How can you reunite with your family after having been granted international protection?
You have the right to reunite with your close family members if you are granted international protection.
Definition of family
The definition of family is very limited according to the Family Reunification Directive and the Asylum Law. As a beneficiary of international protection, your family members are considered to be:
- your spouse
- your unmarried minor child, including an adopted child
- an unmarried and minor child under the custody of you or your spouse
- your or your spouse’s unmarried adult child if the child is unable to cope independently due to their state of health or disability
- a parent or grandparent maintained by you or your spouse if the country of origin does not provide support resulting from other family ties
As an unaccompanied minor beneficiary of international protection, your family members are considered to be:
- your parents
- your guardian or other family member if you have no parents or the parents cannot be traced
important For family reunification, it is necessary for family ties to have existed in the country of origin. This means that if you want to reunite with your spouse, the marriage needs to have been contracted before entry into Latvia. Only officially married partners with the relevant documentation have the right to family reunification in Latvia.
Process of family reunification
If your family members arrived in Latvia with you, the Office of Migration and Citizenship Affairs will issue them with the residence permits of a family member after granting you international protection.
If your family is still in your country of origin, and you are a refugee, you may submit an application for family reunification to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs right away. If you have been granted a subsidiary protection, you must first live in Latvia for at least two years. To start reunification process you must visit the Office of Migration and Citizenship Affairs and hand in the application for the receipt of residence permit for your family members where your state that you wish to reunite with your family members.
Meanwhile the relatives living abroad must apply to the diplomatic or consular representative office of Latvia and submit the documents for the request of a residence permit together with copies of identity documents and copies of birth or marriage certificates. If the documents are all right, the family member will get a visa. After receiving the visa, the family member can travel to Latvia. There they will receive the same type of residence permit that you have. Upon arrival in Latvia, the family member can also submit an application for international protection if they have grounds for that, but it is not mandatory.
What human rights violation may there be?
If your application for family reunification is unjustifiably denied, it could violate your right to respect for family life. A decision of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs to deny residence permit to your family members may be appealed to the Administrative Court. Read about the appeal procedure.