u/Competitive_Rub1296

Hi everyone,

My wife is South African and recently received her German national visa for family reunification. I live in Freiburg, Germany, and the next step is for her to enter Germany, register her address, and apply for the residence permit/eAT card with the Ausländerbehörde.

Our situation is a bit complicated and we want to handle everything correctly.

She has just received a job opportunity in South Africa and may need/want to continue working there for about another year before fully relocating to Germany. The long-term plan is still for us to live together in Germany, but practically she may spend significant time in South Africa during the first year and only be in Germany for shorter periods, possibly not more than 2–3 months at a time.

Questions we are trying to understand:

1. Once she receives the German residence card, can she travel Germany ↔ South Africa freely, as long as she does not stay outside Germany for more than 6 consecutive months?
2. Is the 6-month rule purely about consecutive absence, or can the Ausländerbehörde still question the residence permit if she is mostly working/living in South Africa during the first year?
3. If she registers in Germany but later deregisters because she is still mainly in South Africa, would that create problems for the residence permit or future re-entry?
4. What health insurance is realistically required in this situation? She currently has South African medical aid. Would that ever be accepted, or does she need German statutory/private health insurance once registered in Germany?
5. Has anyone been in a similar “transition year” situation, where the spouse got family reunification approval but could not fully move to Germany immediately because of work abroad?

We are not trying to game the system — we just want to understand the practical and legal consequences before making a decision. The main question is whether it is better to proceed with the German residence permit now, or wait until she is actually ready to move to Germany more permanently.

Any experiences with Ausländerbehörde, health insurance, travel during the eAT process, or similar cases would be very helpful.

Hi everyone,

My wife is South African and recently received her German national visa for family reunification. I live in Freiburg, Germany, and the next step is for her to enter Germany, register her address, and apply for the residence permit/eAT card with the Ausländerbehörde.

Our situation is a bit complicated and we want to handle everything correctly.

She has just received a job opportunity in South Africa and may need/want to continue working there for about another year before fully relocating to Germany. The long-term plan is still for us to live together in Germany, but practically she may spend significant time in South Africa during the first year and only be in Germany for shorter periods, possibly not more than 2–3 months at a time.

Questions we are trying to understand:

1. Once she receives the German residence card, can she travel Germany ↔ South Africa freely, as long as she does not stay outside Germany for more than 6 consecutive months?
2. Is the 6-month rule purely about consecutive absence, or can the Ausländerbehörde still question the residence permit if she is mostly working/living in South Africa during the first year?
3. If she registers in Germany but later deregisters because she is still mainly in South Africa, would that create problems for the residence permit or future re-entry?
4. What health insurance is realistically required in this situation? She currently has South African medical aid. Would that ever be accepted, or does she need German statutory/private health insurance once registered in Germany?
5. Has anyone been in a similar “transition year” situation, where the spouse got family reunification approval but could not fully move to Germany immediately because of work abroad?

We are not trying to game the system — we just want to understand the practical and legal consequences before making a decision. The main question is whether it is better to proceed with the German residence permit now, or wait until she is actually ready to move to Germany more permanently.

Any experiences with Ausländerbehörde, health insurance, travel during the eAT process, or similar cases would be very helpful.

Hi everyone,

My wife is South African and recently received her German national visa for family reunification. I live in Freiburg, Germany, and the next step is for her to enter Germany, register her address, and apply for the residence permit/eAT card with the Ausländerbehörde.

Our situation is a bit complicated and we want to handle everything correctly.

She has just received a job opportunity in South Africa and may need/want to continue working there for about another year before fully relocating to Germany. The long-term plan is still for us to live together in Germany, but practically she may spend significant time in South Africa during the first year and only be in Germany for shorter periods, possibly not more than 2–3 months at a time.

Questions we are trying to understand:

1. Once she receives the German residence card, can she travel Germany ↔ South Africa freely, as long as she does not stay outside Germany for more than 6 consecutive months?
2. Is the 6-month rule purely about consecutive absence, or can the Ausländerbehörde still question the residence permit if she is mostly working/living in South Africa during the first year?
3. If she registers in Germany but later deregisters because she is still mainly in South Africa, would that create problems for the residence permit or future re-entry?
4. What health insurance is realistically required in this situation? She currently has South African medical aid. Would that ever be accepted, or does she need German statutory/private health insurance once registered in Germany?
5. Has anyone been in a similar “transition year” situation, where the spouse got family reunification approval but could not fully move to Germany immediately because of work abroad?

We are not trying to game the system — we just want to understand the practical and legal consequences before making a decision. The main question is whether it is better to proceed with the German residence permit now, or wait until she is actually ready to move to Germany more permanently.

Any experiences with Ausländerbehörde, health insurance, travel during the eAT process, or similar cases would be very helpful.