Family reunification stopped: Federal government reacts to the integration crisis!

Family reunification stopped: Federal government reacts to the integration crisis!

Vienna, Österreich - The Austrian federal government plans to legally anchor the stop of the family reunification. This became known in the course of an expert discussion under the direction of Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and Minister of Integration Claudia Plakolm. In the past few months there has been a drastic reduction in applications for family reunification, from 2,400 in February 2024 to only 60 in February 2025. Karner emphasized that an overload of the social systems, especially in the health and education sector, could no longer be accepted and also mentioned the increasing youth crime as a worrying argument, such as vienna.at reported .

massive reduction and consequences

According to the minister, the family reunification would make the integration process easier, since many asylum entitled - a third according to current figures - could not even read and write in their own language. This means that many school beginners in Vienna are classified as extraordinary students because they do not speak German. Currently, more than 47,000 asylum persons are unemployed or in training, which makes integration more difficult, such as Puls24 reported .

The government sees the need to create legal framework conditions in order to implement this drastic stop sustainably. However, contradiction comes from different sides. Critics, such as Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz from the Asylum Coordination Austria, doubt the need for such a step, since the numbers have already dropped and the situation has relaxed. In addition, the implementation of the stop is considered legally complex, especially in view of the European Dublin Ordinance, which could potentially be suspended if an emergency is proven.

The government's decision, however, meets sharp criticism of human rights activists who fear a humanitarian crisis. Doro Blancke, a refugee helper, warned of the deteriorating conditions for women and children in refugee camps, where families could be separated from each other by this measure.