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Family
You would like your family to join you during your stay in
Siegen? In that case, there are a number of additional things
that need to be considered. Please get in touch with us early
on so that we can support you accordingly.
The first step is to check with the responsible local German
mission what visa
conditions need to be fulfilled and which documents you
will need for your family's visa applications – ideally at the
same time as taking care of your own visa application. It is
possible that some documents are requested that you will not be
able to submit at the point of application, not having moved to
Germany yourself yet. If this is the case, please get in touch
with the German embassy or consulate and explain your
situation. They will be able to give you further information.
For information on health insurance for your family, please
click here.
If you are traveling with a spouse only, the process should be
fairly straight forward, as long as you have prepared all
necessary documents. Should you be employed by the University
of Siegen and planning to stay for more than 2–3 years, the
Dual Career Service will be happy to support your
spouse in finding a job. Please note that a good command of
German is particularly helpful.
When traveling with a child, there are a number of further
things to keep in mind:
Day Care
Places in day care are sought after and not always easy to
come by. It is, therefore, essential that you apply for a
place for your child early on.
Siegen City Council provides a Kita-Navigator [day care center
navigator] to help you find a suitable center for your
child and the Siegen-Wittgenstein district offers an
online registration service for various
child care facilities. There are different types of Kita in
Germany, some of which are run or supported by the
municipalities or the church while others are private.
Please note that you can apply for any type of Kita, no
matter your affiliation to a church or association. In any
case you should look at their website and check if you are
comfortable with their concept and daily routines.
Furthermore, there are some child care options at the
Adolf-Reichwein-Campus. While these are primarily for
student parents, places are also given to children of other
members of the University, depending on availability.
At the Studierendenwerk's day care center up to 70 children aged
2–6 are looked after for 35 h or 45 h a week. The
Studierendenwerk Siegen also runs the FLEXI [flexible child care
facility], which offers flexible child care on a temporary
basis and within two-hour slots for children aged six
months to ten years.
Further child care options for members of the University
are:
» A toddlers' group launched by a
number of parents
» The University's
holiday child care program for children
of students and employees of the University.
Please note that there is a compulsory measles vaccination
for all children going to German child care facilities and
schools since 2020. For more information, please take a
look at this website.
Schools
Attending school is compulsory in Germany for children aged
6–15. Tuition at state schools is free of charge, whereas
tuition fees are usually charged at private, independent or
international schools.
The following portals offer information on the German
school system:
» EURAXESS GERMANY
» german education server
Information on schools in Siegen and the vicinity can be
found here:
» Schools in Siegen
» Schools in Siegen-Wittgenstein
If you are interested in sending your child to a bilingual
school, you can find information on the bschool
bilingual elementary school in Allenbach
here.
Please note that there is a compulsory measles vaccination
for all children going to German child care facilities and
schools since 2020. For more information, please take a
look at this website.
Child Benefits
If you are an EU citizen or have a residence permit based
on § 18b, § 18c or § 18d you could be eligible to receive
Child Benefits. The monthly rate ranges between €219 and
€250 (in 2021), depending on the number of children you
have. Further information on eligibility and Child Benefits
in general can be found on the EURAXESS GERMANY portal and with the
Agentur für Arbeit
In general, applications need to be sumitted to the
responsible Family Benefits Office [Familienkasse]
by post.
For further
information and support, please contact the Familienservicebüro [Family
Services Office] of the University of
Siegen.
Parental allowance
To support young families, the state in Germany provides
the so-called "Elterngeld" [parental allowance]. As
financial compensation for parents who temporarily work
less or not at all, parental allowance is provided in order
to help such families care for their children. Parental
allowance can be asked for a maximum duration of 12 months
within your child’s first 14 months of life, if your child
was born during your stay in Germany. You can find out more
about parental allowance and whether and how you can
receive it on this website.
Early Detection
Examination
Early detection examinations are a way of ensuring that
health disorders or abnormalities in the development of
your child are detected and treated as soon as possible.
The examinations are set to take place at certain stages of
development and are, therefore, restricted to certain
periods of time. They are free of charge if undertaken
within said periods of time. You can find the names of the
examinations and the ages at which they are to take place
can be found here.
Please bring you child's yellow Kinder-Untersuchungsheft
[child health record book], its vaccination card, and its
health insurance card.
For further information and support, please contact the
Familienservicebüro at the
University of Siegen.
The City of Siegen also has numerous offers with regard to living in Siegen with a family. You can find them here (unfortunately only available in German).