Kindergeld and Elterngeld in Germany

Hi,

I would like to know some information about Kindergeld and Elterngeld :

My husband is having a german work permit and employed here and we are living in Germany for 2 yrs and I am a house wife. We are expecting our first child next year.

1. From when are we eligible for the Elterngeld and how much. Are we eligible for Elterngeld even when one of the parents i.e me being a housewife.

2. And once the baby is born in Germany is it eligible for the Kindergeld and how much!

3. Incase I deliver in India and come back to germany after 3 months would my child be eligible for Kindergeld and we parents for Elterngeld?

Is there a limit of earning that parents shd hv exceeding which we would not be eligible for Elterngeld ? i mean the netto per year

looking forward for your reply, thanks !!

Hi Maggi,

Elterngeld: I have no idea. basically we wanted to apply too since it came into picture only last year but simply gave it up. i hope someone else can guide you on this. to my understanding it's more for working women who have to give up job during pregnancy... i may be wrong here!

Kindergeld: Right now my kids get 164 euro each.

Yes, irrespective of where the baby is born, if you are a resident of Germany your child will get the kindergeld. You'll to have to fill out this form (KG1) .. please check the link below: Kindergeld - www.arbeitsagentur.de

If the baby is born in Germany then the hospital will give you original birth certificate in copies, one meant for kindergeld itself. in any case, you've to fill the form online and submit.

Latha

Thanks Traveller,

I read couple of forums and official website however didnt get proper info / didnt understand it right.

Thanks for the info on Kindergeld. I was planning to have my baby in germany however my DH still looks like careless (not realising) and insists on going out with friends for bowling or so and takes me out late night even when said NO. He is not relaising that i need to eat on time.

Now i almost am starving for food when tired and he would be watching cric or F1 happily.

Finding it difficult to handle till delivery all by myself... as per earlier plan my mom had to visit me during delivery. Now I feel like going to india and wanted to ensure that my DH shd not come up saying that we wdnt get the benifts for the child from Germany when its born in india.

no worries, Maggi:) if you're back home you get pampered really well. like for my son i went home for delivery and i could just sit, read, go on walks etc., not worrying about home maintenance at all. my parents came here for the 2nd one and everything was new to them so i ended up doing most work. they felt so bad!

if you deliver the baby in india the passport, visa process will drive you nuts, sometimes:) i'm not scaring you but better to be prepared. for us though it happened quite smoothly but i know of cases that had difficulties.

1. my husband came for naming ceremony and we applied for passport when he was there. but if you apply all by yourself then your husband needs to get an attestation from indian consulate here as a proof that you live abroad.
2. i applied for german visa through the travel agents. they kind of delayed it a bit. finally i called up the german consulate myself and told them we're residents. because i was in bangalore and the consulate in chennai i told them i cannot come in person. they issued the visa without any fuss. ofcourse now the procedure has changed and you have an agent in bangalore to apply. but still if you explain you can avoid the personal interview in chennai.
3. you must re-enter germany within 6 months else your visa itself gets invalid! one of my friends didn't know this and she ended up staying back in india for over a year:(

Latha