Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
08/12/2022
SE: The Migration Court of Appeal ruled that if an application for family reunification is made before the sponsor turns 18, they will be considered a minor when the application is examined.

ECLI
Input Provided By
EUAA Information and Analysis Sector (IAS)
Other Source/Information
Type
Decision
Original Documents
Relevant Legislative Provisions
National law only (in case there is no reference to EU law/ECHR)
Reference
Sweden, Migration Court of Appeal [Migrationsöverdomstolen] , Applicants v Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), MIG 2022:1, UM2869-22, 08 December 2022. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.
Permanent link to the case
https://caselaw.euaa.europa.eu/pages/viewcaselaw.aspx?CaseLawID=3201
Case history
Other information
Abstract

In November 2019, A and B applied for a residence and work permit based on their connection to their 16-year old daughter and respectively sister, C, who had been granted refugee status in June 2018. The Swedish Migration Agency rejected A's and B's applications in August 2021, on the grounds that C was an adult, as she had reached the age of 18.


The applicants appealed against this decision before the Migration Court, which rejected their request. Regarding the assessment of C's age, the court stated that, in a judgment dated 12 April 2018 (A and S, C-550/16, EU:C:2018:248), the CJEU set a three-month deadline for applications for family reunification and that, although the circumstances at hand were different in that C was still a minor when the application was filed, there was no reason to depart from that respective deadline. Thus, the court supported the Swedish Migration Agency's decision to assess the case based on the sponsor's age at the time of examination.


Subsequently, A and B appealed against this judgment, arguing, based on CJEU jurisprudence, that the assessment of their applications should be conducted based on the age of their sponsor at the time they were filed. At this stage, the Migration Agency adopted a new legal position and also considered that the case should be referred back to the agency for a new examination, in which case C should be considered a child.


The Migration Court of Appeal stated that the CJEU's three-month deadline for family reunification applications applied when the sponsor turned 18 during the asylum procedure. However, it was established that C was under the age of 18 when she was granted protection status and when A and B applied for a residence permit due to their connection to her. Thus, the Migration Court of Appeal concluded that the relevant age of the sponsor was that at the time of application, and that, in this case, C must be considered a child when assessing A's and B's applications. Hence, the court annulled the Migration Court's judgment and the Migration Agency's decision.


Country of Decision
Sweden
Court Name
SE: Migration Court of Appeal [Migrationsöverdomstolen]
Case Number
MIG 2022:1, UM2869-22
Date of Decision
08/12/2022
Country of Origin
Keywords
Family Reunification
Source
Domstol.se