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Brexit
Original poster

What's going to happen to my friend? She lives in Germany?

45 replies

HennyPennyHorror · 21/02/2019 14:03

Her DH is German and her 3 children have never lived anywhere else...my friend moved there with her DH when they got married.

She's terrified. Their whole life is there...her kids are young teens! She can't go to England...this is terrible. She's had a letter and is in a blind panic....she says they're saying she may not be able to stay. :(

OP posts:
LIZS · 21/02/2019 14:06

Can she not apply fir dual nationality?

Original poster
HennyPennyHorror · 21/02/2019 14:08

Well I don't know...she must have had her head in the sand!

OP posts:
RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 14:10

Which Bundesland is she in?
I have not had a letter like that.
She is married to a German so can use him on her application for citizenship wrt finances. Other than that she needs a B1 German language proficiency/citizenship test and to get the application in asap if she wants to keep both nationalities.

Farahilda · 21/02/2019 14:10

Who is saying she cannot stay?

Because the Ge man government announced back in December a registration n scheme (if no-deal) and I cannot see why she is concerned. Unless there is a flaw with the German scheme?

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 14:15

Not necessarily.
My own Immigration Office don't have a clue - we contacted them.
Got the response to stay in touch with contact details, they would be in touch if anything changes.
Told to sort out own pension.
Nothing else.
And we are both English so less protection than her.
Can sympathise with ostriching though - the process for citizenship is long, laborious and will cost money. I haven't done it as I am financially dependent on DP and he is not German. Surely being married, gives her more rights.
I will be back later. She might get advice from toytown germany or the German overseas thread on here. They are knowledgable.

Mistigri · 21/02/2019 14:16

She's married to a German citizen so she will have a right to stay whatever happens.

She will probably need to apply for a resident's card but in her situation, with a German husband and kids and several years of residence, she really doesn't need to worry about not being allowed to stay with her family.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 14:16

Sorry - the not necessarily was to the head in sand comment.

Mistigri · 21/02/2019 14:17

She can get in touch with the British in Europe on Facebook or twitter too. There will be other British people in Germany who can help reassure her.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 14:19

Also, she will already have been registered as resident when she arrived, it's compulsory like health insurance, I am obviously being thick as I fail to see the problem here. More info please OP Brew Cake

RolaColaAllTheWay · 21/02/2019 14:23

Tell her not to worry. We are in NL, my DH is British, been married 10 years, lived her for 5. He's gotten a letter to say he has 15 months to get a permit for permanent residency, they will contact him when it's his turn to apply. He has already acquainted residency status by being married to me (NL) in any case and having been a resident here for 5 years. I expect it will be pretty similar in Germany.

Clavinova · 21/02/2019 14:34

Can she come and live with you op - when you move back to the UK?
You started this thread on Tues:

HennyPennyHorror Tue 19-Feb-19 12:41:57
AIB silly? I've been living abroad for over 3 years now...I'm coming back at the end of March. There's no reason for me to be nervous is there? About the timing I mean? Nothing will happen at the airport? I'm a UK citizen and have the right to live in Australia because DH is Aussie.
This is my first time back since I left...don't know why I'm worried really.

FishesaPlenty · 21/02/2019 14:40

Hmm. 'Henny Penny' indeed.

sagradafamiliar · 21/02/2019 14:44

You need to calm down OP.

bellinisurge · 21/02/2019 15:06

Agree with the Hmmm@FishesaPlenty

Dutch1e · 21/02/2019 17:05

It is a bit of a storm in a teacup. I am also non-EU living quite happily with my EU partner under the, you know, EU laws.

It doesn't really matter if her passport is UK, New Zealand, or Chinese. Her family rights are the same.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 17:39

Ah [lightbulb]
Henny Penny as in, you think the sky is going to fall in, post-Brexit?! Grin
OP, you are allowed to be anxious about uncertainty but peddling threads to create anxiety really isn't helpful to any of us.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 17:45

...and I say that as someone who is probably going to be returning to post- Brexit Britain in a few months' time. Am I worried about the timing? Of course.
Do I think I am coming home to a zombie apocalyptic rioting marauding Martial Law State? I hope not.
Is anything going to happen to me at the airport?
The usual frisking I would think.
Is Germany going to chuck me out on the 29th or round me up into a British expat camp awaiting immediate expulsion? Are they fuck!

Bananalanacake · 21/02/2019 17:49

I also live in Germany and miss London so much I fantasize every day of Angela Merkel ringing my doorbell and insisting I get in the taxi now for Hamburg airport. So it's not gonna happen. Huh.

WendyCope · 21/02/2019 17:55

Eh?

I live in Spain, Spanish resident, healthcare etc with a DD born here and a Spanish DH..

I have zero worries about not being allowed to live here, why would I?

Nobody will force her to go to the U.K. without her DC's. Hague convention, she can't leave!

Mentounasc · 21/02/2019 17:55

Tell your friend to seriously calm down. How long has she been living in Germany? If all her kids were born there it must be a while. After 6-8 years it's fairly straightforward for an EU citizen married to a German. She still has time to get her initial interview done I think - a lot of Einbürgerungsämter (becoming a Kraut offices) are pushing Brits to the front of the queue right now. Becoming German is a fair bit easier than becoming British (and a lot cheaper), but she will need to pass a language test and a (fairly idiotic) cultural knowledge test. And even the quickest of offices won't get it all processed in 36 days, so if she goes ahead she'd probably have to surrender her British passport.

The big question is why she's done absolutely nothing so far. We got our citizenship pre-Referendum, but literally every Brit I know in Germany has spent the last two years getting theirs sorted.

But even if she doesn't go ahead with citizenship, I am fairly sure thatthe German government has zero interest in asking the British spouses of Germans (and the British parents of German kids) to leave the country. I know plenty of non-Europeans here too and they manage fine - just a bit more paperwork to deal with.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine · 21/02/2019 17:56

Ah, banana Cake Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt! Wink

UrsulaPandress · 21/02/2019 17:58
Hmm
WendyCope · 21/02/2019 17:59

I agree with PP, she will have been a legal resident for yonks!

Calm down!

Hoppinggreen · 21/02/2019 18:01

DH and the DC have dual British/German nationality ( we live in The UK)
If we move to Germany for 3 years I can get German citizenship so I’m sure it’s the same for your friend OP

bellinisurge · 21/02/2019 19:01

I suspect a bit of shit stirring

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