A1 German for the spouse visa

A spouse who wants to join a partner in Germany must be able to communicate at least in a simple way in German before entering. Both spouses must also be at least 18.

The law calls this “simple German” and defines it as level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The A1 requirement is disregarded if any one of these seven situations applies:

• Your spouse in Germany holds a protection-based permit (§ 23 Abs. 4, § 25 Abs. 1 or 2, § 26 Abs. 3, or a settlement permit under § 26 Abs. 4) and the marriage already existed when they moved their centre of life to Germany.
• You cannot prove simple German because of a physical, mental or psychological illness or disability.
• You clearly have little need for integration support under the regulation issued under § 43 Abs. 4 (§ 4 Abs. 2 IntV: as a rule, a university degree or equivalent qualification, or a job that requires one, and a justified expectation that you will integrate without state help), or you would have no right to an integration course under § 44.
• Your spouse’s nationality allows visa-free entry for a stay that is more than a short stay. This is about the nationality of the spouse in Germany, and it does not apply if that spouse is a Pakistani national.
• Your spouse holds an EU Blue Card, an ICT card or a Mobile-ICT card, or a permit under §§ 18a, 18b, 18c Abs. 3, 18d, 18f, 19c (Abs. 1 only for certain groups such as managers, specialists, scientists and teachers; Abs. 2; Abs. 4 S. 1) or § 21.§ 30 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 5 AufenthG
• Special circumstances make it impossible or unreasonable to learn simple German before you enter.
• Your spouse held one of the permits from the fifth point (Blue Card, §§ 18a, 18b, 18d, 19c and so on) immediately before receiving a Niederlassungserlaubnis or an EU long-term residence permit.

For many readers the important case is the fifth one: spouses of skilled workers (§§ 18a, 18b) and of Blue Card holders do not need A1. A holder of a Chancenkarte (§ 20a) is not named in the list, so that exemption does not cover a Chancenkarte holder’s spouse.

The embassy’s own web page lists a shorter set of exemptions than the statute. The statute is what governs your case.

The German mission in Pakistan asks for proof of language ability according to the standards of ALTE (the Association of Language Testers in Europe). The exam people sit in Pakistan is the Goethe-Institut’s Start Deutsch 1, also called Goethe-Zertifikat A1. The mission’s English page also names ÖSD and telc as accepted issuers. Check the mission page for the current list before you book.

The certificate must be no older than one year on the day you apply for the visa. Do not sit the exam too early.

We do not list exam cities, dates or fees here, because they change. Current information is on the Goethe-Institut’s Pakistan pages.

Since 15 January 2026, family-reunion visa applications at the German Embassy in Islamabad are accepted only through the Consular Services Portal, and the old waiting list has been discontinued. For current processing times, read the mission’s page rather than a third-party estimate.

The A1 exam tests four skills: listening (Hören), reading (Lesen), writing (Schreiben) and speaking (Sprechen), all at the level of simple everyday German. For the exact format and sample papers, use the Goethe-Institut’s own pages.