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Parent or Parent-in-Law of a Skilled Worker

GermanyFamily

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

Which family relationships qualify?

Parents of the skilled worker or highly-qualified person qualify, and also the parents of the spouse (parents-in-law) if the spouse resides permanently in Germany.

See recorded sources

Who may sponsor or bring the family member, and what immigration/citizenship status must that person hold?

The child (or child-in-law) must have been first issued, on or after 1 March 2024, an EU Blue Card, ICT Card, Mobile ICT Card, or a residence title under sections 18a, 18b, 18c(3), 18d, 18f, 19c(1) (as executive, manager, company specialist, researcher, guest researcher, engineer/technician in a guest researcher's team or teacher), 19c(2), 19c(4) first sentence or 21 of the Residence Act.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufenthg_2004/BJNR195010004.html
    Den Eltern eines Ausländers, dem am oder nach dem 1. März 2024 erstmals eine Blaue Karte EU, eine ICT-Karte oder eine Mobiler-ICT-Karte oder ein Aufenthaltstitel nach den §§ 18a, 18b, 18c Absatz 3, den §§ 18d, 18f, 19c Absatz 1 für eine Beschäftigung als leitender Angestellter, als Führungskraft, als Unternehmensspezialist, als Wissenschaftler, als Gastwissenschaftler, als Ingenieur oder Techniker im Forschungsteam eines Gastwissenschaftlers oder als Lehrkraft, nach § 19c Absatz 2 oder 4 Satz 1 oder § 21 erteilt wird, kann eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis zum Familiennachzug erteilt werden

What is important for proving marriage, partnership, parentage, custody, dependency or another qualifying relationship?

The official sources state that family reunification is refused where it is established that the family relationship was created solely to enable entry and residence in Germany; they do not list the documents used to prove the relationship.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Captured sources do not list the documents (e.g. birth certificates, custody papers) required to prove the relationship.

What important financial, accommodation, insurance or maintenance responsibilities apply?

The parents' own subsistence must be ensured from their own financial resources, including sufficient health and long-term care insurance; the permit can only be granted if the secured-livelihood requirement is met.

See recorded sources

How does the application work at a high level, what rights does the family member receive, how long does the status last, and how can it become independent or longer-term where officially stated?

Parents can come if the child's or child-in-law's residence title was first issued on or after 1 March 2024; the family-reunification permit may be issued at most for the validity of the sponsor's permit and initially for at least one year. The official source does not state work rights, application steps or a path to independent or long-term status for parents.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Captured sources do not state work rights, application steps or a path to independent/long-term status for parents.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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