Germany: Student Visa and Family Reunification Rules to be Relaxed

February 28, 2024

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Country / Territory

At a Glance

  • Effective March 1, 2024, the German government will expand the working rights and validity periods of student permit holders and will ease certain permanent residency and family reunification rules.
  • These changes are in addition to other policy changes which were announced last year and come into effect on March 1, 2024, including shorter duration requirements for acquiring permanent residence and the creation of immigration pathways for applicants with vocational experience.
  • These changes are part of a broader package of legal reforms which seeks to attract and retain foreign talent via reducing immigration barriers.

The situation

Effective March 1, 2024, the German government will expand the working rights and validity periods of student permits and will ease certain permanent residency and family reunification rules.

New Rule

Impact

Student permit rule changes.

  • Student permit holders will be able to work up to 140 full days or 280 half days per calendar year (up from 120 full days or 240 half days).
  • Student permits will be initially valid for two years (up from one year).
  • Student permit holders will generally be able to change their purpose of stay before they graduate. Currently, they can only change their purpose of stay in very limited exceptions.

These relaxed rules will help with graduate retention, which is a group of foreign nationals that is much needed in the current labor shortage in Germany.

Increased permanent residence options for spouses. The spouses of Skilled Worker permanent residents will now qualify for permanent residence if they:

  • live in a marital partnership with the Skilled Worker permanent resident;
  • have held a residence permit for at least three years;
  • are employed for at least 20 hours per week; and
  • meet integration requirements (notably, German language skills at a ‘B1’ level).

This new pathway is in addition to existing permanent residence pathways for the spouses of Skilled Worker permanent residents.

This policy change will help retain foreign nationals who have foreign spouses, to also help preserve talent and long-term foreign working residents in Germany during the labor shortage.

Family reunification rules relaxed.

  • The parents of a principal applicant and their spouse (if the spouse resides in Germany) will be able to apply for a family reunification permit if the principal applicant was issued a qualifying permit type for the first time as of March 1, 2024 (including an EU Blue Card, Intracompany Transferee (ICT) Card, Mobile ICT Card, or Skilled Workers Permit).
  • This requires the parents to maintain a secure livelihood and appropriate health insurance.
  • This option automatically ends on December 31, 2028.
  • Previously, foreign nationals could only obtain family reunification permits for their parents in case of an extraordinary hardship.

Eased family reunification rules should attract skilled workers to immigrate to Germany, which could help improve the labor shortage.

These law changes are in addition to other policy changes which were announced last year that went into effect on March 1, 2024, including:

  • Shorter duration requirements for acquiring permanent residence (for skilled workers and EU Blue Card holders); and
  • The creation of immigration pathways for applicants with vocational experience (regardless of German-recognized education).

These changes are part of a broader package of legal reforms (including both immigration reform and citizenship reform) which seeks to attract and retain foreign talent via reducing immigration and citizenship barriers. Such reform is particularly pertinent given labor shortages in Germany, which are slowing economic growth. This is similar to many other countries globally, as the labor market is tight in many parts of the world due to demographic and other issues.

  • Opportunity Card. As part of this broader liberalization of immigration law, the points-based ‘Opportunity Card’ is expected to come into effect in mid-2024.
  • Substantially larger foreign worker population. These reforms are likely to significantly increase the size, and continued presence, of Germany’s foreign worker population in the short- to mid-term. This may result in a more relaxed labor market, ensuring employers are better able to find talent when required (in turn increasing employers’ negotiating power). Employers may need to reassess their labor market strategies going forward.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].

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