# Slightly complex visa question



## Affinity (Jun 8, 2017)

Alright this may be a bit complicated, and for that I apologize!

Background on this. Wife is Canadian, I am US. We did not live together before Berlin, as we had been working through the Canadian immigration process to get me into Canada. Wife was offered a job in Berlin, she accepted.

Wife has a job in Berlin, but is on a Youth Mobility Visa (or Holiday Working Visa). This is all approved and she is working now. I came with, on the standard 3 month tourist entry allowed to US citizens. 

1. Her residency registration appointment is tomorrow. The landlord paperwork does NOT include my name, can we present a letter from my wife confirming I live there alongside a marriage certificate and this will suffice, or do both names have to be on the landlord paperwork?

2. Is it possible for me to apply for a spousal reunification visa when my wife has this working holiday visa, or do I have to apply through other means (Freelancer, etc)?


I've tried googling as much of this as I can and haven't found any definitive results specific to Canada and Germany, so I apologize if this is known information. I appreciate all help in advance!


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Affinity said:


> Alright this may be a bit complicated, and for that I apologize!
> 
> Background on this. Wife is Canadian, I am US. We did not live together before Berlin, as we had been working through the Canadian immigration process to get me into Canada. Wife was offered a job in Berlin, she accepted.
> 
> ...



1. She can register, but if YOU want to register, too, then the landlord needs to be aware and fill in the paperwork for you.

2. As far as I know, there can be no dependents to Youth Mobility Visas. You'd have to qualify for a visa in your own right, freelancer would probably be the easiest for an American (limits you to a specific type of work). Otherwise: student (if not uni, a long term intensive language course should work) or sponsored work permit. 

If you are degree educated and your degree is recognised as equivalent to a German qualification, you could also apply for a jobseeker visa which would give you 6 more months to sort things but you would not be able to to work under that visa.

Is your wife's job the kind that may lead to a regular work permit?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

I'll give my take on this, based on the sometimes surprisingly pleasant experiences that Americans and Canadians can have with the Ausländerbehörde.

To your first question, you'll need to be registered at your address, which means that if you haven't already got it sorted, you should have the landlord sign another form and trot down to amend the registration.

The Youth Mobility Visa probably does not provide for dependents - and certainly gives them no right to work. (Too bad you didn't already have Canadian citizenship.) However, if your wife is earning enough to support you, and you have adequate medical insurance, then I might just go to the Ausländerbehörde and say "I want to stay for the year, to learn German or look for a job or whatever." Bring all kinds of documentation, not just the marriage certificate and proof of health insurance but also details of your wife's income, bank statements showing savings, the works. There's more leeway if they don't think you'll wind up destitute and flee after leaving behind a string of debts. 

As ever, being polite, decently dressed, having a bit of a clue how things work and speaking German will help your chances - a lot is up to the discretion of the individual officer, so being charming is never a bad thing.

If your plan is to stay longer than a year, and work, then it's essential that you have a skill in demand, and a degree, and all that. If your wife came to pull pints in a pub on a gap year, and you've only ever cut lawns, then the odds are not good. If however she does something halfway professional and you have decent prospects, it's a different story. I'm inferring from the fact that she was offered a job before coming to Berlin that she's not in fact working in a bar - did she do the YMV simply because it was fastest and easiest, and is the intention then to apply for a regular work permit and stay on?


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