According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice, an unaccompanied minor recognized as a refugee has the right to family reunification with his parents, even if he has come of age during the procedure. The judges in Luxembourg were faced with a case from Austria.
In their ruling, the judges further stated that the right to family reunification should not depend on the speed of processing the application. The application cannot therefore be rejected on the grounds that the refugee is not a minor at the time of the decision on this application. The Syrian asylum seeker came to Austria as a minor.
The Vienna Administrative Court also turned to the ECJ on another issue. The question was whether the adult sister of the asylum seeker, who is now an adult and needs care, also has a right of residence in Austria if it is recognized that the caring parents have this right.
Adult sister dependent on care
According to Tuesday’s ruling, family reunification must exceptionally extend to an adult sister if she needs the continued support of her parents due to a serious illness. Otherwise, the refugee would de facto be denied his right to family reunification with his parents. This right should not be dependent on the requirement that the refugee minor or his parents have housing, health insurance and sufficient income for themselves and their sister.
Now the Austrian court must rule, but adhere to the legal advice of the ECJ.
Source: Krone
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