Background:

Ireland is currently conducting a review of their family reunification provisions for non-EEA nationals, currently set out in the Policy Document on non-EEA Family Reunification. With this ad hoc query, EMN Ireland seeks to analyse the approach taken by EMN Member and Observer countries in relation to applications for family reunification from third-country national workers, in particular, the approach taken to the level of resources and the quality of accommodation required by those applying for family reunification, as well as the possible obligation to provide for medical insurance in the context of such applications.

Furthermore, the ad hoc query aimed at updating previously available information resources (such as the 2016 EMN Study on Family Reunification in the EU plus Norway) and complementing others, such as AHQ 2023.44 from Finland on Income thresholds for employment and AHQ 2023.50 from France on legal residence periods for family reunification. The scope of the query was limited to third-country national workers who are the sponsors of the family reunification and who hold (1) a residence permit for low and medium-skilled workers (excluding seasonal workers) or (2) a residence permit for highly-skilled workers, including Blue Card.

Respondents:

24 EMN Member Countries (including BE) provided a public answer to this ad hoc query.

Findings:

A preliminary analysis of the results of the ad hoc query shows that:

• Most responding countries (BE, BU, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, IE, IT, LU, NL, PT, SI) confirmed that they set a specific reference income threshold to be met by third-country national workers resident in their country (sponsors) in order to approve applications for family reunification. Other countries (including CY, CZ, HU, LT, PL, SB, SE, and SK) answered that they do not set such threshold for the family reunification application. For example, LV reported that proof of sufficient financial means shall be submitted but that this proof can be submitted by either a sponsor or a family member itself. LV does not impose any income requirements on the sponsor either if sufficient financial means can be proven by other means. For the countries that impose a threshold, the calculation method differs from country to country, as well as the financial resources that are taken into account to calculate the income.

• Most responding countries (BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, EL, FR, HU, IT, LT, LU, LV, NL, PL, PT, SB, SE, SI and SK) further indicated that no difference exists in the calculation of the reference income thresholds, according to the category of resident permit held by the third-country national worker (i.e. highly skilled worker, low and medium-skilled worker). On the other hand, many responding countries (BE, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, IE, IT, LT, LV, SI and SK) answered that such difference does exist in relation to the family member being reunited, or any increases depending on family composition (e.g. number of children).

• EMN Ireland further included some questions regarding the suitability of the accommodation that would be used to house the family. The vast majority of countries require third-country national workers (sponsors) to provide adequate accommodation as a condition to approve applications for family reunification (BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EL, ES, FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, LV, SE and SK). Some of these countries (BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, ES, IT, SE and SK) specified that they also have criteria relating to the size or composition of the accommodation, so that it meets standards suitable for the size of the family, even if some countries (such as CZ) acknowledged that it is difficult to check. Other countries (such as DE) specified that the required surface per person depended on the age of the different persons that were housed.

• Finally, the majority of countries (BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, HR, HU, IE, LT, LU, LV, SI and SK) indicated that they require medical insurance for the family member applicant(s) as a general requirement for all applicants, as a condition for approving applications for family reunification, with some countries, including IT, RS and SI, indicating that they require medical insurance for particular categories of applicants.

Please consult the compilation of answers to the ad hoc query for more details.