Family reunification Afghanistan

Humanitarian visas excluded

The Swiss embassy in Kabul has been evacuated, which means that humanitarian visas can no longer be obtained locally for family members in Afghanistan. In order to obtain such a visa, it would therefore be necessary to travel to a neighboring country and submit the visa application to the Swiss representation there. However, as the departure from Afghanistan means that the person leaving the country is no longer at risk, the requirement of a specific threat also ceases to apply. This would result in the visa being refused. Accordingly, applications from Afghanistan are not possible and from other countries (after fleeing Afghanistan) would not be approved.

Family reunification as a last resort

Of the approximately 20,000 Afghans in Switzerland, around 2,800 are recognized refugees. They are entitled to family reunification. A further 11,500 people have provisional admission status(figures according to Blick article from August 19, 2021). In the case of these persons, the asylum application was rejected due to a lack of personal persecution, as civil war is not considered grounds for asylum. However, repatriation is ruled out for these people as their return to Afghanistan is unreasonable. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has also already announced that it will temporarily suspend returns to Afghanistan from August 11, 2021 in view of the dramatically worsening situation. No new expulsions are ordered either – the only exceptions are serious offenders.

Waiting period reduced

Pursuant to Article 85 paragraph 7 FNIA, temporarily admitted persons may have their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 18 join them in Switzerland and be included in the temporary admission at the earliest three years after the order for temporary admission has been issued. However, this waiting period will have to be revised downwards in accordance with the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice of July 9, 2021. According to this ruling, states may stipulate a maximum waiting period of two years for family reunification for persons with temporary protection status. The current waiting period of three years within the meaning of Article 85 paragraph 7 AIG thus violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights according to new case law.

In addition to the new waiting period of two years, the following cumulative requirements must be met:

• Intention to live together in a needs-based apartment;
• The family united in Switzerland does not receive social assistance, i.e. the family’s living expenses are covered;
• No receipt of supplementary benefits by the person to be reunited or no receipt of such benefits as a result of the reunification; and
• Registration for a language support program (if the person moving to Germany is not a child or does not already speak the national language spoken at the place of residence).

If the requirements for family reunification are met, family members residing in Afghanistan should leave the crisis areas immediately and await the application for family reunification in Switzerland in a safe foreign country. It is to be hoped that the cantonal migration authorities will apply their discretion to family reunification applications generously and, in particular, that the new waiting period of two instead of three years will be implemented quickly.