24.10.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 408/3

(Joined Cases C-273/20 and C-355/20) (*)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Area of freedom, security and justice - Immigration policy - Right to family reunification - Directive 2003/86/EC - Article 10(3)(a) - Article 16(1)(b) - Concept of ‘minor child’ - Concept of ‘real family relationship’ - Adult applying for family reunification with a minor who has obtained refugee status - Relevant date for assessing status as a minor)

(2022/C 408/03)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Defendants: SW (C-273/20), BL, BC (C-355/20)

Joined parties: Stadt Darmstadt (C-273/20), Stadt Chemnitz (C-355/20)

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 16(1)(a) of Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification must be interpreted as meaning that, in the case of family reunification of parents with an unaccompanied minor refugee, pursuant to Article 10(3)(a) of that directive, read in conjunction with Article 2(f) thereof, the fact that that refugee is still a minor on the date of the decision on the application for entry and residence for the purpose of family reunification submitted by the sponsor’s parents does not constitute a ‘condition’, within the meaning of Article 16(1)(a), failure to comply with which allows the Member States to reject such an application. Furthermore, those provisions, read in the light of Article 13(2) of that directive, must be interpreted as precluding national legislation under which, in such a situation, the right of residence of the parents concerned comes to an end as soon as the child reaches the age of majority.

2.Article 16(1)(b) of Directive 2003/86 must be interpreted as meaning that, in order to find that there is a real family relationship, within the meaning of that provision, in the case of family reunification of a parent with a minor child who has been granted refugee status, where that child attained his or her majority before the decision on the application for entry and residence for the purpose of family reunification, submitted by that parent, was adopted, a first-degree relationship in the direct ascending line is not sufficient on its own. However, it is not necessary for the child sponsor and the parent concerned to cohabit in a single household or to live under the same roof in order for that parent to qualify for family reunification. Occasional visits, in so far as they are possible, and regular contact of any kind may be sufficient to consider that those persons are reconstructing personal and emotional relationships and to establish the existence of a real family relationship. Furthermore, nor can the child sponsor and the parent concerned be required to support each other financially.

(*)

Language of the case: German

ECLI:EU:C:2022:140