Divorce decree: If one of the spouses (reference person or applicant) has already been married once.
  10. Declaration of commitment (§§ 66 to 68a AufenthG) (only fiancées): Original declaration of commitment according to §§ 66 to 68a AufenthG, issued by the competent authority, creditworthiness proven, not older than six months.
  11. Registration certificate (§18 Abs. 2 BMG): Registration certificate, § 18 Para. 2 BMG of the spouse in Germany, not older than six months.
  12. Proof of language skills: Proof of basic German language skills (A1 Level), § 2 (9) AufenthG, not older than one year.
    Please note: Only ALTE certified language certificates (Goethe-Institut, ÖSD, telc, TestDaf, ELC) less than one year old (oldest module counts) are accepted.
  13. Foreign documents are not automatically valid under German law. Since the requirements for the legalization of public documents in Cameroon are currently not met, the legalization process has been suspended with the approval of the Federal Foreign Office. The embassy will therefore verify the accuracy of the certified information as part of an identity check.

To expedite the process, please also submit the following documents in original and copy (separate folder, not to be mixed with the visa application documents):

  1. Fees: Depending on the type of application.
    1. Foreign parents: Applicants up to 18 years 25,000 XAF, from 18 years 50,000 XAF.
    2. Parents with EU/EEA citizenship: Free of charge.
  2. Visa application form: Printed and signed visa application form: VIDEX - Long-term stay.
  3. Passport photos: A current passport photo, size 35 x 45 mm, biometric (face taken from the front), not retouched, eyes not covered, background light-coloured (see photo sample table).
  4. Passport: Valid, signed, valid for at least 12 months, at least two blank pages, copy of the data page and all pages with visas and entries / stamps, copies of old passports with visas, copies of old residence permits in Germany.
  5. Carte d'Identité Cameroon: CNI or proof of CNI, foreigners in Cameroon: Cameroonian residence permit.
  6. Birth certificate: Original birth certificate and, where applicable, court judgment (Grosse and Certificat de non Appel or declaratory judgement) as well as photocopies of previous documents.
  7. Identity documents of the reference person: Depending on the type of application.
    1. Joining the German parent: copy of identity card, copy of passport data page and all pages with visas and entries/stamps, copies of old passports with visas, if naturalised: copy of naturalisation certificate (Einbürgerungsurkunde).
    2. Joining a foreign parent: copy of Carte d'Identité, copy of passport data page and all pages with visas and entries/stamps, copies of old passports with visas, copy of German residence permit.
  8. Proof of relationship between child and parent: Proof of relationship is possible in the following ways:
    1. German birth certificate of the child involved or
    2. original Cameroonian birth certificate (no duplicates) of the child involved or
    3. Recognition of paternity of the parent involved or
    4. German court judgement on the relationship.
  9. Marriage certificate: Marriage certificate of the parents of the child involved.
  10. Divorce decree: If a divorce has taken place, divorce decree of the parents of the child involved incl. proof of guardianship
  11. Registration certificate (§ 18 Abs. 2 BMG): Registration certificate (Meldebestätigung), § 18 Para. 2 BMG of the parent in Germany, not older than six months.
  12. Proof of language proficiency: Applicant children over the age of 16 must provide proof of proficiency in the German language, certificate level C1, § 32 Para. 2 AufenthG in conjunction with § 2 Para. 12 AufenthG.
    Please note: Only ALTE certified language certificates (Goethe-Institut, ÖSD, telc, TestDaf, ELC) less than one year old (oldest module counts) are accepted.
  13. Additional documents for visa applications from minors: Necessary documents for applicants under the age of 18: In the case of parents with joint custody, if only one parent is to join the child, the personal declaration of consent of the parent remaining in Cameroon must be submitted. This can be recorded at the embassy when the application is submitted, on presentation of proof of identity. Otherwise, the declaration of consent must be submitted in notarised form.
  14. Foreign documents are not automatically valid under German law. Since the requirements for the legalization of public documents in Cameroon are currently not met, the legalization process has been suspended with the approval of the Federal Foreign Office. The embassy will therefore verify the accuracy of the certified information as part of an identity check.

To expedite the process, please also submit the following documents in original and copy (separate folder, not to be mixed with the visa application documents):

  1. Fees: Depending on the type of application.
    1. child with EU/EEA citizenship: Free of charge.
  2. Visa application form: Printed and signed visa application form: VIDEX - Long-term stay.
  3. Passport photos: A current passport photo, size 35 x 45 mm, biometric (face taken from the front), not retouched, eyes not covered, background light-coloured (see photo sample table).
  4. Passport: Valid, signed, valid for at least 12 months, at least two blank pages, copy of the data page and all pages with visas and entries / stamps, copies of old passports with visas, copies of old residence permits in Germany.
  5. Carte d'Identité Cameroon: CNI or proof of CNI, foreigners in Cameroon: Cameroonian residence permit.
  6. Birth certificate: Original birth certificate and, where applicable, court judgment (Grosse and Certificat de non Appel or declaratory judgement) as well as photocopies of previous documents.
  7. Identity documents of the reference person:
    1. copy of identity card, copy of passport data page and all pages with visas and entries/stamps, copies of old passports with visas, if naturalised: copy of naturalisation certificate (Einbürgerungsurkunde).
  8. Proof of legal parentage:
    1. Marriage certificate with the other parent with custody rights, or
    2. legitimation decree, or
    3. paternity acknowledgment (if this was established in Germany, please also provide the German parental custody acknowledgment)
  9. In case of divorce from the other parent with custody:
    1. Final divorce decree and
    2. if applicable, the final and recognized custody order.
  10. Registration certificate (§ 18 Abs. 2 BMG): Registration certificate (Meldebestätigung), § 18 Para. 2 BMG of the parent in Germany, not older than six months.
  11. Foreign documents are not automatically valid under German law. Since the requirements for the legalization of public documents in Cameroon are currently not met, the legalization process has been suspended with the approval of the Federal Foreign Office. The embassy will therefore verify the accuracy of the certified information as part of an identity check.

To expedite the process, please also submit the following documents in original and copy (separate folder, not to be mixed with the visa application documents):

FAQ

If a minor applicant is accompanied by a person who does not hold parental custody, the original of a power of attorney certified by German authorities is required.
If no power of attorney is presented at the appointment, the application cannot be accepted.

The time of processing is at least 12 months from presentation of the complete documents. This long processing time is mainly caused by the extensive work of the verification of documents and depends also on the processing time of the foreigners‘ registration office in Germany.
Questions concerning the state of the process are not answered before the expiration of the regular processing time. You can find a checklist with the required documents here.

In the following cases a langugae certificate is necessary:

  1. For the reunification with a German or a foreign spouse or fiance, knowledge of German language on level A1 is required. In certain cases no German language skills are required. More information can be found here.
  2. For the reunification of a minor children with a parent, if the child has reached the age of 16 years, knowledge of German language on level C1 necessary.

    Exception: The minor children joins a German parent in Germany. In this case there is no need of language knowledge. In the case of family reunification with recognised refugees, no language skills need to be proven either.


Information: Only ALTE-certificated Certificates (Goethe-Institute, ÖSD, telc, TestDaf), less than one year old (oldest module counts) will be recognized.


If the certificate is not yet available at the time of application, it is possible to submit it later (usually within 4 weeks). If you have not submitted the required language skills within a reasonable period of time, your application will be rejected.

In the case of parents with joint custody, the personal declaration of consent of the parent remaining in Cameroon must be submitted if only one parent is to join the child. This can be recorded at the embassy when the application is submitted, together with proof of identity.

Otherwise, the declaration of consent must be submitted in notarised form.

Foreign documents are not automatically valid under German law. Since the requirements for the legalization of public documents in Cameroon are currently not met, the legalization process has been suspended with the approval of the Federal Foreign Office. The embassy will therefore verify the accuracy of the certified information as part of an identity check.

To expedite the process, please also submit the following documents in original and copy (separate folder, not to be mixed with the visa application documents):


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