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Hello , my wife has been living in Germany for more than 10 years, we gave birth last year but she hadn't applied for her German passport yet and did not have permanent residence. After she had the baby I went on a holiday at spain on a schengen visa so I came to Germany and could not go back to my home country? Do i have to wait till my wife naturalize with our baby before i apply for a residency in Germany since i have no legal status at the moment in Germany . or can i find a lawyer to help me apply for a residence permit so i can stay with my family?
asked Feb 3, 2022 in Legal advice by Ruhr | 876 views

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1 Answer

+1 vote

Dear @Ruhr,

Welcome to the Wefugees Community and thank you for sharing your situation with us.

In order to be able to give you tailored information and advice, we would need some more details about your and your family's circumstances. Is your marriage recognised/registered in Germany? Which type of residence permit are your wife and child holding? And which nationalitites? Are you officially registered as father of your child (named in the birth certificate)?

In general, a family reunification with a German citizen is definitely easier than with a non-German person living in Germany. If certain requirements are fulfilled, it is nevertheless also possible to obtain a visa based on family reasons in the latter case. In this regard, it may also play a role if your wife is having a (sufficient) income to cover the family's costs of living, for instance. The authorities could also ask you to prove basic German language skills.

Depending on your conditions, you may also consider to apply for a residence permit to take care of your child (Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Personensorge). We discussed this type of residence permit already a few times on this platform. Please see this thread accordingly or have a **** at the information provided here. For the "Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Personensorge" it will be essential though that you are officially registered as the father of the child and you share the custody as well. Please be aware that the issuing of this residence permit is at the discretion of the immigration office (no legal right) and it will be better to involve a lawyer here.

In general, I would highly recommend you to contact a migration counselling office in the first place. There are numerous offices all over Germany and they offer free of charge and confidential advice. Please let us know if you need help with finding a respective organisation close to your current location.

I hope this helps and don't hesitate to get back to us if you want to discuss your case further or you have any other questions.

All the best,

Meike

answered Feb 4, 2022 by Meike
Hello @Meike, Thanks alot for your swift answer. We are both Ghanaians and our marriage was done in Ghana. My wife's Aufenthaltstitel is 34 ABS. 3. Unfortunately the childs birth certificate has not been provided to us since the Standesamt say they are verifying our documents in Ghana before it can be issued. My wife also stopped working and receives benefit after she gave birth . Will it still be possible? I also have A1 german language certificate. I would be glad if you could share some of the counselling offices here in Hannover . Thanks once again
Dear @Ruhr, Thank you for your reply and I think it would be indeed the best if you get individual support and counselling in a specialised office. You may contact the Diakonie (https://***.diakonisches-werk-hannover.de/beratung-leistung/menschen-mit-migrationshintergrund/gefluechtetenhilfe-beratung/) in Hannover, for instance. If you follow the link, you will find a pdf document in English on the right side of the page to download providing the contact details. Another option is the AWO office (https://***.awo-hannover.de/unsere-angebote/migration/erwachsene/beratung-fuer-fluechtlinge/), which offers counselling services for refugees and migrants as well or the "kargah" organisation (https://***.kargah.de/index.php?lang=de&Itemid=681). I hope this helps and don't hesitate to get back to us with any further questions. All the best, Meike
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