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I'm getting married to my German partner in Turkey in two weeks. We had originally planned to apply for the family reunion visa and we have all the required documents sans our marriage documents, but the visa application process can take longer than 6 months in where I live due to the visa processing places being fully booked. We were wondering if it is possible for me to get a Schengen visa and visit him there, and directly apply for a Residence Permit due to our married status while residing in Germany. We can provide all the documents required for the family reunion visa, its just the processing time that is forcing us to **** for other solutions.
asked May 23, 2022 in Legal advice by maveina | 631 views
Dear @maveina, welcome to the Wefugees Community and thank you for reaching out to us! I'm going to link our expert and dear colleague @mbeon-Gabriele, maybe she can have a **** and get back to you with some advice. Best regards, Julia

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2 Answers

+1 vote
Hello @Maveina, how nice that you turned to wefugees with your question. There are two ways couples of different nationalities can organise their marriage and family reunion. Both procedures require some time - one way before marriage, the other way after marriage. If the marriage is planned in Germany, there is a long lead time due to the procurement of documents, the checks and the organisation. Once all this is done, the future spouse will be granted a visa for marriage and a residence permit. If the marriage is planned in the country of the partner, the formalities often do not take as long as in Germany. In this case, the time-consuming processing only occurs after the wedding. This is because the spouse first travels back to Germany alone and applies for family reunification. These formalities and checks now take the appropriate time before a visa is issued. Unfortunately, what really does NOT work is to enter with a Schengen visa although you intend to move in with your spouse. The immigration authorities take this "deception of intent" very seriously and carefully. You then have to leave the country again in order to re-enter with the correct visa to join your spouse. I understand that the long waiting period is difficult for you. But perhaps you can also imagine what "exceptions" to the entry requirements can do for the immigration authorities. Eventually, many people would get the idea to bypass the regular visa route via a visit visa. The various visa regulations are laid down by law and the immigration authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations. So I am sorry not to be able to give you a more pleasant answer. But for now, you can **** forward to your wedding. I wish you all the best. Best regards Gabriele
answered May 24, 2022 by mbeon-Gabriele
Thank you for the answer @mbeon-Gabriele. We are just extremely tired from the whole process and were looking to shorten the time it takes before we can finally start our life together. It is made excessively hard and time-consuming for international couples to just live together, especially in Germany, and we have always tried to play by the book so far and get every document etc. in order. This question was more like a cry of help because of the constant delays and let downs we had to face all throghout this process, as this certainly wasnt the first rock on the road. I'm glad to at least know that we have exhausted all the other options than waiting this out yet again.
Thank you very much @mbeon-Gabriele for your response! Much appreciated! Best, Julia
+1 vote
Hello @Maveina, Yes, you are right. It is not made easy for international couples here, unfortunately I experience that more often. To bridge the long waiting period, you could visit your spouse for 3 months with a visit visa. You just have to leave again in any case to then enter permanently with the right visa. This is not yet the life together that you actually want after the wedding, but it is a way to get there. Many greetings Gabriele
answered May 24, 2022 by mbeon-Gabriele
That sounds like a great idea, I will definitely **** into that, thank you very much.
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