family reunification

• Afghanistan
• Germany

More than 4,000 Afghans who have a right to family reunification in Germany are stuck in Afghanistan. According to a media report, visa-processing sites in the region have only processed around 100 applications per month so far this year.

• Tunisia

Illicit crossings between the Tunisian port of Zarzis and the Italian coast have increased sharply in 2021. Chamseddine Marzoug, an activist who has been involved for years with migrants' rights, faced an unprecedented situation. His own wife, accompanied by two of his grandchildren, decided to cross the sea to Europe -- without telling him.

• Afghanistan
• France

Since the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan on August 15, Afghan refugees in France have been anxious to bring their families to safety. Family reunification procedures, which had been severely delayed due to the pandemic, have become even more complicated and are now a race against time.

• Pakistan

It's been five years since Rubina's brother left Pakistan in search of a better life in Europe. He has since been missing. The disabled young woman has gone against all odds to search for her brother and she is still hopeful he will return one day. Rubina's story encompasses what migrants leave behind when they embark on irregular journeys.

• Germany

According to information from the German government, almost 11,000 migrants are hoping to join their refugee relatives already in Germany via family reunification visas. Many are still waiting for appointments to complete the application.

• France
• Germany
• Italy

What are the differences between refugee status and subsidiary protection in Germany, Italy, the UK and France? Here's what you need to know.

• Germany

Ahead of the International Day of Families, Germany's Protestant and Catholic Churches have called for more support to reunite refugee families and families of those with subsidiary protection in Germany.

• Germany

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has proposed key measures to improve protection for refugees around the world. As a major player in European politics, Germany should step up its efforts, UNHCR says.

• France

After mounting pressure from rights group, France's highest court on Thursday lifted a termporary freeze on family reunification visas for spouses and children of non-European foreigners living in France. The government had imposed the freeze in March 2020 as a way to stop the spread of COVID-19.

• France
• Greece
• United Kingdom

The British government says its priority is providing sanctuary to those in dangerous conflict zones post-Brexit. Effectively, this means that unaccompanied children without relatives in the UK no longer have a safe passage to Britain, say campaigners.

• Germany

Last year, Germany granted far fewer family reunifications for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection than would have been possible by legal means. However, according to a Left Party politician, this isn't entirely the fault of the COVID-19 lockdown.

• Algeria
• France
• Morocco

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of legal foreign residents in France who received family reunification approvals have been unable to get visas for their relatives. They say the suspension of these visa applications is "discriminatory".