Family reunification for a husband from Gaza of an Ukrainian Woman

Question

I am a Palestinian from Gaza, and I have been married to my wife, who holds Ukrainian citizenship, for 13 years in Gaza. We have four children, who also hold Ukrainian citizenship.

After the war in Gaza began, the Ukrainian embassy evacuated my wife and children to Egypt and then to Ukraine. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to leave with them because I do not hold Ukrainian citizenship.

A month after arriving in Ukraine, my wife and children traveled to Germany, where they received protection status under Paragraph 24 in December 2023 and have remained there since.

I managed to leave Gaza for Egypt in April 2024 and had a family reunification interview at the German embassy in Cairo in August. However, to this day, I have not received any response from the relevant authorities in Germany or the embassy.

I want to know if it is possible for me to obtain a family reunification visa, and if so, under which regulation would I qualify? Please note that I have four young children, the youngest being one year and two months old, and my wife cannot work because she is caring for the youngest child.

My other children attend school regularly and are learning the language well. Additionally, I am staying in Egypt without a residence permit, as the Egyptian government only grants us entry permits without residency.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Dear @Amer90,

Welcome to the Wefugees Community and sorry for the late reply.

First of all, I am very sorry that you are in such a difficult situation and I hope you can reunite with your family very soon.

To be honest I am at a loss and not sure myself how to understand the regulation in this regard. I think my colleague @mbeon-Éanna has a better knowledge of the section 24 of the German Residence Act - he answered a similar question (also not quite comparable) here. Maybe he can provide some assessment in regard to your situation as well.

In any case, I highly recommend your wife to contact a migration/refugee counselling office in Germany. They can help her to contact the Germany embassy to understand more about the current status and potential challenges. She may use this search engine to find an office in her area.

Please don't hesitate to keep us updated and we cross our fingers!

All the best,

Meike

Comments

Hi @Amer90, 

To add to my colleague’s answer and the previous answer of mine she referenced: Family reunification to people holding a protection status under paragraph 24 is only possible in very specific circumstances. There are two requirements: 

1. The family must have been separated due to the situation in Ukraine. 

2. The person wishing to join the family member in Germany must be currently in the EU, or if outside the EU be themselves in need of protection. 

While you may fulfil requirement number 2, you do not fulfil number 1 and so I do not believe you will be granted a visa. 

There is a so-called hardship clause for all other cases, whereby family reunification is allowed in order to avoid exceptional hardship. However, in such cases it is generally expected that the entire family are financially self-sufficient (i.e. not in receipt of state benefits from the Jobcenter in Germany). 

Family reunification would be possible if your wife changed her permit to one for a skilled worker (this means a change from paragraph 24 to 18a or 18b). Then she has the right to bring you to Germany. 

Best, 

Éanna

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Thank you for your response.
First, I would like to clarify that my wife cannot work because she is taking care of our four children, the youngest of whom is one year and five months old. Secondly, the Egyptian government does not allow us, as Palestinians from Gaza, to obtain residency, and without a residence permit, I cannot do anything.
Therefore, is there any justification that could support the approval of my visa application? What can I do to convince the relevant immigration office to accept my case? I do not know what to do to reunite with my wife and four children. The situation is extremely difficult and heartbreaking.

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You're welcome. I'm sorry not to be able to provide a clear solution in your case. I have outlined the strict rules around family reunification to people with residence permit paragraph 24. The only justification I can suggest is appealing to the German embassy to use their discretion and view your situation as a hardship case. To justify this provide detailed information about the separation, your inability to travel with your family, your wife's childcare responsibilities, your continued contact with your family and the impact it is having on you all as a family.