Reading Time: 2 minutesGermany’s government approved measures to restrict family reunification for migrants and delay citizenship access on Wednesday, forging ahead with a major shift in migration policy under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Subsidiary protection previously allowed 12,000 family members to join their relatives in Germany annually. The government also eliminated the “fast-track” naturalization option after three years of residency, extending the minimum waiting period for citizenship to five years. This decision overturns a regulation introduced six months ago by the three-party coalition under Social Democrat Olaf Scholz. The legislative proposals will be fast-tracked through parliament via the governing coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats, bypassing the need for referral to the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.