A quick guide to EU family Reunification

Family reunification is a recognized reason for the immigration of family members to a country where one or more family member already resides. If a person receives a permanent residence permit as a refugee or as an individual who needs subsidiary protection, then you may have the right to invite your family to that country. Family reunification is a step towards the settlement of refugees to live with their families.

The person who wants to invite his family to the country he is residing should have enough income resources to provide financial support to the family and a standard house to live in. However, these requirements are not applicable in all cases.

Family reunification for refugees

The possibilities for your family to live with you in Sweden if you have a temporary residence as a refugee or as a person needing subsidiary protection is governed by different things. Some of the important points regarding residence permits are listed below:

• Valid residence permit: You need to have a valid residence permit for the country at the time you apply for family reunification. This means, if your residence permit has expired and you have applied for its extension, then the Swedish Migration Agency will first decide that whether you have the right to continue the residence permit or not It isn’t enough for you to have the title of a temporary resident or having a previous valid residence permit.
• Family’s application: Once the Migration Agency has decided that whether your residence permit will be extended or not, the application of your family will be reviewed. The credentials of your family will be reviewed and checked by the authorities that all the information and documents provided are original or not.
• Permanent residence permit: If you have a temporary residence permit as a refugee or have asked for the subsidiary protection and there are fair chances for you to get the permanent residence permit in the future, then you will have the right to family reunification. As a starting point, the protection status granted to you depicts that you will get the permanent residence permit. But if the authorities have some doubt that you will not be able to keep your protection status, then the chances for you to get the permanent residence permit are rare.

Once the above-mentioned procedure is done and you have a fair chance for receiving the permanent residency status in Sweden, then the application of your family is checked for further requirements.

Who can move with you?

Only your immediate family members can move with you if you have a temporary residence permit. Your immediate family members mean your spouse, children under the age of 18, registered partners, and cohabiting partners. Other family members and children who are above 18 are not eligible to move to Sweden or the EU on your behalf while you have a temporary residence permit. If you are under the age of 18, then your parents are counted as your immediate family members.

In case you have a permanent residence permit or you are planning to get married to a person in Sweden, then that person can apply on your behalf for the residence permit. Persons other than your immediate family members like parents or siblings can also move to Sweden with you.

It should be noted that your family members will get the residence permit for the duration your temporary residence permit is valid in a particular country. This means if your permit is going to expire in the next five months, then your family will receive the residence permit for only that five months.