I have a German child and I'm told to go to Nigeria and come with a visa

Question

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to reach out for your help and guidance during a challenging time. Recently, the Ausläbderbohörde advised me to return to my Home Country and then reapply for a family reunion visa. I'm feeling quite concerned due to a past criminal conviction related to a delay in submitting my passport. If any of you have been through a similar experience, especially regarding traveling to Africa and successfully obtaining a visa despite a conviction, I would greatly appreciate any advice or insights you can offer. Knowing what to avoid and the right steps to take would be incredibly helpful. Your support and shared experiences would mean a lot to me. Thank you all for your understanding and assistance.

Answer 1

Hi @Kelvin

You need to first be sure that is absolutely necessary for you to have to leave Germany and go through the visa process. There are exceptions to this rule, in particular if a small child is involved. Depending on the age of your child, you can inform the Ausländerbehörde that it is unreasonable (in German the specific term for this is ‘unzumutbar’) to expect you to leave for the visa procedure. This is because it would mean a lengthy separation from your child. But here the age of the child and visa processing times in your home country play a role.

Here you can read more about this rule:

https://***-advogarant-de.translate.goog/rechtsanwalt/gebiete/rechtsanwalt-fuer-internationales-recht/nachholung-visumsverfahren?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

We cannot say what influence a criminal conviction will have on a visa application. It is important to distinguish whether it is a full criminal conviction (in German ‘Straftat’) or a minor offence ‘Ordnungswidrigkeit’, which usually results in a small fine. As part of the visa process, the embassy considers whether there are specific grounds for denying someone a visa. A person can be denied for serious crimes which result in imprisonment of at least six months. You can read the range of such offences in the relevant paragraph of the immigration law here:

https://***-gesetze--im--internet-de.translate.goog/aufenthg_2004/__54.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 If it a minor offence, then it does not play a role.

Best,

Éanna