Bringing your family to join you, by country
Every statute starts with the spouse and children, but they differ on who may be joined and on what it takes. The United States and Canada define the family relationship by reference to citizens or permanent residents, Spain asks the sponsor to have renewed an initial permit and to show housing and means, and Sweden requires two years of residence when the sponsor holds only a temporary permit. Germany and Norway add an age floor for spouses, 18 for both partners, and Germany also asks for simple German before arrival.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
United States: federal law only. State law is not compared.
| Country | Who qualifies | Status the sponsor needs | Other conditions in the statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Third-country family members of an Austrian, EEA or Swiss citizen | Austrian, EEA or Swiss citizen who lives in Austria permanently and has not used EU free movement | The general conditions of part 1 of the Act |
| Canada | Spouse, common-law partner, child, parent or other prescribed family member | Canadian citizen or permanent resident | |
| Germany | Spouse and minor children; for a German, also a parent who has custody of a minor German child | German citizen living in Germany, or a foreigner holding a settlement permit, EU long-term residence, a residence permit, a Blue Card or an ICT card | Spouses: both aged 18, spouse can communicate simply in German; sponsor with a permit needs adequate housing |
| Spain | Spouse, children under 18 or with a disability, and dependent parents over 65 | Resident foreigner who has had the initial residence permit renewed | Adequate housing and sufficient means, shown as set by regulation |
| Norway | Spouse of the reference person | Norwegian or Nordic citizen living or settling in Norway, or a foreigner with permanent residence or a permit that can lead to it | Both partners over 18 (24 in cases covered by the 24-year rule); spouses to live together |
| Sweden | Spouse or partner, and children | Person living in Sweden with a permanent permit, or a temporary permit of at least one year with good prospects of a lasting permit | If the sponsor has only a temporary permit: at least two years in Sweden with a permit when applying |
| United States | Immediate relatives: children, spouses and parents of a citizen | United States citizen; a citizen must be at least 21 to bring a parent |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz § 47
- This section covers family of Austrians and EEA or Swiss citizens only. Family reunification with third-country residents is not shown because the ingested text does not state it in a form that can be quoted.
- Other relatives may get a settlement permit as a dependant (Angehöriger); the detailed conditions are cut off in the ingested text, so none is claimed.
Zusammenführende im Sinne der Abs. 2 bis 4 sind Österreicher oder EWR-Bürger oder Schweizer Bürger, die in Österreich dauernd wohnhaft sindDrittstaatsangehörigen, die Familienangehörige von Zusammenführenden sind, ist ein Aufenthaltstitel „Familienangehöriger“ zu erteilen, wenn sie die Voraussetzungen des 1. Teiles erfüllen Canada
- Rule
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act s 12(1)
- The Act names the family classes but leaves the detailed conditions, including who counts as a prescribed family member, to regulations that are not ingested.
- Section 13 lets a citizen or permanent resident sponsor a foreign national, subject to the regulations.
A foreign national may be selected as a member of the family class on the basis of their relationship as the spouse, common-law partner, child, parent or other prescribed family member of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident Germany
- Rule
- Aufenthaltsgesetz §§ 28, 29 and 30
- The language and age rules apply to the spouse of a foreigner (section 30); the same section lists exceptions, for example for some protection holders and for illness or disability.
- For the spouse of a German, section 28 sets no language requirement for the first permit.
Die Aufenthaltserlaubnis ist dem ausländischen 1. Ehegatten eines Deutschen, 2. minderjährigen ledigen Kind eines Deutschen, 3. Elternteil eines minderjährigen ledigen Deutschen zur Ausübung der Personensorge zu erteilen, wenn der Deutsche seinen gewöhnlichen Aufenthalt im Bundesgebiet hat Für den Familiennachzug zu einem Ausländer muss 1. der Ausländer eine Niederlassungserlaubnis, Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt – EU, Aufenthaltserlaubnis, eine Blaue Karte EU, eine ICT-Karte oder eine Mobiler-ICT-Karte besitzen2. ausreichender Wohnraum zur Verfügung stehen Dem Ehegatten eines Ausländers ist eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis zu erteilen, wenn 1. beide Ehegatten das 18. Lebensjahr vollendet haben, 2. der Ehegatte sich zumindest auf einfache Art in deutscher Sprache verständigen kann Spain
- Rule
- Ley Orgánica de Extranjería arts. 17 and 18
- Parents can be brought only once the sponsor has long-term residence, and only if they are dependent, over 65 and there are reasons that justify their residence in Spain.
- Only one spouse may be brought, even where the sponsor’s personal law allows more.
El extranjero residente tiene derecho a reagrupar con él en España a los siguientes familiaressiempre que sean menores de dieciocho años o personas con discapacidad que no sean objetivamente capaces de proveer a sus propias necesidades debido a su estado de salud Los extranjeros podrán ejercer el derecho a la reagrupación familiar cuando hayan obtenido la renovación de su autorización de residencia inicialEl reagrupante deberá acreditar, en los términos que se establezcan reglamentariamente, que dispone de vivienda adecuada y de medios económicos suficientes para cubrir sus necesidades y las de su familia, una vez reagrupada Norway
- Rule
- Utlendingsloven § 40
- The right to a permit exists when those conditions are met; a permit may be refused if the main purpose of the marriage was to obtain residence.
- Section 49 lets other family members be given a permit where strong humanitarian reasons call for it.
En søker som er ektefelle til en referanseperson, jf. § 39, har rett til oppholdstillatelse når referansepersonen erDet er et vilkår for oppholdstillatelse etter første ledd at begge parter er over 18 år, med mindre partene er omfattet av 24-årskravet, jf. § 41 a Sweden
- Rule
- Utlänningslag 5 kap. 3 a and 3 i §§
- The two-year residence rule has exceptions, for example for recognised refugees and for children born in Sweden.
- Subsidiary-protection holders are treated separately in the same section, so the first rule does not apply to them in the same way.
Uppehållstillstånd på grund av anknytning till en person som är bosatt i Sverige och har permanent uppehållstillstånd eller ett tidsbegränsat uppehållstillstånd med en giltighetstid om minst ett år och välgrundade utsikter att beviljas varaktigt uppehållstillstånd ska1. anknytningspersonens make eller sambo, 2. barn till anknytningspersonen och anknytningspersonens make eller sambo endast om anknytningspersonen har vistats i Sverige med uppehållstillstånd sedan minst två år United States
- Rule
- 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i)
- This is the definition of immediate relatives, who are not counted against the annual quota. Other family categories are not shown.
- The widow or widower of a citizen stays an immediate relative if a petition is filed within two years and until remarriage.
the term “immediate relatives” means the children, spouses, and parents of a citizen of the United States, except that, in the case of parents, such citizens shall be at least 21 years of age Countries not in this table yet
Australia and Japan are left out because their family visa rules sit in regulations or in schedules that are not ingested; the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands are left out because the relevant immigration rules or acts are not ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Bringing your family to join you, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/family-reunification (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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