Euroopa Liidu Kohus
13.03.2019
Facts
The applicant A and her daughter are beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in the Netherlands. A lodged, on behalf of E, an application for family reunification. She submitted a statement from the Eritrean Liberation Front, according to which she is E’s aunt and his guardian since the death of his biological parents. The application was rejected based on the fact that no official documentary evidence had been provided to substantiate the family relationship between E and A, the sole document was issued in an unauthorised way. Also, no plausible explanation had been given for the impossibility of providing official documentary evidence, since Eritrea issues documents of that kind. The application was rejected without an interview with E or with A.
Questions referred to the CJEU by the national court
- Does the CJEU have jurisdiction to answer questions on the interpretation of provisions concerning the right of residence of family members of a person with subsidiary protection status?
- Does Article 11(2) of Directive 2003/86/EC preclude the rejection of a refugee’s application for family reunification solely because of the fact that the refugee has not provided any official documentary evidence of the family relationship, or does it apply only if that refugee has given a plausible explanation for the lack of such evidence?
Court’s ruling
The Court first confirmed its jurisdiction over the interpretation in this matter. Concerning the second question, the Court ruled that a Member State is not allowed to reject applications for family reunification solely on the ground that the sponsor has not provided official documentary evidence of the death of the minor’s biological parents and that she has an actual family relationship with him. Furthermore, the explanation given by the sponsor to justify her inability to provide such evidence cannot be deemed implausible by the authorities solely on the basis of the general information available about the country of origin, without taking into consideration the specific circumstances of the sponsor and the minor and the particular difficulties they have encountered before and after fleeing their country of origin.