Overview
- Since the late-July suspension for people with subsidiary protection, only two hardship visas were approved by mid-December, according to a government reply.
- Authorities recorded 2,586 hardship notifications with the IOM, most still in fact consolidation, with 90 cases under review at the Foreign Office.
- The measure targets those with subsidiary protection who can reunite only in exceptional hardship, while recognized refugees and asylum grantees remain eligible under regular rules.
- The government cites easing pressure on reception and integration as its rationale, while Linke MP Clara Bünger says the strict criteria keep families apart.
- Despite the targeted freeze, Germany issued about 101,756 family-reunification visas through November 2025 for other categories, with Turks and Syrians among the largest groups.