Station 1 · Before you accept

Can my family come with me, and can my partner work in Germany?

In short

Yes. With a passport from an EU country, you and your family need no visa and no work permit. Family members without an EU passport do not need a work permit under EU law either. Their entry and residence follow their own rules, which the foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) explains. Children are entitled to a childcare place from their first birthday, and child benefit is €259 per child per month.

Sources: Section 2a FreizügG/EU, European Commission, Your Europe, Section 24 SGB VIII, Section 66 EStG

39%

of immigrants who have left Germany again name partnership and family reasons. That is the most common reason, ahead of complex bureaucracy at 32%.

Immigrants from all countries of origin, 403 people who had left. Of those with a partner, 23% would have needed help with the partner’s job search.

Source: IAB-Kurzbericht 10/2026, retrieved on 26 October 2026.

What applies to your family

Entry and residence: EU citizens need no visa to enter and no residence title to stay (section 2a, Freedom of Movement Act/EU).
Work: as an EU citizen you generally need no work permit, and neither do your family members from countries outside the EU (European Commission, Your Europe).
Health insurance: if you have statutory health insurance, your spouse or registered civil partner under German law and your children without own income above a legal threshold are insured with you free of contributions (sections 3 and 10, Social Code Book V). This does not apply to couples who are neither married nor registered partners.
Childcare: from the first to the third birthday there is an entitlement to support in a daycare centre (Kita) or with a childminder, and from then until school to a place in a daycare centre (section 24, Social Code Book VIII).
Child benefit (Kindergeld): €259 per child per month (section 66, Income Tax Act). Applications go to the Familienkasse.

Three views of this station

IT professional

“Is it worth it if only one of us has a job at first?”

What helps: Calculate with one income first. Our comparison calculator calculates for one person. For couples and families, tax classes and family insurance change the result.

Partner

“And what will I do there?”

What helps: You can find jobs in the Federal Employment Agency’s job search and on the EU’s EURES portal. Whether a professional qualification needs to be recognised is shown on Recognition in Germany.

Company

“Is the family coming straight away or later?”

What helps: Ask early and plan the first working days around it. Registration, daycare and the flat handover can fall on those days.

How we work at this station

For you: We see the person, not the profile: your reasons, your doubts and your wishes are part of the decision. We also tell you what speaks against a path.
For the company: Your new employee can focus on the work. Housing, authorities, bank account, insurance, family: whatever comes up alongside the job, we prepare and see through to the end of probation.

Not in our hands: We cannot promise a job for your partner. Whether a family stays is the family’s decision.

The path

Circles: the five stations. Diamonds: our check-ins in weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12. Numbers below: months after the start.

Before you acceptCan my family come with me, and can my partner work in Germany?You are here
Before you signWhat is left of an IT salary in Germany once the rent is paid?
Moving weekWhen do I have to register my address in Germany?
The first weeksDo I need German for an IT job in Germany?
Month 6How long is the probation period in Germany, and what applies during it?

How does moving to Germany as an IT professional work?

Calculate your own path

With your city and your salary: comparison calculator. Talk your path through with us: write to us. Who we are: home page.

Sources

Institute for Employment Research (IAB), IAB-Kurzbericht 10/2026, Kosyakova et al., International Mobility Panel of Migrants in Germany, figures A2 and A3. Survey November 2025 to February 2026, immigrants from all countries of origin, 403 people who had left, multiple answers possible, retrieved on 26 October 2026.
Section 2a (1) Freedom of Movement Act/EU (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU), retrieved on 26 October 2026.
European Commission, Your Europe: Work permits, last checked 03/09/2026, retrieved on 26 October 2026.
Section 10 of the Social Code Book V (family insurance) and section 3 sentence 3 (no contributions for insured family members), retrieved on 26 October 2026.
Section 24 (2) and (3) of the Social Code Book VIII, retrieved on 26 October 2026.
Section 66 (1) Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz), retrieved on 26 October 2026.