1 MONTH FOR GERMAN RESIDENCE CARD APP?

[Ewald]

Hi

Myself (south african) and my wife (british) are arriving in Munich, Germany in April. I applied for a visa for spouse of EU citizen and they only gave me one that is valid for 5 weeks. As this was what my flight tickets said.

If we have all our paperwork in order and my wife is exercising her treaty rights.

Will 5 weeks be enough time to register our stay and apply for a residence card?

Really dont want to leave again and try and apply from outside Germany.

[ALKB]

Hi

Myself (south african) and my wife (british) are arriving in Munich, Germany in April. I applied for a visa for spouse of EU citizen and they only gave me one that is valid for 5 weeks. As this was what my flight tickets said.

If we have all our paperwork in order and my wife is exercising her treaty rights.

Will 5 weeks be enough time to register our stay and apply for a residence card?

Really dont want to leave again and try and apply from outside Germany.

Under EU law, you didn't have to provide the Embassy with air tickets... What did you put as intended length of stay in the form? 90 days? If so, you might be able to contact the Embassy and request a change?

Anyhow, when you apply for a residence card, the Ausländerbehörde will give you a document that states that you have an application in progress and that will be enough for you to stay until it's decided.

Ideally, your wife would find a job within those 5 weeks and she could provide a pay slip or a work contract to support your application. If not, you can also apply stating that your wife is a jobseeker. The problem with that is, that the authorities now seem to wait with processing such applications until 90 days since the EEA national's arrival have lapsed and then ask for evidence of exercising treaty rights, health insurance, finances.

Also, please note, that by law, everybody who is registered as resident in Germany has to have adequate health insurance, which might be expensive if your wife doesn't find a job.

Are you going to stay in Munich?

[Ewald]

Hi

Myself (south african) and my wife (british) are arriving in Munich, Germany in April. I applied for a visa for spouse of EU citizen and they only gave me one that is valid for 5 weeks. As this was what my flight tickets said.

If we have all our paperwork in order and my wife is exercising her treaty rights.

Will 5 weeks be enough time to register our stay and apply for a residence card?

Really dont want to leave again and try and apply from outside Germany.

Under EU law, you didn't have to provide the Embassy with air tickets... What did you put as intended length of stay in the form? 90 days? If so, you might be able to contact the Embassy and request a change?

Anyhow, when you apply for a residence card, the Ausländerbehörde will give you a document that states that you have an application in progress and that will be enough for you to stay until it's decided.

Ideally, your wife would find a job within those 5 weeks and she could provide a pay slip or a work contract to support your application. If not, you can also apply stating that your wife is a job seeker. The problem with that is, that the authorities now seem to wait with processing such applications until 90 days since the EEA national's arrival have lapsed and then ask for evidence of exercising treaty rights, health insurance, finances.

Also, please note, that by law, everybody who is registered as resident in Germany has to have adequate health insurance, which might be expensive if your wife doesn't find a job.

Are you going to stay in Munich?

Hi

Yes we are going to be staying in Munich where we have family.

We have enough finances to carry us for atleast 6 months. So health insurance and all that will be covered. I have calculated a budget on the information we received from our family there.

The German embassy here in South Africa insisted on seeing air tickets because they "need" proof that myself and my wife were traveling together. They took my intended time of stay off there. Then when i got the visa back it was only valid for the time of my air tickets. I called the embassy and they said this is standard for all thier visas. They do not issue 90 days anymore like other schengen countries.

I think 5 weeks will be enough time as my wife already has a few job interviews lined up. I was just worried about getting an appointment for the RC in time as i have read that some people wait for a few weeks before they get one?

[ALKB]

Hi

Myself (south african) and my wife (british) are arriving in Munich, Germany in April. I applied for a visa for spouse of EU citizen and they only gave me one that is valid for 5 weeks. As this was what my flight tickets said.

If we have all our paperwork in order and my wife is exercising her treaty rights.

Will 5 weeks be enough time to register our stay and apply for a residence card?

Really dont want to leave again and try and apply from outside Germany.

Under EU law, you didn't have to provide the Embassy with air tickets... What did you put as intended length of stay in the form? 90 days? If so, you might be able to contact the Embassy and request a change?

Anyhow, when you apply for a residence card, the Ausländerbehörde will give you a document that states that you have an application in progress and that will be enough for you to stay until it's decided.

Ideally, your wife would find a job within those 5 weeks and she could provide a pay slip or a work contract to support your application. If not, you can also apply stating that your wife is a job seeker. The problem with that is, that the authorities now seem to wait with processing such applications until 90 days since the EEA national's arrival have lapsed and then ask for evidence of exercising treaty rights, health insurance, finances.

Also, please note, that by law, everybody who is registered as resident in Germany has to have adequate health insurance, which might be expensive if your wife doesn't find a job.

Are you going to stay in Munich?

Hi

Yes we are going to be staying in Munich where we have family.

We have enough finances to carry us for atleast 6 months. So health insurance and all that will be covered. I have calculated a budget on the information we received from our family there.

The German embassy here in South Africa insisted on seeing air tickets because they "need" proof that myself and my wife were traveling together. They took my intended time of stay off there. Then when i got the visa back it was only valid for the time of my air tickets. I called the embassy and they said this is standard for all thier visas. They do not issue 90 days anymore like other schengen countries.

I think 5 weeks will be enough time as my wife already has a few job interviews lined up. I was just worried about getting an appointment for the RC in time as i have read that some people wait for a few weeks before they get one?

Well, with the migrant crisis and Munich being one of the hotspots, appointments are thin on the ground as the authorities are working with a skeleton staff.

Try to make an appointment online now? You can always cancel.

That's interesting that the Embassy said they are no longer giving 90 day visas. Good to know to get airtickets with a return flight close to 90 days after arriving

[Ewald]

Hi

I have tried to make an appointment over email but not getting any reply. My brother inlaw who lives in Munich said he will call them or try go there and see how long it will take to get an appointment.

I am sure it will all be easier once we are there. I already have translated versions of all our documents.

Is it possible to extend my visa once there? i know it is not allowed for normal tourist but is it allowed for an EU spouse?

[ALKB]

Hi

I have tried to make an appointment over email but not getting any reply. My brother inlaw who lives in Munich said he will call them or try go there and see how long it will take to get an appointment.

I am sure it will all be easier once we are there. I already have translated versions of all our documents.

Is it possible to extend my visa once there? i know it is not allowed for normal tourist but is it allowed for an EU spouse?

Ah, Munich doesn't seem to have an online appointment system like Berlin.

You might have to show up at the Ausländerbehörde really early in the morning and hope to get a number.

I have heard of short term visa extensions for EU spouses in Berlin - you can certainly ask and technically you don't need a visa as long as your spouse is exercising treaty rights. BTW, the authority that would extend your visa is the same as the one issuing residence cards, so you might as well just apply for a residence card instead of trying to extend the visa.

While you might not be obligated to even get a residence card once your spouse is exercising treaty rights, daily life might prove difficult if you don't have documentation that proves that you can live and work in Germany.

[Ewald]

Hi

I have tried to make an appointment over email but not getting any reply. My brother inlaw who lives in Munich said he will call them or try go there and see how long it will take to get an appointment.

I am sure it will all be easier once we are there. I already have translated versions of all our documents.

Is it possible to extend my visa once there? i know it is not allowed for normal tourist but is it allowed for an EU spouse?

Ah, Munich doesn't seem to have an online appointment system like Berlin.

You might have to show up at the Ausländerbehörde really early in the morning and hope to get a number.

I have heard of short term visa extensions for EU spouses in Berlin - you can certainly ask and technically you don't need a visa as long as your spouse is exercising treaty rights. BTW, the authority that would extend your visa is the same as the one issuing residence cards, so you might as well just apply for a residence card instead of trying to extend the visa.

While you might not be obligated to even get a residence card once your spouse is exercising treaty rights, daily life might prove difficult if you don't have documentation that proves that you can live and work in Germany.

Thank you kindly for all your advice. I feel that we have all in order now. Our Translated marriage certificate arrived today.

Will only try extend the visa if we not ready to submit paperwork by the time mine expires. Just to be safe.

thank you

[ALKB]

Hi

I have tried to make an appointment over email but not getting any reply. My brother inlaw who lives in Munich said he will call them or try go there and see how long it will take to get an appointment.

I am sure it will all be easier once we are there. I already have translated versions of all our documents.

Is it possible to extend my visa once there? i know it is not allowed for normal tourist but is it allowed for an EU spouse?

Ah, Munich doesn't seem to have an online appointment system like Berlin.

You might have to show up at the Ausländerbehörde really early in the morning and hope to get a number.

I have heard of short term visa extensions for EU spouses in Berlin - you can certainly ask and technically you don't need a visa as long as your spouse is exercising treaty rights. BTW, the authority that would extend your visa is the same as the one issuing residence cards, so you might as well just apply for a residence card instead of trying to extend the visa.

While you might not be obligated to even get a residence card once your spouse is exercising treaty rights, daily life might prove difficult if you don't have documentation that proves that you can live and work in Germany.

Thank you kindly for all your advice. I feel that we have all in order now. Our Translated marriage certificate arrived today.

Will only try extend the visa if we not ready to submit paperwork by the time mine expires. Just to be safe.

thank you

Just be aware that the Bavarian immigration authorities have the reputation of being one of the strictest in Germany and that case workers have quite a bit of discretion. If your application (for visa extension or whatever) is rejected, it might be worth it to just come back next day or a few days later, most probably being assigned a different case worker.