I am a Pakistani professional living and working in Germany under an "EU Blue Card" visa. I got married a little while back and to join me in Germany, my wife has applied for a Family Reunification Visa from Pakistan.
She was interviewed at the German embassy in Pakistan and submitted several documents (both of our birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc). To verify these documents, the embassy normally hires a contractor (usually a Pakistani lawyer) who visits spouses' homes and local government offices that have issued the documents.
Recently there have been several reports of these lawyers asking the spouses in Pakistan to show them their Whatsapp conversations (chats, not call logs) with their spouse in Germany. Then the lawyers scroll through and take pictures at several points as evidence.
My questions,
- Is is legal to do this under German law?
- What can one do to stop this (who should be informed about this)?
- If this is illegal but already happened to you, what can you do about it?