One year in, stop on family reunification continues to keep families apart
Thousands of refugee families remain separated one year after Germany suspended family reunification for people with subsidiary protection, with rights groups warning that the policy continues to cause severe hardship.
Germany introduced the two-year suspension in July 2025, preventing most people with subsidiary protection from bringing close family members to the country. The measure, approved by the federal government, is scheduled to remain in force until July 2027. While the law includes a humanitarian hardship exception, aid organizations say it has been applied only in extremely rare cases.
According to a new report by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and Deutscher Caritasverband (German Caritas Association), many refugees have spent years apart from their spouses and children. The organizations argue that prolonged separation is causing serious emotional and psychological harm, while also making it more difficult for refugees to integrate into German society by learning the language, finding work and rebuilding their lives.
The report also criticizes Germany's hardship procedure, describing it as overly complex, non-transparent and nearly impossible to access. Official figures cited by the organizations show that only a handful of humanitarian visas have been granted under the exception despite thousands of pending applications, leading campaigners to question whether the safeguard is functioning as intended.
The German government has defended the policy by arguing that it reduces pressure on the country's reception and integration systems. However, refugee advocates continue to call for the suspension to be lifted, saying that keeping families apart for years undermines successful integration and places an unnecessary burden on vulnerable people who have already fled conflict and persecution.