Excerpt:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet on Wednesday voted to resettle an additional 1,000 migrants per month, provided they are the direct relatives of refugees already living in Germany.
The issue of migrant family reunifications has been a major sticking point in parliament and has exposed deep divisions inside Merkel's governing coalition.
What does the new family reunification law grant?
Beginning August 1, the new migrant family reunification law will:
- Expand the right to family reunification to refugees living in Germany with lower-level "subsidiary" protection, a status that falls short of full asylum and doesn't grant indefinite stay.
- Grant an additional 1,000 refugees per month the right to settle in Germany, provided they have relatives with subsidiary status already living in the country.