An IMGW News Report
Germany’s coalition government has approved sweeping changes to its migration policy, suspending the right of certain refugees to reunite with family members and abolishing a fast-track route to citizenship. The measures, endorsed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Cabinet on 28 May, await parliamentary approval but have already provoked fierce debate.
“In 2024, Germany issued around 120,000 family reunification visas. That figure is now expected to decline sharply”
Under the proposal, holders of subsidiary protection status – migrants not formally recognised as refugees but still shielded from deportation – will be barred for two years from bringing over spouses or children. Roughly 380,000 people in Germany currently fall under this category, many of them Syrians displaced by war.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the move, claiming municipalities are overburdened and that integration systems are strained beyond capacity. In 2024, Germany issued around 120,000 family reunification visas. That figure is now expected to decline sharply.
Photo: Creator: Marco Urban | Credit: OECD / ITF 2014 / Marco Urban – Copyright: OECD / ITF 2014 / Marco Urban
Human rights groups were swift to respond. Pro Asyl, a prominent advocacy organisation, warned that forced family separations not only impose psychological trauma but may fuel irregular migration. The German Foreign Office did not immediately comment on transitional arrangements for pending applications.
In tandem, the Cabinet has also voted to eliminate the previous government’s fast-track citizenship scheme. That programme allowed “specially integrated” residents to naturalise after just three years in Germany. Under the revised plan, the minimum qualifying period will revert to five years—except for spouses of German nationals who meet specific conditions.
“Whether they deliver greater control or simply push vulnerable people further into precarity remains to be seen”
Last year, Germany recorded approximately 200,000 naturalisations, the highest in a quarter-century. The government argues that higher thresholds are needed to ensure thorough vetting and preserve the integrity of German nationality.
Both policy shifts reflect a broader rightward turn under the new administration. Whether they deliver greater control or simply push vulnerable people further into precarity remains to be seen.
