Sayonara, Parental Reunion? A Twist in the Tale for Ex-Refugees in Germany
Can a refugee, who has undergone the naturalization process, obtain visas for his parents to join him?
In a shocking rulement, the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg has declared that the parents of a refugee who has been naturalized in Germany no longer hold a claim for family reunification. This leap from a local administrative court has ignited a fresh debate, setting the stage for a higher court appeal.
Once a child refugee reaches adulthood and gains German citizenship, the claims for family reunification wither under the EU Directive on family reunification, according to OVG. This ruling overturns an earlier decision by an unnamed administrative court which favored the family of a young man who arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2015. Now a German citizen, his parents' visa application for family reunification was rejected by the German government, citing the lapse of his refugee status upon his naturalization.
The family, undeterred, took their fight to the court. An administrative court deemed it appropriate to grant the visas, adhering to the practical effect of EU law that enshrines family reunification rights irrespective of naturalization. This ruling, however, was challenged, and the OVG has now reversed the precedent, creating a powder keg situation.
The OVG declared that EU citizenship, acquired with German citizenship, invalidates the European Family Reunification Directive. Consequently, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, permitting family reunification even after the age of majority for refugees who made their asylum applications as minors, no longer holds water. The OVG felt it inappropriate to translate these principles to reunification with a (now) German citizen, justifying their decision with the belief that it could no longer be applicable. An appeal has been allowed to proceed at the Federal Administrative Court.
Source: ntv.de, jwu/AFP
- Immigration
- Asylum seekers
- Naturalization
- Courts
- Judgments
- Family Reunification
- German Politics
- EU Laws
- Berlin
Background:A young refugee, who migrated to Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2015, was granted asylum status but later naturalized. Since then, his parents attempted to secure family reunification visas, but their application was denied on the grounds that his refugee status had lapsed upon naturalization. Frustrated by the decision, the family took their case to court. An earlier ruling by an administrative court backed the family, asserting that EU law necessitated the family reunification right to persist even through naturalization. Deviated from this precedent, the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg declared that with the acquisition of German citizenship and consequently EU citizenship, the European Family Reunification Directive no longer held relevance. In light of this ruling, the European Court of Justice's jurisprudence pertaining to family reunification, despite an asylum application being made as a minor, ceased to be applicable.
- The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg's ruling has sparked a dispute over the application of the European Family Reunification Directive in cases where a refugee, previously a minor, has later naturalized as a German citizen, challenging the principles established by the European Court of Justice.
- The decision of the OVG, nullifying the family reunification rights for the parents of a now-German citizen who was a refugee as a minor, could potentially bring significant changes to the employment policy and community policy regarding migration and family reunification in the context of German politics and EU laws.
