Married Couples Separated by German Language Test

[ameriken]

Not related to China but most definitely to immigration and language. I'm sure this would never fly in the US.

 

 

Married Couples Separated by German Language Test

BERLIN April 6, 2014 (AP)

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press

Michael Guhle met the love of his life on the beach of a little fishing village in Vietnam. Thi An Nguyen was selling freshly cooked mussels and fruit to the German tourist and they immediately clicked. Soon the Berlin nursing home worker was saving up all of his money and vacation days to visit Nguyen.

Marriage was supposed to bring them together. Instead, it was the beginning of a long ordeal apart. Germany blocked Nguyen from entering the country after she flunked the language test that Germany requires aspiring immigrants to pass — even those married to Germans.

"I thought marrying the person you love and living together was a human right," Guhle said in his modest two-room apartment on the outskirts of Berlin. "Apparently this is not the case in Germany."

Germany adopted German language regulations for prospective immigrants in 2007. Most EU countries — including France, Italy, Spain and Sweden — do not require foreign spouses to pass mandatory language tests before they join their partners in Europe. Austria, Britain and the Netherlands are among countries that require language tests before foreign spouses can enter the country, but experts say Germany's test is the toughest.

The European Commission has criticized the law in Germany, saying it may violate European treaties. And a legal challenge to the European Court of Justice is expected to be heard this month. As things stand, however, binational couples like Guhle and his wife face costly and daunting challenges.

Germany defends the law as a way to prevent forced marriages and to help immigrants integrate more easily. Critics maintain the law discriminates against the uneducated and poor. Most agree immigrants should learn German, but opponents of the law say that could be done more quickly, cheaply and easily in Germany.

"Well-educated people who can afford the language classes won't have any problems meeting the language requirements quickly — but not the others," said Hiltrud Stoecker-Zafari, the head of the national Association of Binational Couples and Partners. "Therefore we think: This country obviously wants to send out the message that financially weak and not well-qualified spouses should not even come here."

The rest of the article:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/married-couples-separated-german-language-test-23211366

Edited April 9, 2014 by Randy W
fix link (see edit history)