Family reunification: Ethiopian fate between bureaucracy and hope

Family reunification: Ethiopian fate between bureaucracy and hope

The situation surrounding family reunification for refugees in Germany remains tense. A moving example is the story of Gebre, a man from Ethiopia who lives in Bremen and is very worried about his children. They are 17 and 19 years old and live in the crisis-plagued Tigray region. Although a civil war has officially ended, fears for the safety of young people are urgently reported, according to taz.de.

Gebre has been married to a German woman since 2018 and has German citizenship. He previously lived in Italy for ten years as a recognized asylum seeker. Due to a severe disability and cognitive limitations, his situation is particularly challenging. The family contacted taz because the waiting time for visas for the children was perceived as excessively long. However, this is not uncommon in the current legal situation, which is characterized by bureaucratic hurdles.

Secure processes – a distant goal

In January 2024, the family hired a lawyer to apply for the visas and received positive news in October. However, the associated process was associated with high costs: the German embassy demanded an advance of 729.30 euros for processing, and Gebre's wife stated that she had invested a total of 1,300 euros per child, plus legal fees. Gebre traveled to Ethiopia in December to help obtain a passport, but when the application was sent to the Bremen Migration Office in April 2024, the family had not yet received visas by mid-June.

However, waiting for a visa for the family has far-reaching consequences and makes it clear that the human right to a family in Germany does not fully apply to refugees. According to BAMF, only people with asylum status or recognized refugee protection have the right to simplified family reunification, whereby the application must be submitted to the Federal Foreign Office within three months of being granted protection status.

Suspension and alternatives

The situation is particularly worrying because family reunification for those entitled to subsidiary protection has been suspended for two years since July 24, 2023. This regulation particularly affects Syrian and Afghan refugees, which leads to desperation and increasing insecurity in the affected families. In any case, many people have difficulty getting an appointment at the relevant embassies, which makes the prospect of family reunification even more difficult. As auswaertiges-amt.de reports, registrations on the waiting list and applications already submitted will remain in the current status of the procedure during the suspension, so no representative progress can be expected during this period.

The possibility of submitting hardship applications remains, but these are often not very successful and the road to a positive decision is rocky. Those affected can rely on the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which offers help as part of the family support program. Hardship applications should be submitted by email before July 26, 2025, depending on the circumstances of the individual case.

As of June 30, 2023, a total of 6,060 people entitled to subsidiary protection lived in Bremen, 81.3% of whom were Syrian nationals. The pressure on the institutions is growing, especially after only 456 residence permits have been issued since January 1, 2023 as part of family reunification with those entitled to subsidiary protection. The challenges faced by Gebre and many others are among the urgent humanitarian issues that remain a focus.