One year after the introduction of family reunifications for refugees who have been given subsidiary protection in Germany, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called for the German government to also recognize siblings as family members that could become eligible for reunification.
Germany has allowed thousands of people related to refugees with asylum status to join them. The government agreed to change the rules on family reunification for some refugees last year.
Unaccompanied minor refugees and migrants in Greece are at risk of violence and abuse and often live in catastrophic conditions, a new report by the Germany-based organization "Equal Rights Beyond Borders" finds.
While the processing of family reunification applications for those with subsidiary protection in Germany seems to finally be on track to meet the government's goal, the allocation of 1,000 slots per month is more or less exhausted for the first half of this year. Last year, the German government missed its target of processed applications, but left-over slots apparently won’t roll over into this year.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has set up call centers along popular migrant routes in West Africa, allowing migrants to phone home to their families for free. The two-minute calls help the migrants keep in touch with family members who can often go months on end without any news from their loved ones.
One in three foreigners seeking to join a spouse in Germany is unable to do so because they fail to pass a basic language test.
The number of people entering Germany to join family members who have received temporary or 'subsidiary' protection status has reached its planned target of 1,000 per month. But critics are still calling for the cap to be lifted altogether.
More and more unaccompanied and separated children are trying to join their parents in Europe. But the laws and the criteria for family reunification are getting tougher in many countries, the International Social Services Switzerland (ISS) says.
For refugees with subsidiary protection in Germany, the number of family reunification applications processed in 2018 was considerably lower than the goal set by the government. The foreign ministry is currently assessing whether it can roll over the leftover contingent of 1,740 cases into 2019.
A Swedish court has ruled that the suspension of family unifications, under a provisional Swedish law, violates the right to family unity and the best interest of minors who are granted subsidiary protection.
A Somalian mother and her six-year-old daughter were reunited after three years apart and now live together in Cyprus, thanks to efforts by the UN Migration Agency International Organization for Migration (IOM), which made the family reunification possible.
Media reports have accused Germany of disregarding a ruling from the EU's top court on the rights of unaccompanied minors to be joined by their families. The key point is the minor's age during the asylum process.