With the amendment to the law, it is also decided that the Residence Act not only serves to control migration, but also expressly to limit it (Section 1 (1) sentence 1 Residence Act).
A motion tabled by the parliamentary group Die Linke to facilitate family reunification rather than suspend it has also failed.
When will the law come into force?
When the law on the suspension of family reunification comes into force can be found in the text of the law itself. This will be published in the Federal Law Gazette - probably in the next few days.
If the law does not specify exactly when it comes into force, the general deadline applies: the law then comes into force on the 14th day after promulgation.
What does this mean for those affected?
Persons entitled to subsidiary protection will therefore no longer be able to bring their spouses, underage children or other family members to Germany for the time being.
For persons entitled to asylum or refugee status and for holders of a Settlement permit family reunification remains possible.
Until recently, family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection was limited to 1000 visas per month. It is currently unclear whether there is a transitional rule for applications for family reunification that are already in progress and what this will look like.
Family reunification: What regulations were in place in the past?
In 2015, the regulations on family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection were initially relaxed, making it easier for spouses, children or parents to join them. However, this option was suspended again just one year later. In 2018, the federal government finally introduced an upper limit: since then, a maximum of 1,000 visas per month may be issued for family reunification.
According to the Central Register of Foreigners, around 381,000 people with subsidiary protection status were living in Germany at the end of 2024. The majority of these (around 296,000) came from Syria. Around half of those entitled to subsidiary protection have been living in Germany for at least six years. In 2024, almost 66,000 people received this protection status for the first time.
How long will family reunification be suspended?
With today's decision, family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection will initially be suspended for two years - i.e. probably until July 2027.
Whether it will remain a temporary measure this time, as it was between 2016 and 2018, is still uncertain. Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has announced that he intends to reassess the situation in two years' time - with the outcome of whether the suspension will then be extended or lifted.
