Federal government tightens regulation: Young refugees can catch up with families more easily

With the current practice of family reunification for refugees, the federal government is violating EU law. The Federal Foreign Office is reacting and in some cases facilitating the reunion. Those seeking protection who come of age in Germany benefit.

The federal government has made it easier for children, young people and parents to join them. In order to “implement the requirements of several judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on family reunification “as quickly as possible”, the Federal Foreign Office instructed its diplomatic missions abroad at the beginning of September 2022 to “prioritize applications for parental reunification that have been pending until now, as far as possible”, according to the Funke media group in a response from the federal government to a request from the left-wing faction in the Bundestag.

“A separate department for family reunification” is currently being set up in the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs “in order to expand the processing of family reunification for persons entitled to protection,” it said. At the beginning of August, the ECJ criticized the practice of the German authorities for family reunification as unlawful.

According to this, under-age unaccompanied refugees may, under certain conditions, bring their families to Germany even if they come of age during the procedure. The same applies to children or young people who have come of age and wish to join their parents who are recognized as refugees in Germany.

In the future, according to the federal government, the German authorities should give “priority” to visa applications from young people who will soon be of legal age. Under certain conditions, a child should also be considered a “minor” if it has come of age after filing an application for asylum but before filing the visa application.

The left welcomes the new practice in the Foreign Office. At the same time, the “damage already caused by the federal government’s long-standing attitude of refusal is immense,” said the parliamentary group’s refugee policy spokeswoman, Clara Bünger, of the Funke media group. She called for “some form of damages or compensation for the human rights violations suffered”.