Can I invite my immediate family member to come to Germany as anAfghan citizen with EU Blue card?

Hi,
I am from Afghanistan and working/living in Berlin for 5 years as a Software Engineer.
I came here with a student visa and studied master's degree at one of the universities in Berlin, afterwards, I started working for 2 years and currently have an EU Blue card.

I have young siblings (under 25, and teenage) back in Afghanistan who are not able to go to school/university after the regime change.
My question is: under my current residency status, can I bring them here to live with me?

Looking forward to your reply, thanks in advance.

Best.

7 Comments

Reply (7)

My Nguyen_Community Managerin

Updated:

Hello @mm Thank you for reaching out to us, and congratulations on all of your achievements. You assumed correctly that as a Blue Card holder and with a German degree, you have certain advantages for family reunion and earlier application for permanent residency. However, generally these advantages only apply to immediate family members, such as spouses or minor children. However, there is currently one expetion, in case your residence is still in Berlin. This year Berlin has an admission regulation program for refugees with relatives in Berlin, which would also allows you to apply for your siblings: https://www.berlin.de/einwanderung/en/entry/refugees/artikel.1049439.en… We recommend to start the process as fast as you can because usually such programs are only possible within one year. As you might know, the government in Berlin changed, so there might be an adjustment too. You should consider consulting a migration counseling centre which will be able to have a look at your situation in detail. You can find different counseling centres in Berlin: https://bamf-navi.bamf.de/de/Themen/Migrationsberatung/?coord=797581.58…; In case you aren't in Berlin anymore, you can have a look at those pages: Youth Migration Service Migration counseling centers (from 27 years) Happy to support you in finding one close to you, if you let me know where you live or what the next bigger city is. Please also let me know, if you have further questions.

Hello @My Nguyen_Community Managerin , thanks for the response. I will find a counseling center to get more information about further processes. you mentioned blue card holders' advantages such as spouse and children visa, however, currently, the waiting process in Tehran or Islamabad German embassies are between 12 to 18 months. Is there any shorter way for Afghans holding the blue card to bring their spouse?

My Nguyen_Community Managerin

Hi @mm Unfortunately, there is no possibility to speed up the process of family reunification. The embassies and consulates only have limited capacity to process a huge amount of applications from various types. Additionally, separate applications from married couples need an approval from the local German foreigners department. Therefore, the long processing time is not only because of the embassy, but also caused by the local German authorities. Please reach out again, if you have further questions.

My Nguyen_Community Managerin

Hello @mm We have added the state admission programs for Berlin and Thuringia to our Afghanistan information page: https://handbookgermany.de/de/afghanistan-info?thema=landesaufnahmeprog… I hope that this helps you. Please let us know if something is unclear or if you have further questions.

My Nguyen_Community Managerin

Dear @mm I hope you are doing good. I just wanted to ask if the provided information helped you or you need any further support? Happy to help.

Hello, @My Nguyen_Community Managerin yes, I found a refugee counsel and prepared all the documents, however, there is only one missing part: my brother's passport is still under process; Given the current situation in Afghanistan, we don't know how much time will it take. I was wondering, if would it be possible to submit the documents with a side note about the passport situation. According to the link, it will take several weeks for processing, hopefully, by then he will get his passport.

My Nguyen_Community Managerin

Dear @MM Thank you for your update. Since the application has to be submitted to your responsible foreigners department, I recommend you to contact the responsible department and describe the situation. Normally, the passport of your brother is already required for the application. In consultation with the foreigners department, a side note might be possible. As you say, the processing needs some more time until the approval. My fingers are crossed. Happy if you keep me updated. Please also let me know, in case you have further questions.

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