German & South African spouse moving from UK to Germany

[MargleTheWorld]

Hello,

We're moving to Berlin from London in May. I'm German and my spouse is South African. She needs a residency permit as she wishes to study and work in Berlin.

My situation is as follows:

1. We work for our own company that's based in the UK. I want to remain employed by our company in the UK whilst living in Berlin. My spouse wishes to take employment in Berlin if an opportunity arises.
2. I do not know where I'm going to live yet in Berlin and as such I would prefer to rent short term apartments, 2 - 3 weeks at at a time, until I've found an area that I find agreeable.
3. My spouse has completed A1.2 at the Goethe institute.

We're trying to determine what is the most logical course of action given our circumstances:

1. Should we get a VISA for my spouse and be "tourists" in Berlin whilst we determine where we want to stay?
2. Is a permanent residential address or letting agreement a requirement for a residence card?
3. Should we apply directly for the residency permit?

[ALKB]

Hello,

We're moving to Berlin from London in May. I'm German and my spouse is South African. She needs a residency permit as she wishes to study and work in Berlin.

My situation is as follows:

1. We work for our own company that's based in the UK. I want to remain employed by our company in the UK whilst living in Berlin. My spouse wishes to take employment in Berlin if an opportunity arises.
2. I do not know where I'm going to live yet in Berlin and as such I would prefer to rent short term apartments, 2 - 3 weeks at at a time, until I've found an area that I find agreeable.
3. My spouse has completed A1.2 at the Goethe institute.

We're trying to determine what is the most logical course of action given our circumstances:

1. Should we get a VISA for my spouse and be "tourists" in Berlin whilst we determine where we want to stay?
2. Is a permanent residential address or letting agreement a requirement for a residence card?
3. Should we apply directly for the residency permit?

Your wife needs to get a short term Schengen visa which will be free of charge as she is the spouse of an EEA national.

During the first 90 days in Berlin you then need to go to the Ausländerbehörde to apply for her residence card (valid 5 years, allows unrestricted work). Make this appointment early!

To apply for a residence card you need to register your residence at the local municipality. This can be tricky with holiday lets but it's not impossible.

Now the difficult part.

Before you move, investigate what you being employed remotely with a UK company would mean for you tax wise, I think you could be paid the gross amount and forward income tax to the Department of Finance yourself - this would have to be set up with them. Also, the health insurance situation could be difficult and expensive in such an arrangement. I have no idea what you would have to do for mandatory insurances like unemployment, etc. (similar to NI).

[MargleTheWorld]

Your wife needs to get a short term Schengen visa which will be free of charge as she is the spouse of an EEA national.

During the first 90 days in Berlin you then need to go to the Ausländerbehörde to apply for her residence card (valid 5 years, allows unrestricted work). Make this appointment early!

To apply for a residence card you need to register your residence at the local municipality. This can be tricky with holiday lets but it's not impossible.

It appears that this is not possible to do in Germany if your spouse is a South African... I've read that you must do it from the embassy in South Africa, do you know if this is true?

[liksah]

I'm pretty sure that's not true. Non-EU spouses of EU citizens may apply for a residence card once they have entered on a tourist visa (it's called an entry visa for spouses but looks the same..).

The documentation that may have confused you is that in some places it mentions that people who don't need a visa to enter the schengen space can change status once inside. The part that isn't mentioned is that people who DO need visas can also enter and change status as long as they are spouses/children of EU citizens. Other tourists (not related to EU nationals) cannot change status.

There are plenty of people on these forums who have changed status after entering on tourist/entry visas.

I personally researched moving to Berlin with my Portuguese spouse. (I'm Indian) I haven't gone through with it yet but the process is pretty clear and straightforward, this is the thread I had created with my questions:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/europe ... 53174.html

[MargleTheWorld]

The documentation that may have confused you is that in some places it mentions that people who don't need a visa to enter the schengen space can change status once inside. The part that isn't mentioned is that people who DO need visas can also enter and change status as long as they are spouses/children of EU citizens.

Aha! That's exactly how I understood the documentation! Do you have some sort of official documentation? I would hate to arrive in Germany, and try, only to have to leave with my wife after 90 days.

P.S. I'm also self-employed and I found a wonderful English speaking accountant in Munich who's helping me setup myself as a freelancer and doing my books, returns, etc. If you would like his details I can send them over.

[liksah]

Thanks, I'll definitely hit you up for details if we do finally move to Berlin, those plans are on hold now due to some personal circumstances.

I'm not 100% sure about official documentation, I do remember reading some FAQs, maybe on the Berlin municipality website, or somewhere else that mentioned something like spouses should apply for residence cards once they arrive.

The process I'm mentioning isn't specific to Germany by the way. Every EU country I have researched follows the same process for spouse registration and residence. It's pretty much like:

1. Go there on a tourist visa
2. Register a residence with the police
3. Apply for a residence card

There are some more steps in between depending on the country (get a tax number, register as self employed or something else..) but that's the general flow.

Directive 2004/38/EC of the EU covers all this stuff:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 123:en:PDF

If you take a look at Article 10 which covers issuance of resident cards, it doesn't really mention anything about visas.

This is a guide to the Directive:
http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/faq/fr ... _ec_en.pdf

It also doesn't mention anything about visas.

Try and search for stories from people who have applied for residence cards. You'll find plenty of examples of folks entering with C category visas and changing status. Basically the right of free movement is granted to immediate family members almost the same way as it is granted to EU citizens...

In fact, you're supposed to get a residence card and not a category 'D' (long term) visa. I'm not even sure consulates can issue residence cards..

[toofan]

to apply for residence card there is no specific visa needed as family member of eu citizen it could be any visa c or d class does not matter as far as eu citizen is exercising treaty right.