In the commented case, a foreign national holding refugee status in Belgium had submitted applications for a residence permit for family reunification for his three minor children. His requests were rejected. The foreigner lodged an appeal directly with the Belgian judge, who ruled that his appeal was inadmissible on the grounds that his children had all come of age on the day of the delivery of the decision: also they no longer met the conditions governing family reunification. The three children appealed on points of law before the Belgian Council of State (Belgian EC), which asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) whether this interpretation contravened the provisions of Directive 2003/86 / EC and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The CJEU proceeds, in a decision of July 16, 2020, to a reminder of the objectives of Directive 2003/86 / EC. Promote family reunification and grant protection to third-country nationals, in particular minors. The CJEU specifies that under Articles 7 and 24 §2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union “in all acts relating to children, in particular those carried out by the Member States during the application of the said directive , the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration ”. Thus, the CJEU considers that the date to be retained to determine the minority is that “on which the request for entry and residence for the purposes of family reunification for minor children is submitted”. To remember : In the context of a request for family reunification, the minority of the child is assessed: On the date of presentation of the reunification request The appeal against the rejection of an application for family reunification cannot be deemed inadmissible on the sole ground that the child has come of age during the court proceedings. CJEU, July 16, 2020, aff. C-133/19 Keywords: family reunification, minor, minority, age LexCase lawyers (Paris, Lyon, Marseille) – Immigration and Immigration Law. To contact us: 01 40 20 22 22
