Moving to Germany With a German Spouse: A Guide for Americans

If you are American and married to a German citizen, you can usually plan your move around family reunification with your spouse. You do not need to qualify for an EU Blue Card simply because you intend to work after arriving.

The family route still needs its own application, marriage evidence, and attention to language requirements. Decide early whether you will apply for a national visa before traveling or use the option available to U.S. citizens to apply for a residence permit after entry.

Start with the German-spouse route

Section 28 of the Residence Act covers joining a German spouse whose habitual residence is in Germany. You must have a legally valid marriage and be planning to live together there as a married couple. Both spouses must normally be at least eighteen; Section 28 applies the age requirement from Section 30, with a narrow hardship exception. An unmarried partner does not qualify as a spouse simply because the relationship is long-standing.

This is a different legal basis from joining a foreign worker in Germany. For example, rules for the spouse of an EU Blue Card holder should not be copied into an application to join a German citizen. Our Blue Card family guide covers that other situation.

If both of you are moving from the United States, explain the shared relocation and intended German address in the application. If your German spouse has already moved ahead, include the evidence requested of their residence there.

Apply before departure or after arrival?

For U.S. citizens, Section 41 of the Residence Ordinance allows visa-free entry for a longer stay and an application for the required residence title in Germany within ninety days after entry. The German missions in the United States also explain that applying before travel remains an option.

Booking an appointment is not necessarily the same as submitting an application. Use the immigration office’s stated application method and retain its acknowledgment or submission confirmation. If a timely application is made during lawful visa-free residence, Section 81 provides for the stay to remain lawful pending a decision. That protection does not automatically supply permission to work or a right to leave and re-enter Germany.

Do you need A1 German?

Basic German is the normal starting requirement for the spouse route, including family reunification with a German citizen. Do not assume that holding a U.S. passport, being married for years, or speaking English at home settles the language question.

There are exceptions. Section 30, as applied through Section 28, includes circumstances involving illness or disability, a recognizably low need for integration, and cases where pre-entry efforts to learn German would be impossible or unreasonable. The facts and supporting evidence matter; a degree by itself should not be treated as a guaranteed waiver.

The exemption often quoted for a spouse joining certain visa-privileged foreign nationals concerns the person being joined. It should not be read as an automatic exemption for every American joining a German spouse. Tell the consulate or immigration office which exception you believe applies and ask what evidence it needs before dropping language preparation from your plan.

If A1 proof is needed, arrange an accepted test and leave room for the result. Follow your office’s current instructions on accepted certificates rather than assuming any course-completion certificate will do.

Build the application around both spouses

For a visa before travel, use the U.S. missions’ German-family reunion information. For an application after arrival, use your local immigration office’s checklist. Berlin’s current German-spouse application page, for example, asks for marriage evidence and generally A1 proof. The submission process and document formats can differ from a consular visa application. Prepare these categories:

• Your identity: a valid passport, application information, and the required biometric photo.

• Your marriage: the official marriage certificate, with any requested authentication and translation.

• Your German spouse: proof of German nationality and the requested evidence of their German address or your planned joint move.

• Your home together: the intended address and the accommodation evidence the office asks for.

• Language evidence: an accepted certificate or the evidence supporting a claimed exception.

• Other circumstances: relevant records for previous marriages, name differences, or accompanying children where requested.

For a U.S. certificate, use our apostille and translation guide before posting the original away. Use the issuing jurisdiction’s process, even if you now live in a different state. The German missions’ apostille directory points to the responsible offices.

Income and health coverage

Section 28 normally allows the spouse of a German citizen to qualify without meeting the usual secured-livelihood condition in the same way as many other residence routes. Avoid borrowing a Blue Card salary threshold or assuming a blocked account is required for every German-spouse application. The authority can still examine the circumstances and request relevant information.

Arrange health coverage for the move as a separate practical task. Marriage does not by itself establish enrollment or a coverage start date. Our health insurance guide explains the choices to resolve with the insurer.

When can you start working?

A family residence permit under this route generally allows employment and self-employment under Section 4a of the Residence Act. Read the work authorization on the document you actually receive.

Visa-free entry and a pending first application do not, by themselves, authorize work. If you intend to start a job soon after arrival, discuss that timing before choosing the after-entry route. Ask the immigration office for written confirmation of any interim permission rather than treating the expected permit as already issued.

Pair this guide with our Germany documents checklist and first thirty days in Germany to plan the move around the application.

Official sources checked November 6, 2026. This guide concerns an American joining a German spouse under the usual national family-reunification rules; cases involving prior EU free movement can follow a different framework.