EIT: Poikkeukseton kolmen vuoden odotusaika perheenyhdistämiselle tilapäisen suojelun saaneelle rikkoi EIS 8 artiklaa

Unjustified statutory three-year waiting period for family reunification of persons benefitting from subsidiary or temporary protection, not allowing individualised assessment: violation

Facts – The applicant is a Syrian national who fled the country in 2015 and entered Denmark. In Denmark, he was granted “temporary protection status” for one year under the Aliens Act (“the Act”) and his residence permit was subsequently extended for one year at a time. The Immigration Service did not find that he had fulfilled the requirements for being granted special “Convention status” or “protection status”, for which residence permits were normally granted for five years. After five months of residing in Denmark, the applicant requested family reunification with his wife and two adult children. His request was rejected because he had not been in possession of a residence permit for the last three years, as required in law, and because there were no exceptional reasons to otherwise justify family reunification. The applicant unsuccessfully appealed against the refusal to grant him family reunification with his wife up to the Supreme Court, which handed down its decision in 2016.

In 2018, having resided in Denmark for just over two years and ten months, the applicant submitted a new request for family reunification. After submitting the correct documentation, the applicant’s wife was granted a permit and entered the country.

http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=002-13335