Exactly. The spouse visa requirements are very clear and the officials at the consulate won’t even take your application unless you have all the paperwork they have asked for including the certificate of the A1 exam.
The requirement to learn German at an A1 level comes from the idea that if you’re living in the country you need to be able to at least say your name, where you live, read the most basic of signs, answer and understand when being spoken to by the authorities and find your way home if you get lost. It seems reasonable.
Luckily the A1 exam does not require a lot of study or preparation. It’s a very basic level of German that is required. You can use online apps like Babbel (it’s the one I used to learn German up to B2) and download a number of example exams from the Goethe Institute website to prepare. A few weeks time should be more than enough to get there especially if your husband can help you study.
The listening part is arguably the toughest, you get two chances to listen to very short messages and answer questions.
The writing part is mostly about filling out forms and writing postcards.
The reading part is about reading signs and very short texts.
For speaking, it’s a group round and you mostly ask questions about a topic and answer the question that is asked of you. At the beginning you have to introduce yourself, this is something you can memorize and parrot back when needed.
Once you are in Germany, to turn your visa into a residence permit, if you only have the A1 and don’t have a higher education degree that puts you in the highly qualified range you might be asked to do an integration/German course that brings you to B1
