Up to the end of November 2025, the Foreign Office reported 101,756 issued visas for family reunification.[1] This figure includes different family categories (e.g., spouse reunification and reunification of children with parents) and is not limited to refugees. In 2025, German embassies issued around 134,025 visas for the purpose of family reunification[2] – approximately 28,300 of those were granted by diplomatic missions in the following countries: Syria (approx. 20,000), Iran (4,400), Afghanistan (2,600), and Iraq (1,300). Approximately 12,000 visas were issued to family members of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.[3] In 2023 a total of 124,625 visas for family reunification were issued, out of which 10,570 were for beneficiaries of refugee protection and 12,067 for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.[4] The number of visas issued in 2023 was higher than in 2022 (19,449) and in the years 2020 and 2021 when Covid impacted the family reunification procedure,[5] but is still a little below the 2019 numbers (24,835).[6]
The overall visa application process for family reunification may take several months, oftentimes years, depending on the embassy. The long waiting times have been a persistent issue and are frequently criticized by civil society organisations.[7] In response to this, the German government introduced an action plan in 2023 aimed at accelerating visa procedures for family reunification.[8] As a 2025 update to the government’s efforts to speed up visa procedures, it can be noted that the Federal Foreign Office rolled out the Auslandsportal worldwide on 1 January 2025, aiming to enable digital applications for national visas at all 167 visa sections worldwide.[9] According to the Foreign Office, national visas can – and at many embassies have to – be applied for digitally in 28 categories, including visas for family reunification, and the digital process is intended to reduce postal times and shorten waiting times. However, as of December 2025, the Auslandsportal is not open (yet) to family members of persons with international protection at the most relevant German embassies (such as Egypt, Pakistan or Ethiopia). Therefore, the waiting times for appointments remain very long at many embassies. The German embassy in Yaoundé states up to 9 months for appointments on family reunification.[10] In heavily frequented embassies, such as Beirut, Tehran or Addis Ababa, applicants face official waiting periods of over a year.[11] Lawyers claim that the waiting times are often much longer in reality.[12] There is no legal regulation that sets a maximum timeframe for visa processing. If an embassy fails to respond, applicants may file an action for inactivity, but such complaints are often dismissed if delays are considered justified due to high caseloads. As a result, overloaded embassies make legal challenges against delays largely ineffective. In cases of visa refusal, applicants used to be able to appeal the decision in writing to the diplomatic mission abroad. However, this has been terminated as of 1 July 2025.[13]
Family reunification for refugees
Persons with refugee status enjoy a privileged position compared to other foreign nationals in terms of family reunification since they do not necessarily have to cover the cost of living for themselves and their families and they do not have to prove that they possess sufficient living space. It is important to note that this privilege applies only to persons recognised as refugees under the Geneva Convention (§ 25 para. 1 and 2 alt. 1 AufenthG), persons entitled to asylum (§ 25 para. 1 AufenthG), and resettlement refugees (§ 23 para. 4 AufenthG). Persons with subsidiary protection status are explicitly excluded from this privilege; a separate and more restrictive regime applies to them under § 36a AufenthG.
In order to claim this privilege, refugees or their family members have to file an application for family reunification within 3 months after the refugee status has become incontestable (final) according to the law.[14] However, in practice the authorities established the construct of a so called “timely notification” (fristwahrende Anzeige), which is supposed to keep the deadline of 3 months but is not treated as having the other legal effects of an official application (such as protection from aging out).[15] This notification can be done online through the website of the Federal Foreign Office or at the local authorities.[16] The visa application itself has to be handed in by the family members at the embassy of the country where the family members are staying.
The aforementioned practice is currently subject of judicial review by the Federal Administrative Court since the responsible Higher Regional Court ruled in August 2025 that the authorities fail to provide sufficient information to newly recognised refugees on the conditions and procedures of a correct application for family reunification.[17]
Persons eligible for family reunification under this provision are:
- Spouses or ‘registered same-sex partners’;[18]
- Minor unmarried children;[19]
- Parents of unaccompanied children, if no other parent with entitlement to custody is living in Germany;
- Minor siblings of unaccompanied children.
Depending on who is to be reunited, additional criteria apply. In particular, both spouses must be at least 18 years of age.[20]
Regarding German language requirements for spouses, the following distinction applies:
- If the marriage already existed when the refugee relocated to Germany (i.e., the marriage pre-dates the flight), the spouse is exempt from the requirement to demonstrate basic German language skills (A1 level), regardless of whether the application is made within or outside the three-month window.[21]
- If the marriage was concluded after the refugee relocated to Germany (post-flight marriage), the language requirement applies in principle for applications submitted outside the three-month privileged period.[22]
If family members of refugees apply for family reunification later than 3 months after the status determination has become final, ‘normal rules’ for family reunification apply. In particular, refugees living in Germany have to prove that they can cover the cost of living for themselves and their families and that they have sufficient living space.[23]
In order to demonstrate the family link first and foremost official documents are considered by the authorities.[24] There is no obligation to demonstrate the family link through DNA testing. However, in cases where the family link cannot be proven by official documents and reasonable doubts cannot be removed regarding the existence of a family link, the authorities are required to inform applicants about the possibility to use voluntarily DNA testing as evidence.[25] The question of who covers the costs for the required documents and the family reunification procedure in total is disputed and differs in individual cases. It is generally established that only the sponsors present in Germany may apply for financial compensation. Additionally, costs can only be compensated if sponsors are unable to cover the costs themselves and if the general social benefits are not sufficient to cover the costs.[26] However, in practice, most families (and legal practitioners) are not aware of this possibility and cover the costs themselves.
The family link does not need to be established before the entry of the sponsor to Germany. Explicitly family reunification is possible not only for the “protection of family life” but also for the “establishment of family life”.[27] However, the applicability of additional criteria may depend on whether the link already existed prior to the arrival of the sponsor in Germany. For example, basic German knowledge of spouses is not required if the link already existed prior to the arrival of the sponsor in Germany.[28]
If refugees are entitled to family reunification under this provision, the local authorities in Germany examine the application. They then approve the application if the criteria set out above are fulfilled. The approval is sent to the embassy. Based on the approval, the German embassy in the country where the family members are staying then must issue the necessary visa. An administrative fee of € 75 for adults and half of it for minor children must be paid for the issuance of the visa.[29]
Generally, the reunited person must be in possession of a valid passport or equivalent travel documents.[30] As mentioned above, it is contested whether sponsors or family members may apply for financial support. Exemptions are only possible if all other criteria for family reunification are fulfilled and if the identity of the person is established. The person who wishes to be reunited must apply for the exemption of holding valid travel documents and a decision on whether the exemption will be granted is discretionary.[31]
The proof of identity constitutes another general requirement and has become a significant hurdle for families who originate from countries with unreliable documentation systems (such as Eritrea or Somalia).[32] Even if the applicants were to hold a Convention travel document by a third state (which would fulfil the above-mentioned passport requirement), the authorities deem this document to be solely based on the applicant´s information and to not have evidentiary value for that very reason. Alternative evidence, such as DNA testing, is oftentimes found to be incapable of proving one´s identity by the authorities either since it´s deemed to only prove the family relationship.
According to German law, parents of unaccompanied minors may only be granted a visa if the child is still underage. Section 36 para 1 Residence Act only speaks of “parents of a minor” and does not specify the point in time at which the child has to be a minor. German Courts have previously required the minority at the time of the judicial decision, even if the child turns 18 due to a lengthy judicial process.[33] This practice has been challenged, however in the context of a CJEU decision of 2018 which clarified that the date of lodging the asylum application, and not the date of entry of the parents, is decisive for the right to family reunification, meaning that family reunification is still possible if the minor turns 18 before the arrival of the parents.[34] The Federal Administrative Court requested a preliminary ruling of the CJEU on the matter in April 2020.[35] In August 2022 the CJEU strengthened the right to family reunification in its decision. The CJEU decided that the child needs to be underage at the time of the application for asylum but not necessarily at the time of their family’s departure.[36] This counts for cases where the underaged child is the sponsor as well as for cases where the parent is the sponsor.
However, the CJEU made this conditional on the fact that the visa application was filed within 3 months after the sponsoring person has received their protection status. This leads to a number of practical questions in the German context. First of all, it is unclear to which extent the applicants can be expected to keep the deadline when they are not properly informed about it. Secondly, it is disputed to what extent the jurisprudence can be applied to old cases that were rejected before the CJEU´s 2018 ruling. The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin requested a preliminary ruling of the CJEU on the matter at the end of 2024. As of December 2025, the case is still pending at the CJEU.[37]
Another discussion arose in 2022 on the additional criteria for family reunification in cases where minor children are the sponsors and want to reunite with their parents. Parents of unaccompanied minors may only be granted a visa if the family already existed in the country of origin.[38] In the case discussed, the child was born in Germany, so it was argued that the ‘family’ did not exist yet at the time the parents were in the country of origin. However, the Higher Administrative Court decided that the criterion of the ‘already existing family’ does not necessarily require identical persons but that the family already exists as a family tribe, meaning that the child does not need to be born prior to their arrival in Germany in order to later become a sponsor for the parent.[39]
As part of Germany’s transposition of the new EU Qualification Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, “Anerkennungs-VO“), the draft law adopted by the Federal Government on 6 November 2024 introduces a new paragraph § 26(3) AsylG-E. Implementing Article 23(7) of the Qualification Regulation, this provision extends the right to a residence permit to unmarried minor siblings of recognised protection holders, provided the relevant conditions are met, with the explicit aim of preserving family unity. As of end 2025, this provision had not yet entered into force, as the underlying legislative package adapting German law to the CEAS reform was still pending parliamentary adoption; transposition is anticipated for 2026 in line with the CEAS application timeline in June.
Family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection
With effect from 24 July 2025, the German legislator has suspended family reunification under Section 36a Residence Act for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection for a period of two years, i.e. until 23 July 2027. The suspension applies to all pending cases as well. This makes the German family reunification suspension significantly more restrictive than similar suspensions introduced in a number of other EU member states.[40] Because of the long waiting times in German visa procedures, many families have already been separated for 6-8 years at the time the suspension went into force.[41] Hardship cases remain possible, but are to be examined restrictively. As of December 2025, the government had issued two visa based on the hardship clause while 2586 applications were filed at the time.[42] PRO ASYL and the German Institute for Human Rights argue that an internal Foreign Office instruction on “hardship” admissions under § 22 AufenthG sets such restrictive, formalistic criteria (e.g., extremely long separation thresholds and narrow emergency definitions) that family reunification in hardship cases is in practice almost impossible, raising serious constitutional and human-rights concerns.[43] A report by Caritas and IRAP that is based on a survey conducted at refugee counselling centers across Germany corroborates these findings and highlights the intransparency and ineffectiveness of the procedure to even apply for such hardship admissions.[44]
During the suspension period, no new registrations on the central waiting list and no new visa applications under Section 36a can be filed; pending embassy cases are frozen unless a visa had already been issued and an invitation for pickup was sent. Court procedures remain pending and are examined regarding the requirements for a hardship admission. Extensions of residence permits already issued for reunified family members remain possible if the family unit continues and general conditions are met.[45]
Already in 2018, the right to family reunification was severely restricted for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and was replaced with a provision according to which 1,000 relatives shall be granted a visa to enter Germany each month.[46] This meant that the privileged conditions that apply to family reunification for refugees did not apply to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. They have been replaced with a ‘humanitarian clause’ which placed family reunification at the discretion of the authorities. As such, the beneficiary of subsidiary protection did not have a right to family reunification. Instead, the family members needed to apply themselves for reunification and the decision was at the discretion of the authorities.
Before the suspension of family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection took effect on 24 July 2025, 5,800 visas were issued to family members of beneficiaries of international protection. In 2024, approximately 12,000 visas were issued to family members of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.[47] As of December 12, 2023, Germany had issued 12,067 visas to family members of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, fully utilizing the annual quota of 12,000 visas for that year. 10,778 of those visas in 2023 were granted to Syrian nationals, 176 to Afghan, 54 to Turkish, 83 to Iraqi and 2 to Iranian nationals.[48] In 2022, 8,859 visas were granted, representing 74% of the annual quota.
During this time, the question arose as to which point in time is decisive for assessing whether the sponsor was still a minor for the purpose of family reunification. While CJEU case law on refugees has shifted the relevant date towards the asylum application in the context of Directive 2003/86/EC, German courts have held that this directive does not apply to family reunification with beneficiaries of subsidiary protection under § 36a AufenthG. In its judgment of 8 December 2022 (BVerwG 1 C 8.21), the Federal Administrative Court confirmed that the decisive point in time for determining minority in this context is the time of the family´s arrival, meaning that family reunification claims lapsed once the subsidiary-protection holder became an adult during pending proceedings.[49] Many minor sponsors therefore applied for expedited appointments with the embassies and oftentimes filed interim measure proceedings to secure their right for family reunification. However, in the end of 2024 the Federal Foreign Office changed its practices and no longer provided such expedited appointments, arguing that the demand was too high. The Courts found this practice to be legal[50] and then went even further by finding that the upcoming majority of a child is no longer justifying a preliminary injunction.[51] Civil society organizations criticized that the long waiting times in visa procedures thereby lead to youngsters losing their right to family reunification through no fault of their own.[52]
Ad hoc family reunification programmes for Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans
Several Federal States had ad hoc family reunification schemes for Syrian and, later, Afghan relatives between 2015 and 2024[53]. These programmes typically covered first- and second-degree relatives and required private sponsorship via binding declarations to cover living costs. As of 2025, these state schemes have ended: Berlin and Thuringia did not extend their programmes beyond 31 December 2024. In Berlin, the continuation of the scheme depended on the consent of the Federal Ministry of the Interior; Federal Minister Alexander Dobrindt refused to give this consent in mid‑2025, referring to the new federal migration policy line and the coalition agreement, so that the Berlin programme could not be renewed.[54] In Thuringia, the Syria programme expired on 31 December 2024 on the basis of the original time‑limit without a further extension being adopted.[55] As a result, no Federal State operates a comparable scheme at present.
Civil society groups criticise the loss of these legal pathways, noting that the end of state programmes coincides with bottlenecks in federal channels, leaving many families without a realistic route to reunification.[56]
[1] DIE ZEIT, ’Mehr als 100.000 Menschen kamen 2025 zu Angehörigen nach Deutschland’, 21 December 2025, available in German here.
[2] Auswärtiges Amt, Bearbeitete nationale Visa 2025, 14 Jan 2026, available here.
[3] Mediendienst Integration, ‘Was bedeutet ein Stopp des Familiennachzugs?’, 10 March 2025, available in German here.
[4] Reply to oral parliamentary question by Clara Bünger (Die Linke), 19 December 2023, question no. 80, available in German here.
[5] Reply to oral parliamentary question by Clara Bünger (Die Linke), 8 February 2023, question no. 37, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3OJPJaq; for information on the impact of Covid-19 on the family reunification procedure, see: AIDA, Country Report Germany – Update on the year 2021, April 2022, available at https://bit.ly/3XnN7RS, 170.
[6] Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, ‘Familiennachzug hat im vergangenen Jahr wieder deutlich zugenommen’, 10 March 2022, available in German at: https://bit.ly/389cYbi.
[7] National Coalition Deutschland, ‘Aufruf zum Internationalen Tag der Familie: Familien gehören zusammen!‘, 15 May 2025, available here; German Bundestag, Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten Clara Bünger, Dr. André Hahn, Gökay Akbulut, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Gruppe Die Linke – Familiennachzug zu international Schutzberechtigten, Drucksache 20/12922, 12 September 2024, available here; PRO ASYL/Jumen, ‚Zerrissene Familien, Praxisbericht und Rechtsgutachten zum Familiennachzug zu subsidiär Schutzberechtigten’, March 2021, p. 5 f., available here.
[8] German Bundestag, Minutes of the 72nd Meeting of the Committee on Tourism, 20th Electoral Term, June 26 2024, available in German here.
[9] Federal Ministry of Foreign Affaires, Digitalisierung des nationalen Visumverfahrens zum 1. Januar 2025, 1 January 2025, available in German here.
[10] German Embassy Yaoundé, Appointment Booking, available here.
[11] Reply to oral parliamentary question by Clara Bünger (Die Linke), 12 September 2024, attachment 1 on question 3, available in German here.
[12] IRAP, Schriftliche Stellungnahme zum Gesetzentwurf der Fraktionen der CDU/CSU und SPD, Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Aussetzung des Familiennachzugs zu subsidiär Schutzberechtigten Fn. 1, 19 June 2025, available here.
[13] Federal Foreign Office Germany, Pressemitteilung: Abschaffung des Remonstrationsverfahrens, 27 June 2025, available here.
[14] Section 29(2)(1) Residence Act.
[15] This practice has been criticized by civil society and lawyers, see eg Müller/Ronte/Ujkašević, ZAR 2023, 68.
[16] Handbook Germany, Familiennachzug für Geflüchtete, lastly amended 20 August 2022, available at: http://bit.ly/3jh3P6z.
[17] OVG Berlin-Brandenburg, Judgement of 12 August 2025, 3 B 4/24, available here.
[18] ‘Registered same-sex partnership’ was introduced in 2001 as equivalent to marriage which was at that time still reserved to heterosexual couples. From 2017 on same-sex marriage is allowed in Germany. However, the term is still used, since there may still be same-sex couples who formerly registered as such and/or a similar concept might exist in other countries.
[19] The ECJ ruling in case C-230/21 that contested this requirement has not (yet) lead to changes of the Residence Act.
[20] Section 30(1)(1) Residence Act.
[21] Section 30(1)(3) Residence Act.
[22] Section 30 para 1 Residence Act.
[23] Sections 27(3) and 29 Residence Act.
[24] Federal Ministry of Interior, Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschrift zum Aufenthaltsgesetz (General Administrative Guidelines for the Residence Act), 26 Oct. 2009, no. 27.0.4, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3wfvPh7.
[25] Federal Ministry of Interior, Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschrift zum Aufenthaltsgesetz (General Administrative Guidelines for the Residence Act), 26 Oct. 2009, no. 27.0.5, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3wfvPh7.
[26] Eva Steffen, Infoblatt für Mitarbeitende in den Migrationsfachdiensten, Zu den rechtlichen Möglichkeiten der Übernahme von Kosten des Familiennachzuges zu international Schutzberechtigten, 18 November 2019, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3uH0NOE.
[27] Section 27 para. 1 Residence Act.
[28] See e.g., Section 30 para 1 sentence 2 no. 1 Residence Act.
[29] Section 46 para 2 Regulation on Residence.
[30] Section 3 para 1 Residence Act.
[31] Federal Foreign Office, Visumhandbuch, Ausnahme von der Passpflicht, 130. Ergänzungslieferung, August 2022.
[32] Corinna Ujkašević, Der Identitätsnachweis beim Familiennachzug zu anerkannten Flüchtlingen, June 2020, 205, available here.
[33] Federal Administrative Court, 10 C 9.12 – Decision of 18 April 2013, avaialbe in German at: https://bit.ly/49jMBdC.
[34] CJEU, Case C-550/16, A und S / Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie, Judgement of 12 April 2018, available at: https://bit.ly/3RuoEbL.
[35] Federal Administrative Court, 1 C 9.19 – Decision of 23 April 2020, available in German at: https://bit.ly/486ZFCn.
[36] CJEU, Joined Cases C-273/20, C-355/20, Judgement of 1 August 2022, ECLI:EU:C:2022:617, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3Tz9THo.
[37] See all relevant information on the procedure of C-571/24 here.
[38] Section 26 (3) (no.2) Asylum Act.
[39] Higher Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, Decision 13 A 11241/21.OVG, 25 June 2022, available in German at: http://bit.ly/3HolJwj.
[40] E.g. the Danish and Swedish suspensions did not apply to pending cases.
[41] Caritas / IRAP, Family Life on Hold: Germany’s Suspension of Family Reunification for Beneficiaries of Subsidiary Protection after One Year, forthcoming in June 2026.
[42] Reply to written question No. 21 by Clara Bünger (Die Linke), BT-Drucks. 21/3373, 19 December 2025, available in German here.
[43] PRO ASYL, Weisung des Auswärtigen Amtes zum Familiennachzug: Die meisten Härtefälle werden ignoriert, 18 September 2025, available in German here; Deutsches Insitut für Menschenrechte, Die Härtefallprüfung im Rahmen der Aussetzung des Familiennachzugs zu sibsidiär Schutzberechtigten, February 2026, available here.
[44] Caritas / IRAP, Family Life on Hold: Germany’s Suspension of Family Reunification for Beneficiaries of Subsidiary Protection after One Year, forthcoming in June 2026.
[45] Migrando.de, ‘New law comes into force: Family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection suspended – what those affected need to know’, 24 July 2025, available here.
[46] Section 36a Residence Act; Section 104(13) Residence Act.
[47] Mediendienst Integration, ‘Was bedeutet ein Stopp des Familiennachzugs?’, 23 June 2025, available in German here.
[48] Reply to oral parliamentary question by Clara Bünger (Die Linke), 19 December 2023, question no 80, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3SOEbnI.
[49] Federal Administrative Court, Voraussetzungen für den Familiennachzug zu subsidiär Schutzberechtigten, 8 December 2022, available in German here.
[50] See inter alia OVG Berlin-Brandenburg, Decision of 21 November 2024, 3 S 141/24, 3 M 53/24, available here.
[51] OVG Berlin-Brandenburg, Decision of 15 January 2025, 3 S 153/24, available here.
[52] PRO ASYL, ‘Verzweiflung: Jugendliche verlieren unverschuldet das Recht auf den Nachzug ihrer Eltern’, 20 Nov 2024, available here.
[53 AIDA, Country Report: Germany – Update on 2024, June 2025, available here.
[54] Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ.de), ‘Dobrindt: Nein zu Berliner Aufnahmeprojekt für Flüchtlinge’, 28 July 2025, available in German here.
[55] Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen, Familiennachzug – Syrien Aufnahmeprogramm Ende 31.12.2024, 11 February 2025, available in German here.
[56] PRO ASYL, PRO ASYL zum Stopp von besonderen Aufnahmen durch das Bundesinnenministerium: So viel Kälte, 6 September 2025, available in German here.