Euroopa Liidu Kohus
12.04.2018
Facts
The daughter of the applicants A and S arrived in the Netherlands as an unaccompanied minor and applied for asylum. She was granted asylum after she had turned 18. She then submitted an application for temporary residence permits for her parents and her three minor brothers for the purposes of family reunification. The application was rejected on the ground that, at the date on which it was submitted, the daughter of A and S had reached the age of majority. A and S lodged an action against that refusal, arguing that it is the date on which the person entered the Member State that is decisive.
Questions referred to the CJEU by the national court
In matters relating to family reunification for refugees, does the term “unaccompanied minor” also cover an asylum-seeker who arrives in the Member State as a minor, but turns 18 during the asylum procedure?
Court’s ruling
The Court ruled that an unaccompanied minor, who is below the age of 18 at the time of their entry into the Member State and when submitting the asylum application, but who, in the course of the asylum procedure, attains the age of majority and is thereafter granted refugee status, must be regarded as a ‘minor’ for the purposes of family reunification. The Court explained that, taking into account the fact that the duration of an asylum procedure may be significant, any other interpretation would have the consequence of making it entirely unforeseeable for an unaccompanied minor to know whether they will be entitled to the right to family reunification with their parents, which might undermine legal certainty.