Two years after the outbreak of the refugee crisis, Germany would soon be able to experience a similar refugee wave as 2015/2016. But this time on the basis of legal immigration.

According to German media, more than 230,000 visas for family members have been issued to members of the refugee family in Germany, and this number could be further increased next year.

"From January 2015 to the end of June 2017, around 230,000 visas have been approved by the world to join the family, far the most of which belongs to the citizens of Syria and Iraq," Bild writes on the internal records of the Ministry of the Interior.

Particularly noticeable is the increase in approved visa applications for Syrian citizens who have tripled this year. According to the same information, the potential number of Syrians who would soon have the right to Germany to bring members of the immediate family to 2018 could climb to 390,000.

People who had acquired refugee status in the first refugee wave were not allowed to bring in close family members in the first two years of their stay, but that deadline is slowly emerging.

The number of family-linked family visas would be even higher if there was no long waiting in the German consular offices abroad. Up to 16 months is required to file a family bond application.

According to current opinion polls conducted by INSA Institute for Bild, nearly 60 percent of Germans oppose the arrival of refugee family members who enjoy protection in Germany.

The latest data comes at a disadvantage for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is in the middle of a pre-election campaign for parliamentary elections in late September. Merkel has so far tried to keep this refuge out of the pre-election campaign.

Some media recall that Merkel, immediately after the outbreak of the refugee crisis, indicated that refugees from Syria and Iraq will have to return to their homes when the situation in their countries is normalized, as was the case in the 1990s with refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Foreigners from non-EU countries have the right to bring family members only if they have sufficient housing space available and have sufficient financial resources to support them.

Hina / Fah

http://www.priznajem.hr/novosti/njemacku-stize-novi-val-migranata-odobrili-230-000-viza/

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IZAKOVIC