Bringing Australian husband to Germany
I’m a German & Australian citizen currently living in Australia with my husband who holds Australian & New Zealand citizenship.
We have been married for nearly 25 years and have an 18 year old son.
Because my mother is getting older and needs some assistance and also because my son is planning to study in Germany next year we are planning to move to Germany.
However, it seems I was a bit naive to think that relocating our family to Germany would be easy.
My husband is shortly turning 75. I am 51 years old. Yes, there is a significant age gap but it is a genuine and ongoing relationship which has lasted for nearly 28 years now.
I have a job offer from a German company and given that I am a German citizen it shouldn’t be a problem for me to return to Germany and hopefully be covered by the public health insurance system.
While I was living in Germany I was always insured in the public system.
I am concerned that while my husband would technically qualify to be included in the family insurance through my public health insurance cover, he doesn’t work and only has very minimal income below the allowed thresholds, the public health system may not allow him to join due to his age and also because of prior heart and chronic pulmonary health issues.
My income is sufficient to comfortably cover our living expenses and we would also be able to afford private health insurance cover, but especially with private health insurance I have serious concerns that my husband’s age and health situation would bar him from entry into the private system.
Does anybody have experience with a similar situation? Would it still be possible for my husband to be covered through family insurance on my public health insurance cover despite his age and health situation?
I queried it with the Techniker Krankenkasse, which is the public health insurer I was insured with prior to leaving Germany but they replied that my husband could only be covered if he was a German citizen. The person I contacted said ‘citizen’ and not just that he had to be residing in Germany. Is this correct?
We also made an appointment with an immigration lawyer which can only happen at the end of next week. My problem is that I will need to reply to the job offer I received within the next few days.
If my husband cannot obtain health insurance of some kind in Germany he will obviously not be allowed to live there long term.
Any information or guidance would be very much appreciated.
Hello @BalsamicWaffle
Thank you for your detailed message.
As a German citizen, you have a legal right under § 28 of the Residence Act to bring your non-EU spouse to live with you in Germany through family reunification. Your husband’s age, income, or nationality do not affect this right, as long as your relationship is genuine and ongoing. The only potential obstacle in this process is securing adequate health insurance for your husband, which is a requirement for obtaining a residence permit.
As a rule, German public health insurance generally allows spouses without their own income to be co-insured at no additional cost through family insurance (Familienversicherung). This does not require German citizenship. The only requirements are a legal marriage, residence in Germany, and no substantial income or private insurance. Unfortunately, some insurers may miscommunicate this, as Techniker Krankenkasse appears to have done when they stated that your husband must be a citizen. However, we find no such condition in the general terms.
That said, other complications may arise due to your husband’s age, health conditions, and the fact that he has been abroad and outside the German health system for many years. In such cases, some insurers may treat him as a "late entrant" and deny family coverage, requiring him instead to apply for voluntary membership, which comes with higher contributions. If your husband is not accepted into the public system as a family member, private health insurance becomes the only other option. However, as you rightly noted, private health insurers are likely to scrutinize his case. Premiums, if offered at all, would likely be prohibitively high or subject to significant exclusions.
At this point, your best course of action is to contact several different public insurers and explain clearly that you are a returning German citizen who will be compulsorily insured through your new job, and that your husband, a lawfully married spouse with no substantial income, will reside with you in Germany. Ask specifically whether he can be included under your family insurance or if voluntary membership would be possible.
You might also want to contact the GKV-Spitzenverband’s Clearingstelle, which is designed to assist returnees and complex cases like yours.
There are also a number of companies that offer very basic coverage, sufficient only to meet the residency permit requirements. While this might be a temporary solution for paperwork purposes, it would not serve as reliable insurance in the event of a serious medical need.
I believe your lawyer will provide much more detailed information on the topic.
In the meantime, you can check extensive information about insurance on our relevant website:
https://handbookgermany.de/en/health-insurance
I hope I have been helpful.
All the best.