# visa for wife of foreign student in Germany



## zatarra

I'm considering going to college in Germany. Is it possible to get a visa for my wife to come with me? I've read that I may have to provide proof that I can support her. But actually I was hoping she could help support me while I study. We have some savings, but I don't think it would last too long.


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## ALKB

zatarra said:


> I'm considering going to college in Germany. Is it possible to get a visa for my wife to come with me? I've read that I may have to provide proof that I can support her. But actually I was hoping she could help support me while I study. We have some savings, but I don't think it would last too long.


It is a bit unusual for a student to bring dependents but not impossible.

You have to show that you have adequate accommodation and the financial means to support both of you without recourse to public funds. I do not know whether you would have to pay that into the blocked account or not. Or whether Americans get around the blocked account. That would be a question for your nearest Embassy/Consulate, as rules vary a bit from country to country.

Student dependents do not automatically get a work permit so she would have to qualify in her own right. For an American this is not as hard as for some other nationalities as Americans can apply in country. 

What's her qualification and how good is your and her German?


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## zatarra

ALKB said:


> What's her qualification and how good is your and her German?


It sounds like this isn't going to work for us. My wife is not American, she's Japanese. We don't speak German at all, although I'm certainly open and willing to learn. I was interested in the tuition-free universities.

We are quite young so we don't have much experience. My wife earned a 4-year university degree in Japan. Her expertise is in cooking. She worked as a "chef" at Disney World last year. She wants to continue doing work like this (not Disney, the cooking rather). I thought maybe she could get a job at a Japanese restaurant in Germany to support us, but that's not going to happen if I need to prove beforehand that I can support us.

It seems the only way for this to work would be if I was extremely wealthy and could dish out a whole year's worth of living expenses for the both of us


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## ALKB

zatarra said:


> It sounds like this isn't going to work for us. My wife is not American, she's Japanese. We don't speak German at all, although I'm certainly open and willing to learn. I was interested in the tuition-free universities.
> 
> We are quite young so we don't have much experience. My wife earned a 4-year university degree in Japan. Her expertise is in cooking. She worked as a "chef" at Disney World last year. She wants to continue doing work like this (not Disney, the cooking rather). I thought maybe she could get a job at a Japanese restaurant in Germany to support us, but that's not going to happen if I need to prove beforehand that I can support us.
> 
> It seems the only way for this to work would be if I was extremely wealthy and could dish out a whole year's worth of living expenses for the both of us


Well, first of all, unless you get a place in one of the English medium programmes, which are highly competitive to get into, you won't get a student visa in the first place, if you can't pass the language test for university admission or show German at a B1 level which is needed to get into the Studienkolleg programme of the university of your choice. In any case you will need German for mere survival.

Japanese nationals can also apply for a work permit in country and as she doesn't need a visa to enter Germany, you COULD take the risk to simply arrive, apply your socks off and then apply for a work permit. I am not entirely sure how likely it is to get a work permit as a chef - but we don't have a lot of Japanese people in Germany and the pool of Japanese chefs is very small (my nephew's wife is from Japan so I know a bit about the work situation). Does she have a formal qualification as a chef? Germans like formal qualifications.

As I said, I don't know how strict the blocked account rule is for Americans. In Asia it's non-negotiable, but do ask your local German Embassy.

Also, do a bit of research on the procedure, requirements and programmes available:

https://www.daad.de/en/index.html

Germany is a good place to study and has just recently introduced a post study work visa that allows you to work in Germany after your studies and even leads to settlement if requirements are met.


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## Tellus

Well, the biggest comunity of japanese citizen is in Düsseldorf. Many japanese companies are located there, but it´s quite expensive.
You could apply for residence permits after arrival.
Schengen Visa for Employment - Residence Permit

A good place for study and work could be Kiel (nothern Germany, Baltic Sea ), about 100Km north of Hamburg. 
The university is well known, get some exellence clusters with other campuses. Christian-Albrechts-UniversitÃ¤t zu Kiel | Startseite
Living in Kiel is not so expensive like Hamburg, Berlin or Munich and got some good japanese restaurants as well as other asian kitchen.
The Baltic Sea areas are touristic hot spots, so for my opinion should not be hard to get a job as "Chef".


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## zatarra

ALKB said:


> Well, first of all, unless you get a place in one of the English medium programmes, which are highly competitive to get into, you won't get a student visa in the first place, if you can't pass the language test for university admission or show German at a B1 level which is needed to get into the Studienkolleg programme of the university of your choice.


Are you saying I need some German language skill even to get into the English programs? If it's an English program, the language test for admission would be in English, right?



ALKB said:


> In any case you will need German for mere survival.


I live in Japan right now and my Japanese language skills are minimal. Japanese people probably have the worst English skills of the developed world and the least willingness to use English. I get by. I'm not saying I don't need German, but I'm sure it can't be as hard as it is living here in Japan in terms of language.

According to what I've read about the blocked account I need 7,908 Euro to get a student visa. That's a lot of money to dish out up front. Could the requirement be less if I was offered some kind of employment during my studies?



ALKB said:


> Does she have a formal qualification as a chef? Germans like formal qualifications.


No, but she's currently taking classes at the Kushi Institute here in Japan. I'm not sure if that will have any value in Germany. 

That DAAD website is very helpful. Thanks!

Thank you for the replies so far. I'm getting answer much faster than I was with my own research.


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## Nononymous

Language: I had quick scan of a few programs on the DAAD list. Some require basic German for admission, some do not. It would depend on the program. Needless to say, German is a good thing to have when living in Germany, though you can certainly survive without it.

Programs. Remember that these programs are competitive. Not surprisingly, millions of people in Germany and around the world would be interested in obtaining an English-language university degree with minimal to nonexistent tuition costs. So before worrying about visas, you should perhaps figure out which programs meet your needs, whether they have tuition, and what your chances of admission might be. (No sense moaning about the cost of going to Harvard if you're a C student, in other words.)

Visas. Here's the thing. The German government does not want to let you in if it thinks you could become a burden to them. If you can't prove up front that you have the necessary means to support yourself during your studies (savings to cover a year's living costs, plus health insurance) they should not issue a student visa. I highly doubt they'd waive that requirement on the promise that you and your wife will work, unless she already has a job offer and a work permit - what happens if neither of you find work and you run out of money halfway through the semester?

And now the good news. Germany is relatively welcoming to Americans (and apparently also Japanese, according to an earlier post). You can show up without a visa, and you have 90 days (on the Schengen tourist thing) to look for a job and try to obtain a work permit (sometimes easy, sometimes not). Then you can get a longer term residence permit and possibly stay on as a student if you're admitted to a program and have the household income to support yourself. It's all a bit easier once you're there and know how the system works. In this respect, speaking German to the bureaucrats is hugely advantageous.


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## beppi

zatarra said:


> According to what I've read about the blocked account I need 7,908 Euro to get a student visa. That's a lot of money to dish out up front.


If that's a lot of money for you, then don't come!
That amount (it's adjusted yearly and slightly over €8000 now) is the official minimum a person needs to survive a year in Germany ("Existenzminimum"). For the two of you, plus material you need for your studies, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies, you should bring at least €18000 for the first year - more if you don't want to live in a sublet room (limited privacy), like to explore Germany or Europe in your free time or even have a trip home.
I recommend both of you to work a few years and save until you can fulfil this dream!


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## ALKB

zatarra said:


> Are you saying I need some German language skill even to get into the English programs? If it's an English program, the language test for admission would be in English, right?
> 
> 
> 
> I live in Japan right now and my Japanese language skills are minimal. Japanese people probably have the worst English skills of the developed world and the least willingness to use English. I get by. I'm not saying I don't need German, but I'm sure it can't be as hard as it is living here in Japan in terms of language.
> 
> According to what I've read about the blocked account I need 7,908 Euro to get a student visa. That's a lot of money to dish out up front. Could the requirement be less if I was offered some kind of employment during my studies?
> 
> 
> 
> No, but she's currently taking classes at the Kushi Institute here in Japan. I'm not sure if that will have any value in Germany.
> 
> That DAAD website is very helpful. Thanks!
> 
> Thank you for the replies so far. I'm getting answer much faster than I was with my own research.


Whether you need German language skills for an English medium programme depends on the university. They often like to see at least A1 level but it will state the requirements in the individual programme. Are we talking Bachelor or Master? There are also programmes that are 50/50 or 75/25 English/German with the German-taught modules at the end of the programme.

Whether you will get by easily with only English outside of tourist areas depends on which area of Germany you live in. An Australian friend of mine in Berlin keeps complaining that she can't practice her German because everybody wants to practice their English.

In 2013 the required amount was €8040, not sure what it is this year. What kind of financial proof would be required depends on the country you apply from. As you don't need a visa to enter Germany, you can apply for your student residence permit within 90 days of arrival but then you will have to show financial evidence at application and it then depends on the caseworker. 

Hm. I think your wife's employment prospects might not be as grim as initially thought. There are not that many Japanese chefs in Germany and I know somebody who got sponsored from India as a specialty chef, so why not.

In your place I would use the DAAD website to find some programmes that interest you and contact the universities to ask about the specific requirements and their experience with American students visa-wise. 

Remember, the English medium programmes are always hugely oversubscribed.


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## despaired

My friend had same situation. At German Embassy they told him, he has to earn(!!!!!) sufficient amount of money to take his wife along while he is studying. But as student you can only work very limited. Savings and blocked account are not accepted. Visa got refused.


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## zatarra

beppi said:


> If that's a lot of money for you, then don't come!
> That amount (it's adjusted yearly and slightly over €8000 now) is the official minimum a person needs to survive a year in Germany ("Existenzminimum"). For the two of you, plus material you need for your studies, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies, you should bring at least €18000 for the first year - more if you don't want to live in a sublet room (limited privacy), like to explore Germany or Europe in your free time or even have a trip home.
> I recommend both of you to work a few years and save until you can fulfil this dream!


Unfortunately I don't think this is ever going to happen. It's just too much money. I'm looking into tuition free colleges in the US. There's not many, but it's a more realistic goal than going to universities in Germany.

Thanks for the info everybody!


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