Posted on 12.12.2011 09:03

Changing tax class with spouse

Hello,

I am an Indian and have been working in Germany since Jan'11.I have also done my masters from Germany.

I do not intend to stay in Germany for very long, maximum 2-3 years more.

I plan to get married in Dec'12. I have the following questions,

1. I have read on internet that my future spouse is not allowed to work for 2 years fromt the start of her stay in Germany. Is that correct?

2. She has a Masters in Public Health, so does being a Master provide any exemption to the 2 year no-working clause?

3. As I do not want to affect her career, my plan is that she continues her work in India. For that matter, I want to know if it is possible that she comes here on a spouse visa, get a residence permit here and then go back to India for her work. I then also change my tax class to III. Is it possible to get the benefits of tax class 3 this way?

4. Is there any way that I can change to tax class 3 while she is on a tourist visa?

I know there were similar questions on this forum before, but regarding the 3rd question, most were very old so I want to know if some new updates have affected them.

Thanks a lot.