Welcome
Visa: family reunion
How to receive an appointment
Due to the high demand, the German Embassy in Islamabad established a waitlist.
We recommend that you use the waiting time to study German. If you require a German language certificate for your visa but do not have it available at the time of your application, you must submit it after a maximum of two months.
If you are an AFGHAN citizen, please register here (RK-Termin - Kategorie) to receive an appointment for a family reunion visa and check the website (National Visa - Federal Foreign Office) of the German Embassy in Kabul for additional information.
If you are a PAKISTANI citizen and a resident of Sindh or Balochistan, please register here (RK-Termin - Kategorie) for an appointment at the Consulate General in Karachi.
If you are a PAKISTANI citizen and a resident of any other Pakistani province, please register here (RK-Termin - Kategorie (diplo.de)) for an appointment with the German Embassy in Islamabad.
If you want to join an EU-citizen (not German!) who lives in Germany under the freedom of movement act, you are still required to register on the waiting list. Please make sure to indicate that you wish to apply for a family reunion to an EU-citizen.
If you are the parent of a German minor, please make sure to indicate this when registering on the waiting list.
Important information for family members of recognized refugees in Germany:
Registering yourself on the waitlist for family reunion or marriage visas is not a timely notice (“fristwahrende Anzeige”) in accordance with Section 29 (2) 1 of the Residence Act! To benefit from a simplified visa process, your family member in Germany has to submit the timely notice within 3 months of being recognised as a refugee. There are three options:
- You take the initial step of submitting a timely notice via www.fap.diplo.de
Follow the instructions and submit proof of your timely notice alongside your visa application.
- Your family member in Germany submits a timely notice at the competent Aliens’ Authority in Germany.
- You or your lawyer submits a timely notice by sending a letter or e-mail to the competent mission abroad. Please provide the following information:
- family name, given name, date of birth and passport number of the applicants
- purpose of your trip
family name, given name, date of birth and residence permit of your family member in Germany
How to apply for a family reunion visa
Please note that you must present your original documents when applying for the visa (including your passports). The passport you intend to travel to Germany on will remain at the foreign mission during the processing time.
The diplomatic mission reserves the right to contact you after the application has been submitted to request additional documents or another set of the application as well as PKR 75,000 in order to conduct a document verification.
| Required documents: | Additional instructions: | |
Please note that all copies of your documents have to be - In DIN A4 size - Complete and legible - Not stapled | Please provide an application and the corresponding supporting documents for each applicant. You have to arrange each set of documents according to the order outlined in this chart. Please provide copies alongside all original documents. | |
1 | Application form Please hand in one filled in application form per applicant. | - complete and correct information - filled in on a computer - each applicant needs their own application -signed by the applicant (for minors under 18 years of age, the parent or legal guardian needs to sign the application) - to apply for a spouse visa, both partners have to be at least 18 years old |
| 2 | One biometric passport photo | - of each applicant - of the reference person (family member) in Germany - no older than 3 months - white background - no photocopies of passport pictures - please click here for additional information |
| 3 | Certificate of residency in Germany (“Meldebescheinigung”) of your spouse/family member | - no older than 6 months |
| 4 | Copy of spouse’s / family member’s residence permit | - e.g., “Aufenthaltserlaubnis” or “Niederlassungserlaubnis” |
| 5 | applicant’s current passport and ID card (CNIC) | - copies of pages 0-3 - copies of all pages with stamps and visas - copy of the CNIC |
| 6 | Copies of previous passports | - copies of pages 0-3 - copies of all pages with stamps and visas |
| 7 | Copies of spouse’s / family member’s valid and previous passports | - copies of pages 0-3 - copies of all pages with stamps and visas - copies of all residence permits |
| 8 | Original NADRA computerized birth certificate | - of all applicants and spouse/family member in Germany - in the following order: 1) applicant 2) spouse / family member |
| 9 | Original Nikah Nama | - in Urdu with English translation |
| 10 | Original NADRA computerized marriage registration certificate | |
| 11 | Proof of previous marriages for both spouses (if applicable) | - original NADRA or German divorce certificate - original NADRA or German death certificate |
| 12 | Court order regarding legal guardianship including permission to take the child abroad (if applicable) | - in Urdu with English translation |
| 13 | BAMF deed, if applicable | - positive notice regarding award of refugee status issued by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, BAMF) |
| 14 | Travel insurance policy | - valid for one year starting from the date of application |
| 15 | A1 language Certificate not required for: - spouses of holders of an EU Blue Card, ICT Card, Mobile ICT Card, or a residence title pursuant to Sections 18a, 18b (1), 18c (3), 18d, 18f, 19c (1) (only in the case of employment as a manager, executive, company specialist, scientist, visiting scientist, engineer or teacher as defined in the Employment Regulation), 19c (2) or (4) sentence 1 or 21 Residence Act. - spouses of non-German EU nationals. - parents of minor German children. | - proof of your language abilities according to the standards of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). - in Pakistan, a valid certificate can only be issued by the Goethe-Institut (GI). However, you are free to choose how to prepare for the exam. - the A1 language certificate must be no older than one year when applying for the visa. |
| 16 | C1 language Certificate not required for: - children of recognized asylum seekers or refugees according to the Geneva Refugee Convention. - applicants whose parent (or their spouse they share a household with) is the holder of an EU Blue Card, ICT Card, Mobile ICT Card, or a residence title pursuant to §§ 18a, 18b Para.1, 18c Para.3, 18d, 18f, 19c para. 1 (only in the case of employment as a manager, executive, company specialist, scientist, visiting scientist, engineer or teacher within the meaning of the BeschV), 19c para. 2 or 4 sentence 1 or 21 AufenthG. - children of non-German EU nationals. | - required for applicants who are 16 or 17 years of age at the time of applying for a visa or who turn 16 while the Embassy is processing their application and have not met all requirements on the day before their 16th birthday. - registering on the waiting list does not count as a visa application - proof of your language abilities according to the standards of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). - in Pakistan, a valid certificate can only be issued by the Goethe-Institut (GI). However, you are free to choose how to prepare for the exam. - the C1 language certificate must be no older than one year when applying for the visa. |
| 17 | Additional proof of your name, birthday and marriage/relationship as a family | - copies of vaccination- and school certificates - wedding and family pictures in A4 format - excerpts from chat/call history with visible dates going back to the start of the relationship - proof of remittance payments |
| 18 | For applicants at the Embassy in Islamabad: Appointment confirmation e-mail | - must contain the booking reference number (e.g. isla_15882087) |
| 19 | Applicant’s declaration | |
| 21 | Information regarding legal representation | |
| 22 | Visa fees | - 75 Euros, payable in PKR, for adults - 37,50 Euros, payable in PKR, for children between 0 and 17 years of age - If you intend to join a German or EU national, no visa fee will be charged |
If you want to get married in Germany, please submit the following documents in addition to the documents listed above (except no. 9 & 10):
- confirmation of the marriage date (“Anmeldung zur Eheschließung”), issued by the German registry office (“Standesamt”).
letter of obligation (“Verpflichtungserklärung”); please contact the responsible Aliens’ Authority in Germany in this regard.
If you want to join an EU citizen (not German!) in Germany, please submit these additional documents:
- an expanded certificate of residency (“erweiterte Meldebescheinigung”) of the family member you wish to join
- the employment contract of the family member you wish to join
- If the EU national is not your spouse or parent: Proof of monthly alimony payments within the last two years.
Please note that due to long waiting times, some documents may no longer be valid at the time of application. We recommend you only get new up to date documents once your appointment to apply for a visa is confirmed. That way, you avoid having to undergo the process repeatedly (this is especially relevant for the confirmation of the marriage date by the registry office).
Here you can print the list of required documents.