An applicant born in El Salvador attempted to submit an application for international protection in Italy on 12 December 2022, for herself and her minor daughter, accompanied by the child’s passport and birth certificate. The Questura of Rome postponed the appointment for the formalisation of the application, and notified the woman that the parentage relationship was not sufficiently demonstrated and requested documents and/or certificates translated and legalised if in another language or to undergo a DNA test at her own expense, and to submit photos of the child.

While the appointment for the formalisation of the application for the daughter was further postponed due to the delay on the translation of the birth certificate, the applicant obtained a temporary residence permit on 17 January 2023.
The applicant appealed before the Tribunal of Rome, claiming access to the asylum procedure for the daughter and formalization of the international protection application for the child, arguing that the absence of a residence permit for the daughter led to a violation of her fundamental rights, as well as access to education and healthcare. The applicant also complained of infringement of Article 2 of Legislative Decree 25/2008 and of the recast Asylum Procedures Directive, due to the failure to formalise the application for international protection of a minor made by the mother, claiming to have presented adequate evidence on their parentage relationship. The applicant produced, in addition to the certificate of birth certified on 9 January 2023, other documentation such as the certificate of enrolment in primary school where the woman was noted as the parent exercising parental responsibility for the daughter, the compulsory vaccination form, which also indicated the mother’s name, and the passport of the minor issued by the country of origin.

The court upheld the appeal, ordering the Questura of Rome to formalize the request for international protection not only for the applicant but also for the daughter. The court noted that the authorities’ failure to give a provisional residence permit led to a lack of protection of the interests of the child, as recognized by the ECtHR Üner v The Netherlands (No 46410/99, 18 October 2006) and in light of Article 8 of ECHR.

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