Family Reunion

On average, policies are only halfway favourable for promoting family reunification and integration (58/100). Policies are more favourable in traditional destination countries and Northern European countries as well as some new countries of labour migration (e.g. India and Indonesia). In most countries, reunited families enjoy a secure status and basic equal rights. However, policymakers and parties often disagree when it comes to defining the concept of family and the conditions for reunion. At one end, inclusive definitions keep requirements minimal (e.g. income at or below social assistance level; no specific accommodation requirements). At the other end, many Western European countries restrict eligibility to the nuclear family and expect transnational families to live up to standards that many national families could not: high incomes, no social benefits and the ability to pass language or cultural tests. There is usually a high fee to pay and little support (e.g. Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK). Increasingly, countries make exceptions for the highly-skilled and the wealthy, but rarely for the most vulnerable (minors and beneficiaries of international protection).

Given the current political climate and increasing populist influence, transnational families face an uncertain future. Since 2014, policies have remained largely unchanged in 38 MIPEX countries (mostly new and small countries of immigration), and improved in 11. MIPEX 56 average score improved by +1 point in the last five years. Restrictions have increased in seven countries, including Belgium (-11), Turkey (-7) and the US (-9). Family reunification is increasingly politicised, and policies are mainly restricted according to numbers of applications, rather than to integration-related evidence. Improvements tend to be made based on European law and the results of court cases by transnational families.