Background: Family reunification suspended as of July 2025
Since July 24, 2025, family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in Germany has been suspended for two years. The legal provision is set forth in Section 104(14) of the Residence Act (AufenthG) and remains in effect until July 23, 2027.
The federal government—composed of the CDU/CSU and SPD—justifies the two-year suspension by stating that it aims to ease the burden on Germany’s reception and integration systems. The bill was introduced by the federal government and passed by the Bundestag in June 2025.
Before the suspension, up to 1,000 family members per month were able to join people with subsidiary protection in Germany. However, during the current suspension, regular family reunification is no longer possible. Exceptions are only considered in special cases of humanitarian hardship under Section 22 of the Residence Act (AufenthG).
According to data from the Central Register of Foreign Nationals, approximately 373,000 people with subsidiary protection status were living in Germany at the end of 2025. A large majority of them were from Syria.
Important: The suspension applies onlyto family reunification for persons entitled to subsidiary protection. For persons entitled to asylum, recognized refugees, and individuals with other types of residence permits, different requirements apply—depending on their respective residence status. However, the suspension of family reunification does not apply to these groups of people.
Family Reunification: SPD Criticizes Hardship Provision as Too Strict
Criticism of the regulation is now coming from the SPD. Rasha Nasr, the spokesperson on migration policy for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND): “The figures show that the hardship case regulation isn’t working.” In her view, the requirements for recognizing a hardship case are too strict.
The figures to date show how rarely avisa for family reunification is granted under the hardship provision. According to the German Caritas Association, a total of 4,727 hardship cases were reported between July 2025 and mid-May 2026. By that time, 1,022 cases had been reviewed. Only seven hardship visas had been granted. In July 2026, the number rose to 13 hardship visas.
Speaking to the RND, Rasha Nasr (SPD) criticized, above all, the long periods of separation that families may be expected to endure. For families with a toddler, a separation of five years may be required; for families with older children, it could be as long as ten years. In Nasr’s view, families should not be expected to endure such long periods of separation.
Truels Reichardt, the children’s affairs representative for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, has also criticized the regulation. He questioned whether the suspension of family reunification is compatible with the special protection of marriage and family under the Basic Law, given that the hardship provision is applied only very rarely in practice.
SPD Wants to Reinstate Family Reunification Starting in the Summer of 2027
Rasha Nasr (SPD) is therefore calling for the suspension of family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection not to be extended beyond the summer of 2027. The SPD politician also advocated preparing ongoing cases well in advance. This is intended to prevent affected families from having to wait even longer for a decision after the suspension ends.
It is not yet clear whether family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection will resume as normal starting in July 2027. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) had already announced shortly after the law took effect that he intended to reassess the situation before the end of the two-year suspension.
For affected families, this means that family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection will remain suspended until the current regulation expires. It is currently unclear whether family reunification will subsequently be possible again as before or whether the regulation will be extended.
Family Reunification: When Can a Hardship Case Be Established?
Even during the suspension, family reunification may be possible in cases of exceptional hardship. The legal basis for this is Section 22 of the Residence Act.
However, the criteria for a hardship case are very strict. It is not enough that a family has been living apart for a long time or that the separation is very stressful for those involved. There must also be special circumstances that make the individual case significantly different from other cases.
Possible reasons for a hardship case include:
- Dangerous or intolerable conditions in the country of origin: When it is effectively impossible to reunite the family in the country of origin (e.g., due to persecution or a lack of safety).
- Special humanitarian circumstances: The family member abroad is in urgent need of support due to illness, need of care or other circumstances, which can only be provided in Germany.
- Unique individual fate: The case must clearly stand out from others.
- The urgent humanitarian reason must be of such significance that it outweighs the rule suspending family reunification.
