As shown in the EU asylum information database, several Member States apply a different family reunification regime to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection compared to refugees. Some Member States, such as Greece, Cyprus and Malta, fully exclude beneficiaries of subsidiary protection from family reunification, while others, such as Austria, Germany, Sweden and Hungary, among others, impose restrictive conditions in this regard.
In Austria, the family members of a beneficiary of subsidiary protection can only submit an application at least three years after the sponsor’s recognition. Requirements, such as sufficient income, health insurance and accommodation, are always applicable to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, with the exception of unaccompanied children.
In Germany, a law of 16 March 2018 abolished the right to family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection as of August 2018. Instead, the right to family reunification was replaced with a provision, according to which 1 000 relatives shall be granted a visa to enter Germany each month. This means that the privileged conditions applying to family reunification have effectively been abolished for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
In Sweden, people assessed as having subsidiary protection status (a 13-month permit followed by a 2-year permit if protection grounds remain) have very limited possibilities for family reunification. Only people having applied for asylum after 24 November 2015 have a right to family reunification in exceptional cases, when denial of family reunification would breach Sweden’s international obligations.
In Hungary, no preferential treatment is applied to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and they hardly ever have the means to fulfil the strict material conditions for family reunification.
Eurostat data on first permits issued for family reunification with a beneficiary of protection status are generally very scarce; for several Member States they are not available at all. Nevertheless, some Member States do report on the decisions regarding first permits issued, although it needs to be taken into account that they all grant beneficiaries of subsidiary protection the right to family reunification under similar conditions as those applicable to refugees. Figure 2 below shows first permits issued for family reunification to a beneficiary of protection status in three Member States.
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