By decision of 21 May 2019, the State Secretary for Justice and Security rejected the application lodged by an Eritrean national to grant a provisional residence permit in the context of family reunification with the father of her minor child and husband. To substantiate her identity and the alleged family relationship, she submitted a registration card, a baptism certificate and a church marriage certificate. The State Secretary rejected the application as the foreign national has not made plausible her identity and the family relationship with the sponsor and considered that the documents submitted did not constitute sufficient evidence.

On 9 November 2020, the District Court of the Hague rejected appeal against this decision. The Council of State upheld the further appeal lodged by the woman and held that in cases concerning family reunification of refugees, the State Secretary for Justice and Security must assess the available evidence in a wholistic way, take into account all relevant elements in the case and, duly substantiated, assess whether the foreign national should be provided the benefit of the doubt. In cases of family reunification of refugees involving Eritrean foreign nationals, the State Secretary must also take into account the limited availability of documents in Eritrea. For example, the State Secretary may not, in principle, hold the absence of birth certificates against the foreign national.