All family reunion applicants desiring to join their spouse residing in Germany have to provide proof that they possess a sufficient basic knowledge of the German language. This is to ensure that, upon arrival in Germany, the applicant will be able to conduct basic communication in German.

Basic knowledge of the German language is knowledge of the German language on the competence level “A1” of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Detailed information on what A1-knowledge constitutes can be found on the website of the Council of Europe: www.coe.int/lang-CEFR

The mandatory proof of your language proficiency is rendered through a certificate issued upon passing a standardised language exam that complies with the standards of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). At present, the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh (German Cultural Centre) is the only institution in Bangladesh which can issue such certificates.

The Goethe-Institut Bangladesh can be contacted as follows:

Address:

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh (German Cultural Centre)

House No. 16, Sukrabad, Panthapath

Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka 1205

Bangladesh

Telephone: +880 1741 902943

Highly qualified applicants who can prove a job contract with a company in Germany that will hire them for working in a position adequate to their education are exempted from this requirement. Applicants who can prove that they are incapable of acquiring German proficiency due to a physical or mental illness or a handicap are also exempted.

As per the latest modification of §§ 30, 32 AufenthG (German Residence Act) you may no longer be required to submit an A1 German language certificate if your spouse is working in Germany under one of the following paragraphs (details can be found mentioned on the residence permit or visa of your spouse):

If your spouse holds a settlement permit (“Niederlassungserlaubnis”), the applicant might also be exempted. This is the case if the spouse last held any of the following permits before receiving their settlement permit: Blue card (§ 18b Abs. 2 AufenthG), professional with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG), skilled worker (§ 18b Abs. 1 AufenthG), scientists (§ 18d AufenthG), self-employed (§ 21 AufenthG) and certain cases of § 19c AufenthG (to be examined by the Embassy in each individual case).

Some cases spouses of asylum seekers and recognized refugees (§§ 25 Abs. 1, Abs. 2 as well as 26 Abs. 3 AufenthG) may also be exempted from the language requirement as long as the applicant got married to the spouse before the spouse migrated to Germany.

Please note that there may be other exceptions, which will be examined by the Embassy in each individual case.