A migration researcher presented new numbers of how many refugee family members would come to Germany should the suspension of family reunification end in March 2018 as planned. He came out in support of reinstating reunification for families separated by conflict, calling it a humanitarian provision.
Herbert Brücker, a senior migrant researcher for the Federal Employment Agency, told German public television broadcaster ARD that reinstating family reunification in Germany would bring an additional 50,000 to 60,000 people to the country.
Brücker's team determined the number of potential new migrants and refugees after they conducted a survey among refugees. Most of the tens of thousands of people who would come to Germany would be the children and spouses of Syrians who fled the war and found refuge in Germany. He said that if family reunification were to be implemented once more, the families would likely stay in Germany for many years. Even if the war ends, persecution would continue, he said.
"It is a great loss when families are permanently separated," Brücker told ARD.
Many Syrian refugees who applied for asylum after 2016 were granted subsidiary protection. This kind of protection is given to people who were not granted refugee or asylum status but would face a significant risk to their lives should they be deported. They receive a one-year residency permit and limited access to the job market.
Family reunification was suspended for refugees with subsidiary protection in 2016 as Germany faced an unprecedented influx of incoming migrants and refugees. That suspension expires on March 16, 2018.
On the negotiating table
Family reunification has played a big part in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's attempts to form a government following last year's elections. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) are currently holding coalition talks. The governing union of CDU and its sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) are aiming to extend the suspension for family reunification after March.
A maximum intake of 1,000 people per month becoming eligible to join relatives with subsidiary protection in Germany under certain "humanitarian reasons" was so far agreed upon by the three parties. It is unclear, however, if this will be approved by German Parliament.