Council of State opposes Cabinet in latest blow to family reunification pause

The Council of State was the latest court to rule against the Cabinet's plans to pause family reunification for refugees. Ahead of the appeal that will be argued in court in January, the Cabinet asked the Council of State for an injunction against several recent court rulings. Those prevented the Cabinet in specific cases from extending the amount of time it could take to issue visas to family members of recognized refugees who want to travel to the Netherlands. The Council of State denied the Cabinet's request on Thursday.

"In both cases, the preliminary relief judge found the interest of the family members who will travel in connection with family reunification outweighs the interest" of the state secretary who does not want to implement the court rulings, the Council of State said on Thursday. The rulings by the preliminary relief judge mean that the family members of two Turkish refugee status holders can immediately obtain permission to enter the Netherlands for family reunification.

In recent weeks, several courts have struck down the Cabinet's travel restriction, partly because it conflicts with many national agreements and international treaties. State Secretary Eric van der Burg for asylum policy appealed against those rulings, and applied to the Council of State for a preliminary injunction that would halt implementation of the rulings from the courts of Amsterdam and Middelburg. This would have suspended the lower courts' decisions until a ruling is issued on appeal.

However, the requests from the state secretary were rejected on the basis of a weighing of interests, the Council of State said. Van der Burg said in a response, "We have taken note of the ruling and the IND will follow up on this." The IND is the Dutch immigration office.

Several courts have all ruled that the government's restriction on travel in connection with family reunification is illegal and that the family members of the refugee status holders who had gone to court for this must be allowed to come to the Netherlands.

At the end of August, the Cabinet decided to impose a restriction on travel in connection with family reunification. This applied to family members of recognized refugees. A visa may be issued after approval no more than fifteen months following submission of the application for family reunification.

If the refugee status holder acquires a home for his or her relatives traveling to the Netherlands, the visa can be issued earlier. The measure applies up to and including 2023 and, according to the Cabinet, is necessary to relieve the pressure on the overburdened asylum reception system.

In January, the Council of State will hear the Cabinet's appeal. A final decision is expected a few weeks later, after which appeal will no longer be possible.