Germany’s coalition government approved measures to restrict family reunification for migrants and delay citizenship access on Wednesday, May 28th, Reuters reports.
The move is part of a slow shift in migration policy under Chancellor Friedrich Merz who, however, has walked back on most of his pledges made during the election campaign before the parliamentary elections in February this year.
The cabinet agreed to a two-year suspension of the right for migrants who do not qualify for full refugee status, so called “subsidiary protection” holders, to bring their children and spouses to Germany. The draft law justification says the measure aims to “to relieve pressure on Germany’s reception and integration systems” and provides an “appropriate means for quickly relieving burden on municipalities.”
The CDU/CSU-SPD government also eliminated the possiblity of “fast-track” naturalization after three years of residency, extending the minimum waiting period for citizenship to five years.
