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Family reunion visa for Syrian citizens
How and where do I apply for the visa?
Applying for a national visa as a Syrian citizen is only possible at the Consulate General in Istanbul. Syrian nationals who want to apply for visa for family reunion must book their appointment not through the call center but the specially set up iDATA website. The website is available in Arabic, Turkish and German.
For family members of persons with subsidiary protection status (subsidiärer Schutz):
Family members who want to apply for family reunion with a person with subsidiary protection status cannot book an appointment through iDATA. They need to register first with the Federal Foreign Office and will then be contacted and counselled by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). After this advance counselling, an appointment will be scheduled. Please click here for registering.
For family members of persons entitled to protection in Germany:
The booking of an appointment does not constitute an application within the deadline in the sense of § 29 (2) AufenthG (timely notification or fristwahrende Anzeige). The Federal Foreign Office has set up an information portal on family reunification with persons entitled to protection here (in German, English and Arabic). This allows the timely notification to be made conveniently online within the deadline. Please fill out the application form on this website and present a printout at the counter during the interview.
What documents do I need?
NOTE: Please do not staple or fold any documents. The submission of complete documents does not constitute a claim to the issue of a visa, but enables the visa office to check the legal requirements. In individual cases, further documents not mentioned here may also be required. You will be informed about this after the application has been submitted and will be given a reasonable period of time to submit them.
For foreign civil status certificates and other public certificates please check on the website of the German mission in the issuing state whether any formal steps must be taken in order for the document to be accepted by German authorities (i.e. legalization, apostille). The legalization can generally only be done by the German mission in the country where the document was issued. However, the visa section at the German Consulate General in Istanbul is authorized to legalize certain Syrian civil status certificates if submitted in a visa application for family reunion to persons with protection status. Legalizing other documents or legalizing documents outside of the visa application procedure is not possible.
In general:
Please fill in the online application form for each applicant and print it out from here: https://videx-national.diplo.de/. As „reference“ please always indicate your family member in Germany („reference person“). From the age of 18 you sign the form yourself; in the case of children, the parent or legal guardian sign it.
You pay the visa fee at the visa section in cash. Change cannot be given. The fee is usually 75,00 Euro; for children from 0 to 17 years: usually 40,00 Euro.
Please submit a passport for each applicant. The passport(s) must be valid and there have to be at least two empty pages. Please also submit a copy of the passport data page(s) (page with photo and validity dates) for each family member.
Syrian passports issued after 01.01.2015 in ar-Raqqa, Dair al Zur and Idlib are not accepted for entry into Germany. However, we do accept passports issued in Dair al Zur issued after 28.02.2018 and passports issued in Idlib-Center issued after 23.08.2022.
IMPORTANT: Syrian passports issued after 20.08.2023 until 31.12.2023 have to contain the holder's signature on a free passport page. The signature has to be officially confirmed by a Syrian consulate or authority. This does not apply to applicants under the age of 10 years.
One passport photo for each applicant. The photo must be biometric and not older than 6 months. They must be 35 x 45 millimetres. You can find more information on biometric photos here.
Please fill in, print out and sign the address confirmation and e-mail consent.
After your application has been processed, we will send your passport and other original documents via UPS to the indicated address.
WARNING: If your (e-mail-)addresses change during the application procedure, please inform us immediately. Otherwise, we can not ensure that your documents or important information with regard to your application reach you.
If available: Turkish residence permit or visa. Please submit the original document and one copy. If you have a residence permit, please copy front and back side.
Documents of the family member in Germany:
Please submit a copy of the photo page of the passport and provide us with an e-mail address and a telephone number of the family member in Germany.
If the family member is a foreign national, please submit a copy (front and back) of the German residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis or Niederlassungserlaubnis). If the family member is German, please submit a copy of the Personalausweis (front and back) or a so-called Meldebescheinigung.
If the family member has a protection status in Germany a copy of the BAMF’s recognition notice is required and, if available, proof of the timely notification (fristwahrende Anzeige) that the application was submitted within three months (printout from https://fap.diplo.de).
Documents of the spouse:
If applicable, please submit also the marriage contract or decision of Sharia court. If one of the spouses was represented at the time of the marriage please submit a special power of attorney – the power of attorney must state the full names of both spouses and must have been issued before the marriage contract is concluded. Please bring the original document (you will get it back later) and one copy.
Please bring German translations of all foreign language documents. Only English language documents do not need to be translated.
Syrian documents need to be pre-legalized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Important note: If your family member in Germany does not have a protection status such as refugee status or subsidiary protection status (for example because he / she is a German citizen), Syrian documents must be legalized by the German Embassy in Beirut. The Consulate General in Istanbul cannot legalize any documents in those cases.
Documents from German authorities will be accepted without further formality.
Turkish documents are accepted without further formality if they are presented in the international form (e.g. Formül B for marriage certificates, Formül A for birth certificates).
Please bring the original document (you will get it back later) and one copy.
Please bring German translations of all foreign language documents. Only English language documents do not need to be translated.
Syrian documents need to be pre-legalized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Important note: If your family member in Germany does not have a protection status such as refugee status or subsidiary protection status (for example because he / she is a German citizen), Syrian documents must be legalized by the German Embassy in Beirut. The Consulate General in Istanbul cannot legalize any documents in those cases.
Documents from German authorities will be accepted without further formality.
Turkish documents are accepted without further formality if they are presented in the international form (e.g. Formül B for marriage certificates, Formül A for birth certificates).
If one of the spouses was already married before, please submit a divorce decree of all previous marriages or death certificate(s) (if applicable).
Please bring the original documents (you will get them back later) and one copy.
Please bring German translations of all foreign language documents. Only English language documents do not need to be translated.
Syrian documents need to be pre-legalized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Documents from German authorities will be accepted without further formality.
Turkish documents are accepted without further formality if they are presented in the international form (e.g. Formül B for marriage certificates, Formül A for birth certificates).
Especially (but not limited to) family reunion to a German citizen or to a person with protection status in cases where the marriage took place after the family member entered Germany: Proof of basic knowledge of the German language, at least level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The A1 language certificate must be issued by a certified provider. In Turkey these are the Goethe-Institut „Start Deutsch 1“ (www.goethe.de) and the Austrian Language Diploma (ÖSD) „Grundstufe Deutsch 1“ (www.osd.at).
Whether an exception applies can only be checked after the application has been submitted. You can find additional information here.
This does generally not apply if you are joining a spouse in Germany holding German or EU/EEA citizenship or a protection status (asylum, refugee or subsisdiary protection).
One copy of the insurance confirmation. The insurance has to be „INCOMING“ and valid for at least 90 days.
IMPORTANT: Being uninsured may have serious consequences as in the worst case no adequate medical can be provided. We strongly recommend that you apply (if applicable) for statutory or other private long-term health insurance as soon as possible after entering Germany.
Additionally required if children join or in case of reunification of the parents to an underage child:
Birth certificate of the child. Please bring the original document (you will get it back later) and one copy.
Please bring German translations of all foreign language documents. Only English language documents do not need to be translated.
Syrian documents need to be pre-legalized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Important note: If your family member in Germany does not have a protection status such as refugee status or subsidiary protection status (for example because he / she is a German citizen), Syrian documents must be legalized by the German Embassy in Beirut. The Consulate General in Istanbul cannot legalize any documents in those cases.
Documents from German authorities will be accepted without further formality.
Turkish documents are accepted without further formality if they are presented in the international form (e.g. Formül B for marriage certificates, Formül A for birth certificates).
Please bring the original document (you will get it back later) and one copy.
Please bring German translations of all foreign language documents. Only English language documents do not need to be translated.
Syrian documents need to be pre-legalized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Important note: If your family member in Germany does not have a protection status such as refugee status or subsidiary protection status (for example because he / she is a German citizen), Syrian documents must be legalized by the German Embassy in Beirut. The Consulate General in Istanbul cannot legalize any documents in those cases.
Documents from German authorities will be accepted without further formality.
Turkish documents are accepted without further formality if they are presented in the international form (e.g. Formül B for marriage certificates, Formül A for birth certificates).
Death certificate of the deceased parent. Please bring the original document (you will get it back later) and one copy.
Please bring German translations of all foreign language documents. Only English language documents do not need to be translated.
Syrian documents need to be pre-legalized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Important note: If your family member in Germany does not have a protection status such as refugee status or subsidiary protection status (for example because he / she is a German citizen), Syrian documents must be legalized by the German Embassy in Beirut. The Consulate General in Istanbul cannot legalize any documents in those cases.
Documents from German authorities will be accepted without further formality.
Turkish documents are accepted without further formality if they are presented in the international form (e.g. Formül B for marriage certificates, Formül A for birth certificates).
If the child is a minor and will not join both parents with custody/ the parent with sole custody: a notarized declaration of consent of the parent not joining the child is required, in which his or her agreement to the visa application and the permanent relocation of the child to Germany is declared. Please bring the original document (you will get it back later) and one copy.
This does generally not apply if the child joins a parent in Germany holding German or EU/EEA citizenship or a protection status (asylum, refugee or subsisdiary protection).
One copy of the insurance confirmation. The insurance has to be „INCOMING“ and valid for at least 90 days.
IMPORTANT: Being uninsured may have serious consequences as in the worst case no adequate medical can be provided. We strongly recommend that you apply (if applicable) for statutory or other private long-term health insurance as soon as possible after entering Germany.
When getting married in Germany with subsequent permanent residence:
Certificate from the German registry office („Standesamt“) on the registration of the marriage, stating that all documents have been examined, including the planned date of the marriage and information on the latest date the marriage must take place.
Especially (but not limited to) family reunion to a German citizen or to a person with protection status in cases where the marriage took place after the family member entered Germany: Proof of basic knowledge of the German language, at least level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The A1 language certificate must be issued by a certified provider. In Turkey these are the Goethe-Institut „Start Deutsch 1“ (www.goethe.de) and the Austrian Language Diploma (ÖSD) „Grundstufe Deutsch 1“ (www.osd.at). Please submit the original document and one copy.
Whether an exception applies can only be checked after the application has been submitted. You can find additional information here.
One copy of the insurance confirmation. The insurance has to be „INCOMING“ and valid for at least 90 days.
IMPORTANT: Being uninsured may have serious consequences as in the worst case no adequate medical can be provided. We strongly recommend that you apply (if applicable) for statutory or other private long-term health insurance as soon as possible after entering Germany.