Can I Bring My Parents to Germany to Visit or Live With Me?

Two different questions: visiting vs living

It helps to separate two things that often get mixed up. Having your parents come for a visit is one matter - relatively simple. Having them move to live with you permanently is another - more involved, but, importantly, more possible now than it used to be. Let us take each honestly.

Bringing your parents to visit

For a visit, your parents can apply for a Schengen visitor (tourist) visa, which allows a stay of up to 90 days. You support the application with an invitation and, typically, proof that you can host and support them during the visit. This is a well-trodden path - parents visiting their children abroad for a few weeks or months, to see your new life or help around a new baby, is completely normal and achievable.

The big change: bringing your parents to live

Here is the genuinely encouraging update. Since 1 March 2024, German law was expanded so that skilled workers - including nurses - whose qualifying residence permit was issued on or after that date can bring their parents to live in Germany through family reunification. Before this change, bringing parents was only possible in rare 'exceptional hardship' cases, so this is a meaningful door opening for nurse families.

Visiting vs living - at a glance

The conditions you must meet to bring them to live

Honesty matters, so here are the real conditions for the live-with-you route:

• Your qualifying skilled-worker residence permit was issued on or after 1 March 2024.
• You can financially support your parents without them relying on state benefits.
• They have adequate health insurance cover in Germany.
• You can show suitable accommodation, and the application is made at the German mission in India.

These are genuine requirements, not formalities - the financial-support condition in particular means you should plan for it realistically.

Can your parents work in Germany?

If your parents do move to Germany on this route, they are generally allowed to work on a limited basis - commonly up to 120 full days (or 240 half days) per year without needing a separate work permit. So they are not confined to the house; they can stay active if they wish, within those limits.