Austria eyes permanent limits on refugee family reunification, testing EU law

Austria’s new centrist government is planning to permanently restrict refugee family reunification rights in a move aimed at undercutting far-right support and testing the limits of EU law.

Having already suspended reunification applications for about a year — an unprecedented step in the EU — Vienna now intends to introduce a permanent quota system that could begin at zero, according to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, quoted by foreign media.

He said the system could be in place by mid-2026.

The proposed clampdown, if upheld in court, could set a precedent across Europe, where conservative governments are increasingly pressuring the European Commission to reduce migrant rights. Austria’s coalition of three centrist parties has toughened its migration stance to stem the rise of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which won the most votes in last year’s parliamentary election but failed to form a government after talks with the centre-right People’s Party collapsed.

Austria, with a population of 9 million, received 433,000 asylum applications between 2014 and 2024, a third from children. In 2024, there were 25,000 claims, including nearly 8,000 via family reunification. Karner argued that the country’s schools are overwhelmed, especially by non-German-speaking children, and cited integration problems, a teacher shortage, and rising youth crime, particularly among young Syrians, whose crime accusations rose tenfold in five years to over 1,000.

Family reunification is protected under both EU asylum law and the European Convention on Human Rights. Vienna argues it is acting on national security and public order grounds, which may justify exceptions under EU law, though human rights campaigners plan legal challenges.

A European Commission spokesperson confirmed they are in contact with Austrian authorities and are reviewing the legality of the suspension. Chancellor Christian Stocker said the freeze on reunification is just the beginning, and that Austria could go as far as suspending asylum claims entirely in a future crisis, such as during the migrant surges of 2015 or 202, a possibility laid out in the coalition agreement.

Austria has long been one of the EU’s toughest voices on migration, previously blocking Romania and Bulgaria from joining the Schengen zone and opposing Germany’s open-door policy in 2015–2016. Now, Austrian Commissioner Magnus Brunner is leading a European push to tighten asylum rules and accelerate deportations.

Six months ago, the EU tacitly approved Poland’s decision to reject asylum-seekers at its Belarus border, citing hybrid threats from Minsk and Moscow. This week, Brussels proposed legal changes to allow quicker rejection or deportation of asylum claims from those transiting through so-called safe third countries. “It shows Austria had the right instincts,” said Stocker.

By Tamilla Hasanova