In a late-night sitting on 20 December, the National Council’s Main Committee voted to extend §36 of the Asylum Act, keeping refugee family-reunification rights on ice for another twelve months, until 2 July 2026. The controversial measure, first imposed in July 2025, suspends the right of recognised refugees and subsidiary-protection holders to bring spouses and minor children to Austria.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told MPs that municipalities are struggling with “housing shortages and classroom overcrowding” after record asylum inflows in 2022-24. A 48-page ministry study claims that admitting a further 12,000 relatives in 2026 would stretch local services beyond capacity. The governing ÖVP-SPÖ-NEOS coalition backed the extension; the far-right FPÖ supported it while calling for faster deportations of rejected applicants, and the Greens and liberal-left parties voted against.
Human-rights NGOs accuse Vienna of breaching EU Directive 2003/86/EC, which obliges member states to facilitate family unity. They warn that refugees already in Austria face prolonged separation from partners and children, exacerbating mental-health issues and hampering integration. Business groups have stayed largely silent, but relocation providers note that the freeze adds uncertainty for employers hiring talent who previously sought refuge in Austria.
![Austria prolongs freeze on refugee family-reunification until July 2026]()
Practically, mobility teams working with refugees on staff should plan for at least one more year without the family-reunification route. Alternatives—such as humanitarian family visas—are discretionary and processed slowly. Companies may need to expand employee-assistance programmes to cover counselling and, where feasible, sponsor visits under Schengen short-stay visas, mindful that these do not confer work or study rights.
One practical shortcut for both employers and affected families is to use specialised visa-processing services. VisaHQ, for instance, offers real-time guidance and application handling for Austrian entry visas—including Schengen short-stay options that companies might use to facilitate temporary family visits—through its dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/). The platform’s digital document checks, courier support and status alerts can help reduce processing errors and save HR teams valuable time while the reunification ban remains in force.
The Asylum Act allows two further yearly renewals, meaning the suspension could legally run through mid-2028. HR leaders should monitor parliamentary debates each spring and maintain close contact with legal counsel to update affected employees swiftly.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told MPs that municipalities are struggling with “housing shortages and classroom overcrowding” after record asylum inflows in 2022-24. A 48-page ministry study claims that admitting a further 12,000 relatives in 2026 would stretch local services beyond capacity. The governing ÖVP-SPÖ-NEOS coalition backed the extension; the far-right FPÖ supported it while calling for faster deportations of rejected applicants, and the Greens and liberal-left parties voted against.
Human-rights NGOs accuse Vienna of breaching EU Directive 2003/86/EC, which obliges member states to facilitate family unity. They warn that refugees already in Austria face prolonged separation from partners and children, exacerbating mental-health issues and hampering integration. Business groups have stayed largely silent, but relocation providers note that the freeze adds uncertainty for employers hiring talent who previously sought refuge in Austria.
Practically, mobility teams working with refugees on staff should plan for at least one more year without the family-reunification route. Alternatives—such as humanitarian family visas—are discretionary and processed slowly. Companies may need to expand employee-assistance programmes to cover counselling and, where feasible, sponsor visits under Schengen short-stay visas, mindful that these do not confer work or study rights.
One practical shortcut for both employers and affected families is to use specialised visa-processing services. VisaHQ, for instance, offers real-time guidance and application handling for Austrian entry visas—including Schengen short-stay options that companies might use to facilitate temporary family visits—through its dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/). The platform’s digital document checks, courier support and status alerts can help reduce processing errors and save HR teams valuable time while the reunification ban remains in force.
The Asylum Act allows two further yearly renewals, meaning the suspension could legally run through mid-2028. HR leaders should monitor parliamentary debates each spring and maintain close contact with legal counsel to update affected employees swiftly.
