Germany Tightens Migration Rules On Family Reunification, Citizenship
Friedrich Merz, chancellor of Germany. (Photo by)
The new German coalition government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz has approved a set of measures to, among other changes, restrict family reunification for people under humanitarian protection in the country. The changes to migration policy are being brought in to, according to the government, 'relieve pressure' on the country's reception and integration infrastructure. The government has also scrapped a system under which people who showed exceptional progress integrating into German society would be offered expedited citizenship.
Chancellor Merz and his conservative CDU party were elected in February 2025 in an election dominated by the issue of immigration, particularly irregular migration and asylum. The stridently anti-immigration AfD party came in second for the first time, building on successes it had already seen in earlier state elections. Before even taking office, Merz had signaled his intention to further restrict migration policy in Germany. While this was in some part a reaction to the surge in popularity for the AfD, Merz, along with the CDU, have long been known as hardliners on immigration, despite former CDU leader and Chancellor Angela Merkel's famous 'we can do it' moment, welcoming Syrian refugees in 2015.
In the years since that famous speech migration has remained one of the top political issues in Germany, with anti-immigration parties and commentators tying the issue to security and decrying diversity initiatives in the German economy. In recent years, the previous government of Olaf Scholz, under pressure from state leaders and others, introduced various measures to 'tighten' migration policy. In 2024 the country closed large sections of its land borders and announced measures to expel people trying to cross into Germany and speed up deportations of rejected asylum seekers.
The government of Chancellor Merz, who is himself to the right on the issue of migration, is now continuing to tighten the rules on immigration, in light of a perceived 'crisis' in the country. By restricting family reunification for people in Germany under what is known as 'subsidiary protection' (a type of humanitarian protection for people who do not meet the criteria for asylum but are still regarding as needing protection), the government are trying to reduce the amount of people entering the country. Family protection is considered a right under various human rights regimes, but the government is arguing that the amount of people entering is too much for the system to cope with.
At the same time, the government has scrapped what was known as the 'fast-track' path to citizenship. Under the old rules, people who showed that they were integrating rapidly into German society, by becoming fluent in German, for instance, or taking part in various voluntary integration programs, would be offered a pathway to naturalize after just three years instead of the usual five.
Germany currently is suffering significant labor shortfalls in various sectors, owing to the effect of 'demographic change' - people aging out of the workforce. Researchers and many policymakers broadly agree that those shortfalls cannot be addressed without immigration. Subsequent governments have introduced measures to increase foreign workers, but these measure largely focus on so-called 'high-skilled' immigrants. In this light, it appears the government considers the family members of people seeking shelter are to be an easy demographic to cut down on, thereby being seen to be 'doing something' on the issue of migration, while still leaving room to allow in more 'valuable' workers.
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