German residency after separation with German national

Question

I am a US citizen. I married a german national in Miami, and we decided to move to Germany, or I decided that instead of him moving to Miami. We rented a place in Frankfurt am Main in March, officially I arrived In March 13 but did the Abmeldung before, in February. I left everything in the US, sold everything and I no longer have a place to go back to, or car, or nothing. After many months, it seems he decided he does not want to be in a relationship, he needs his old life back, move back to his parents, I am 34 he is 30... I was already granted residency for a year, then we would need to go and renew it for two, then unlimited. Now, if we separate, cannot divorce at least in a year ( we need to live separate places for a year then we can divorce in Germany) nothing bad happened, he just changed his mind, just like that, but it would be easier for me to start from 0 here. I have a bachelors in computer networking and can find a job soon, what are the posibilities to retain residency even if we separate? could I change later the type of visa for a work visa? Or if he moves away automatically I am thrown out of Germany just because even when I have nothing in US, I am also Cuban so my family is in Cuba. I guess I want to know, if I could stay in Germany, use that year residency, find a good job, learn good german, and then change the status where I wouldnt need him. this is really sad and bad for me as I left everything behind for him to do this for no reason, just because. Thanks. So yes, less than a year so far in Germany.

Answer 1

Dear adpec21,

Thank you for reaching out to the Wefugees community.

I will give you some informations about the possibilities to stay in Germany.

At the moment you will have a residence permit as the wife of a German. (§ 28 Aufenthaltsgesetz).

If you separate before 3 years, you will lose this residence permit. It is then possible to apply for a stay for professional reasons.

You write, that you have a bachelor in computer networking. This is a non-regulated profession, but sometimes it's better to recognize it.

Here are more informations:

https://***.make-it-in-germany.***/en/jobs/recognition/academic-qualifications/

For a new visa, you would normally have to contact the German embassy in the USA, but you can also try to apply for a visa at the immigration office in your home country. In this case, the immigration office

In this case, however, the immigration office of your place of residence is informed of your separation

Here are more informations abut the different kinds of working visa:

https://***.make-it-in-germany.***/en/visa/kinds-of-visa/work-qualified-professionals/

I would like to recommend that you visit a migration advice center at your place of residence. here are the adresses in Frankfurt/Main:

https://***.vielfalt-bewegt-frankfurt.de/en/angebote/services-offer-refugees

I hope my answers were helpful and I would be very happy if you would contact me again or my colleagues with further questions. I'm a member of the mbeon-staff and we’ll be glad to guide you over a longer period of time. mbeon is an online advice for migrants via the mbeon app, which you can install on your smartphone for free. Download it from App Store or Google Play Store. In the mbeon-app you’ll get confidential one-to-one advice in a safe virtual room where nobody can read messages. For Further information please visit ***.mbeon.de.
Best regards,
your mbeon advisor

manrhei-mbeon