Family reunification: in Austria, refugees plunged into anxiety and uncertainty

Stopping family reunification is a prestigious project for Austria's new government. It is a disaster for Syrian refugees such as Gassan Alhassani.

In Austria, on Friday, 25 April, Parliament is to revise the asylum law currently in force in order to allow the suspension of the family reunification sought by the government.

Above all, the agenda items of the National Council meeting on Friday are likely to bring fierce debates – and the Vienna election also plays a role at federal level

On Friday, the National Council passed a regulation that will temporarily halt family reunification for those granted asylum and those granted subsidiary protection. Formally, it is intended that immediate family members will continue to be able to apply for entry to the respective representative authority for the purpose of filing an application for family reunification. However, the further course of the procedure will generally be halted.