Written under our editorial standards.
Targeted source review: 12 October 2026. This covers the specified provisions and procedures on this page, not a complete legal audit or assessment of your application. Check your mission’s current checklist and instructions.
Sections 29 and 30 give Blue Card families specified exemptions, including language and accommodation for the relatives named. No two-year permit-holding condition for the spouse’s Blue Card route does not mean an instant appointment or decision. Check the applicable exemption, evidence and remaining requirements before preparing the application.
The four exemptions and where they sit
- No two-year wait
- Section 30(1) sentence 1 number 3(g) lists the Blue Card without requiring two years of holding it. Letter(d) is a different two-year route, not the rule for every other permit. Other conditions, appointment queues and processing remain.
- No language condition
- Section 30(1) sentence 3 no. 5: the German-language requirement is disregarded for holders of the Blue Card and the ICT and Mobile ICT cards.
- No proof of living space
- Section 29(5): the sufficient-accommodation requirement is dispensed with for the spouse and the minor unmarried child.
- The exemption survives the upgrade
- Section 30(1) sentence 3 no. 7: someone who held a Blue Card immediately before receiving a settlement permit keeps the language exemption.
- What still applies
- Age is not the only remaining condition: both spouses normally need to be 18, with a possible particular-hardship exception. Relationship, identity, a recognised passport or substitute, and other general and visa requirements not waived must also be addressed.
Why the language condition falls away here specifically
Section 30 sets three requirements in its first paragraph: both spouses must be 18; the arriving spouse must be able to communicate in German "at least in a simple manner"; and the person in Germany must hold one of the listed permits. The third sentence of the same paragraph then provides that the second requirement "is disregarded" in seven cases — the fifth being possession of an EU Blue Card.
The statutory language exemption is not just an administrative promise. Evidence may be needed that the sponsor’s permit actually qualifies. If a certificate is requested nevertheless, ask for the basis and provide the permit and legal reference. The exemption does not settle the rest of the application.
That same provision is not limited to the Blue Card: it covers the ICT and Mobile ICT cards, the skilled-worker and researcher permits, permits for executives, managers, company specialists, scientists, guest scientists, engineers and technicians in a guest scientist's research team and teachers, and the self-employment permit.
The strongest case: arriving from another EU state
If the Blue Card holder in Germany held, immediately beforehand, a Blue Card issued by another EU member state, and the family life already existed in that state, Section 29(1) sentence 2 removes three requirements at once:
- sufficient living space,
- the secured-livelihood requirement in Section 5 — except adequate health insurance, which remains,
- and the requirement in Section 27(3) sentence 1 concerning reliance on public funds.
Adequate health insurance remains within this particular livelihood waiver. Requirements not waived by the sentence, such as identity, relationship, passport and visa rules, remain. The livelihood waiver does not cover every Blue Card family.
Section 30(5) is separate from the Blue Card route: a spouse accompanying lawful short-term researcher mobility under section 18e needs no residence title where lawful residence as that researcher’s family member in the other EU state is proved. Do not extend this to long-term stays or all Blue Card families.
How to use these exemptions in practice
- Check the permit type, not the job titleThe exemptions hang on the EU Blue Card itself, not on your relative being "an engineer" or "a doctor". Read the permit and know which provision it was issued under.
- Provide the permit and evidence with the correct referenceRefer to section 30(1) sentence 3 number 5 for language and section 29(5) for accommodation if applicable. A citation alone guarantees neither fewer enquiries nor a visa.
- If your relative now holds a settlement permit, do not assume the exemption is goneNumber 7 keeps the language exemption for anyone who held a Blue Card immediately before the upgrade. Many people give up this right for no reason.
- Check the family’s EU-mobility conditionsSection 29(1) sentence 2 requires a German Blue Card, a Blue Card from another EU member state immediately beforehand, and family life already established there. Evidence of all three, adequate insurance and other non-waived requirements is needed.
- Remember the age requirement staysEighteen for both spouses, set aside only to avoid particular hardship and only as a discretionary decision.
- Prepare evidence and retain any refusal noticeAfter administrative remonstration ended in July 2025, a new application or judicial route remains possible. Read the notice’s remedy instructions: the one-month rule in section 74 VwGO depends on section 58 notification conditions. This page does not calculate an individual deadline.
⚠️ Section 104(14) suspends the subsidiary-protection route under section 36a through the end of 23 July 2027, leaving sections 22 and 23 unaffected. The qualifying Blue Card family route is outside this specific suspension; that does not guarantee automatic or immediate approval.
Official sources
§29 AufenthG · §30 AufenthG · §3 AufenthG · §5 AufenthG · §104 AufenthG · §58 VwGO · §74 VwGO
Please note: this page is general guidance, not legal advice. Reunification cases are assessed individually — consult a lawyer specialising in immigration law or a migration advice centre before any decision concerning your family.
Frequently asked questions
Is an A1 certificate required of a Blue Card holder's spouse?
No. Section 30(1) sentence 3 no. 5 provides that the language requirement is disregarded for holders of the EU Blue Card and the ICT and Mobile ICT cards. The wording is not "an exemption may be granted" but that the requirement is disregarded.
Must we wait two years before reunification?
Letter(g) of section 30(1) sentence 1 number 3 imposes no two-year Blue Card holding period. Appointment and processing time remain; not every other permit has a two-year condition. Each statutory branch has its own requirements.
Must sufficient living space be proved?
No. Section 29(5) provides that this requirement is dispensed with for the spouse and the minor unmarried child of a Blue Card holder.
My relative moved from a Blue Card to a settlement permit — is the exemption lost?
No. Section 30(1) sentence 3 no. 7 keeps the language exemption for anyone who held a Blue Card immediately before receiving a settlement permit or an EU long-term residence permit.
What changes if my relative arrived on a Blue Card from another EU state?
The waiver of accommodation, livelihood apart from adequate insurance, and section 27(3) sentence 1 requires all three: a German Blue Card, a Blue Card from another EU state immediately beforehand, and family life established there. Other general requirements are not automatically waived.
Does the suspension until 2027 apply to us?
The section 36a subsidiary-protection suspension does not cover the Blue Card route on that basis. Check the current permit and remaining family requirements; being outside the suspension is not application approval.
Which requirements remain after these exemptions?
Spouses normally need to be 18, subject to particular hardship, with relationship, identity, passport or recognised substitute, visa requirements and other non-waived conditions. The EU-mobility livelihood waiver is conditional; do not assume it applies outside that case.