Family reunification

Applying insights from newer anthropological kinship studies, this article suggests that the current Danish immigration regime is based on and legitimized by a certain kind of ‘kinship images’ that are used and reproduced in Danish public and political discourses. Since 2002, every Danish citizen applying for family reunification with foreign spouses has been met with a ‘requirement of national attachment’, which basically distinguishes within the pool of citizens between the ‘real’ and the ‘not-quite-real’ Danes. The article discusses the possibilities of ‘integration’ in the current situation where Danish legislation and public discourses tend to distinguish between Danish citizens on the basis of their family history and national attachment. The article furthermore discusses different strategies of ‘kinning’ through which the ‘not-quite-real’ can aspire to become ‘real’ Danes.

The paper critically comments on the M.S. judgment delivered on 26 March 2019 by the Court of Justice of the European Union. It is here argued that this judgment represents another piece of evidence of the influence of EU Law on the solution to the private international law
problems concerning the continuity of family status established abroad. Indeed, according to the M.S. judgment, the family status resulting from an Islamic kafala passed in Algeria (to the benefit of an Algerian child and two French spouses who had moved to the United Kingdom
for working reasons) must be recognised in the British legal system. Otherwise, the United Kingdom would violate EU Law on family reunification – which of course is highly related to the free movement of persons and thus to the European economic integration – in addition
to both the right to respect for private and family life and the best interests of the child as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The value of the M.S. judgment is also assessed against the relevant international treaty provisions and case law of
the European Court of Human Rights concerning the Islamic kafala.

In a global context characterized as much by its flows of information, ideas, people and goods as by the increasing impermeability of national borders, what are the dynamics at play in the development of intimacies and conjugal projects between Canadian women and men from the Global South? This anthropological study explores the lived experience of the romantic encounter, the development of intimacy during periods of physical co-presence and periods of separateness, marriage and the Canadian spousal reunification process from the perspective of Canadian women involved in transnational relationships with men from the Global South. It draws on the women’s narratives of their conjugal and mobility trajectories, on eighteen months of participant observation in two online support group designed for women in binational relationships, as well as on interviews with other key actors.

First, this thesis examines the romantic encounter and at the development of intimacy. It appears that for the women, the dynamics of conjugality, mobility and dwelling are all interconnected. However, they differ depending on whether the women lived in the country of her partner or the relationship developed mainly at a distance, such as when the romantic encounter occurred on the Internet or during a vacation trip. In the first case, the choice of destination and the conjugal trajectory of the women are generally the continuation of a familiarization with alterity that started early in their lives. In the second case, the women’s transnational intimacy generates a form of romantic hyper-mobility fueled by the intensity and the frequency of the visits to their husband, and by an extensive use of communication technologies. However, in both cases, the man’s mobility constraints rapidly become a limitation to the development of the relationship.

Second, this thesis explores the lived experience of the Canadian spousal reunification process. This bureaucratic process represents such a great investment on the part of the women that it becomes emotionally loaded and acquires great symbolic value, which, in turn, contributes to the reification of the women’s conjugal project. However, the legitimacy of the relationship is constantly questioned throughout the process—in forms to fill out and in interviews with immigration agents. Hence, the difficulties encountered in the reunification procedures are experienced as a set of administrative trials imposed on their relationship. Because of their first hand experience of this “economy of suspicion”, the women sponsors develop increased reflexivity about their couple relationship and form support networks where information and experiences are shared and discussed and where they question, redefine and reproduce conjugal norms.

Finally, this study demonstrates how trajectories of mobility, dwelling and conjugality are intimately connected. Canadian women’s matrimonial projects with men from the Global South propel their geographical and virtual mobility and thus reinforce their transnational habitus. However, the spousal reunification process acts as a national and a moral border. It contributes to augment the vulnerability of the women, and questions their ability (and their right) to make a legitimate matrimonial choice.

The paper is about one of the possible types of discrimination of women nowadays: the indirect acceptance of polygamy when law authorizes that one male immigrant applies for family reunification bringing several women to a host country. Although Spanish legislation doesn`t allow that as it is explained in this work, Belgian Constitutional Court permitted it in 2008.

The objective of the paper is to draw a sketch of UAE’s population and migration dynamics, using the scarce data available from the federal and emirate-level statistical bureaus. In 2010, expatriates in the UAE were estimated to number 7,316,073 persons, twenty times the 1975’s figure of 356,343. Foreign nationals thus made up 88.5 per cent of the country’s total population; most were believed to come from Asia and especially from India. In the employed population, foreign nationals accounted for an even larger share (96 per cent of the Dubai’s employed population in 2011). Non-Emiratis comprised 40 per cent of the UAE’s public sector’s workforce in 2013, but as much as 99.5 per cent of those employed in the private sector. Unlike in other GCC states, a quarter of working expatriates were in managerial posts, employed across all activities’ spectrum. Expatriates’ demographic expansion mounted during the 2000s, a period of spectacular economic growth fuelled by soaring oil prices. Since 2008’s financial downturn, however, the economy recovered and the hiring of foreign workers has resumed, stimulated by large-scale projects such as Dubai’s Expo 2020. Nonetheless, reforms in immigration policies are now undertaken, fuelled by security concerns and pressures from human rights’ protection bodies. The reality of some expatriates’ settlement is also witnessed in numbers (expatriate children aged 0-14 outnumbered Emirati
children already in 2005), while mixed marriages are acknowledged in policies: some naturalisations of children of Emirati mothers have been performed since 2011.

The objective of the paper is to draw a sketch of the population and migration dynamics of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), using the data available from federal and emirate-level statistical bureaus.
In 2016, the total population of the UAE was estimated to be 9,121,167, thirty-two times the population counted in 1971, the year the country was established. The Emirate of Fujeirah had the smallest share of foreign nationals in its total population (61 per cent) while Dubai had the largest (91 per cent). Most expatriates were from Asia and especially from India: the India-UAE corridor could be the second largest in the world, and Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani expatriates outnumbered Emirati citizens around 2015. In the employed population, foreign nationals accounted for an even larger share (96 per cent of Dubai’s employed population in 2011). In 2016, federal and local governmental bodies employee figures were as follows: 78.5 per cent Emirati and a mere 6 per cent foreign nationals. Expatriates mostly worked in the private sector (73 per cent), while nationals accounted only for 8.3 per cent. Fifty-two per cent of female expatriates were employed in the domestic sector in 2016. Unlike in other GCC states, a quarter of the working expatriates in the UAE were in managerial posts, employed in a spectrum of activities across all sectors. The number of expatriates shot up during the 2000s, a period of spectacular economic growth propelled by soaring oil prices. Since the financial downturn in 2008, however, the economy has recovered and the hiring of foreign workers is resuming, stimulated by large-scale infrastructure projects, especially in Dubai. Nonetheless, reforms in immigration policies are now being undertaken, fuelled by security concerns, pressures from human rights’ protection bodies, and the need to bolster citizens’ employment (Emiratisation) and upskill the labour force to implement a knowledge-based economy in the country.
To that end, the planned introduction of skills certification requirements for migrants by countries of destination is likely to have significant impact on the size and composition of future migration flows, migrants’ activities, and their expectations in terms of rights.

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the European protection of family, deriving from the recognition of the right to family reunification, its evolution in the relevant case-law and the achievements in this field. On the basis of family reunification, it has been possible to lay the foundation for the protection of the family as well as for the safeguard of the best interest of the child.
Family is one of the most important pillars of culture and society, that may be one of the reasons that justifies the recognition and the protection granted by several European and International legal instruments.
As known, the fundamental relevance for the life of the individual has been affirmed since 1948 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 16.3, according to which “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State” as well as in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, who defines the family as “the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community”
Such right has been reaffirmed in the following years through various instruments –that is the reason why we will emphasize that fundamental rights which are strictly linked to it are granted a “multilevel” protection- but the two leading provisions that will be scrutinized in the first chapter are contained in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights at Article 7 as well as in the European Convention on Human Rights at Article 8.
It has to be emphasized that this discipline has been built up throughout the years, due to the fact that, initially, the European Community was born for improving the Internal Market and, hence, for economic reasons.
Gradually –in the light of the need for workers to move from one Member State to another and with the creation of the European citizenship- also the person and the rights to which everyone is entitled started to be taken into account and the concept of the protection of the family began to make headway.

A crucial role is constantly played by the two Judicial Bodies that, pursuant to their respective prerogatives, have ensured a judicial protection of the aforementioned family rights at European level: the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
Thanks to their judgments, it has been possible to lay the groundwork for the adoption of a common framework on such a sensitive issue, which is represented by the enactment of Directive 2004/38 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, that amended Regulation (EEC) N. 1612/68 and repealed the previous Directives on this matter, as well as by Council Directive 2003/86 on family reunification.
This latter represents the first instrument adopted by the Council after the amendment to the TEU brought by the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty in the field of asylum and immigration and it sets out the conditions for being granted the right to family reunification for third country nationals, who legally reside in a Member State.
The analysis will mainly revolve around the children, because the safeguard of family life is even more important when there are children involved, who are more in need of care, support and protection by their parents, due to their age and development.
But why is family reunification so important? In the words of the Directive 2003/86 on family reunification, “Family reunification is a necessary way of making family life possible. It helps to create sociocultural stability facilitating the integration of third country nationals in the Member State, which also serves to promote economic and social cohesion, a fundamental Community objective stated in the Treaty ”
However, EU competence in this field is limited and Member States prefer to retain their powers in such a sensitive matter, basing their need on Article 4.2 of the Treaty on European Union, which states that “The Union shall respect the equality of Member States before the Treaties as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government. It shall respect their essential State functions, including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State, maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security. In particular, national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State.” Thus, it will be described how to deal with this matter by balancing EU competence with the Member States’ sovereignty.
Furthermore in the second chapter, through the judgments on which we will focus on, it will be showed the evolution made by the two judicial Bodies –the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights- in the field of family and, consequently, in family reunification; in fact, starting from 1980s, it will be analyzed the first Strasbourg Case regarding expulsion  that can be considered as  the first awareness by the Court of a non compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In addition, it will be showed how the Courts reasoned in deciding cases concerning long-term immigrants convicted of criminal offences and on how to balance their conduct with the right to respect for private and family life, by applying the so-called Boultif Criteria which is a sort of test that judges have to take into consideration in delivering their judgments, concerning aspects such as the nature and seriousness of the offence committed by the applicant as well as the applicant’s family situation.
Besides this assessment, it must be borne in mind that the derogations that are expressly allowed in those circumstances concern public policy, public security and public health. This means that at all times the State must strike a fair balance between the competing interests of the individual and the community as a whole.
It should be underlined that a major step forward in the recognition of the best interest of the child has been represented by four leading judgments of the Court of Justice  , which prioritized the ties that children had with EU territory instead of considering the fact that their parents were no longer entitled to remain in the host Member State.
Thus-from these judgments onward- the question that has begun to arise was whether provisions of Directive 2003/86 were lawful and in compliance with fundamental rights, as well as if the discretion left to Member States had to be narrowed or not.
Instead, the third chapter has been assigned the function of describing the Italian Legislation on this topic, by virtue of the fact that Italy preceded the adoption of the Directive on family reunification with the enactment of  Turco-Napolitano and Bossi-Fini laws and was, therefore, considered as a model for Europe. Moreover, through the analysis of the decisions held by Italian Courts, we will see whether Italy could be still considered as a model for Europe, as well as its implementation of the Directive into the domestic legal order.
Finally, the fourth chapter will dwell on the proposals raised by the European Commission to the stakeholders for a reform of Directive 2003/86. In fact, as abovementioned, it has been called into question the discretion left to the Member States on the implementation of the Directive and it has been remarked the urgency for a uniform set of rules throughout the EU territory, due to the fact that nowadays family reunification has been one of the main reasons for immigration into the EU and there is therefore the need of managing such flux of immigrants in a manner consistent with the protection of fundamental rights, notably regarding the respect for family life and the principle of the best interests of the child.

In recent years, there has been an intense debate about the concept of “biological” or “genetic citizenship.” The growing literature on this topic mostly refers to the importance of patients’ associations, disease advocacy organizations, and self-help groups that are giving rise to new forms of subjectivation and collective action. The focus is on the extension of rights, the emergence of new possibilities of participation, and the choice-enhancing options of the new genetics. However, this perspective tends to neglect the potential for exclusion and restriction of citizenship rights based on biological traits. We aim to broaden and complement the existing theoretical discussion on biological citizenship, which so far has concentrated on the medical sphere, by investigating a new empirical field. The article analyzes the use of DNA analysis for family reunification and shows that biological criteria still play an important role in decision making on citizenship rights in nation-stat...

In Canada, spousal sponsorship is one of the only possible avenues for a Canadian individual to create a home with a non-Canadian partner. For Canadian women in a relationship with a man from a southern country, the lengthy, costly and emotionally charged administrative procedures that characterize the process of sponsoring a spouse are not just formalities. They constitute a series of administrative obstacles to the reunification of the couple. This process increases the romantic idealization of the bi-national couple and contributes to the development of a traditional and mono-national matrimonial model in which women access happiness only through conjugality with a man. The right of women to choose a spouse of their choice is challenged through these bureaucratic procedures.

Au Canada, le parrainage du conjoint est l’une des seules avenues possibles pour qu’un individu canadien puisse fonder un foyer conjugal avec un partenaire non-canadien. Pour les femmes canadiennes en couple avec un homme originaire d’un pays du Sud, les procédures administratives longues, couteuses et émotionnellement chargées qui caractérisent le processus de parrainage d’un conjoint ne sont pas que de simples formalités. Elles constituent une série d’obstacles administratifs à la réunification du couple. Ce processus augmente l’idéalisation romantique du couple binational chez les femmes canadiennes et contribue à la valorisation d’un modèle matrimonial traditionnel et mono-national où les femmes n’accèdent au bonheur qu’à travers la conjugalité avec un homme. Le droit des femmes à choisir un conjoint de leur choix est remis en question à travers ces procédures bureaucratiques.

This paper analyses two dimensions of ‘waiting’ in the realm of family reunification: the policy perspective and the immigrants’ experience. First, in line with the migration management paradigm, the Canadian government has introduced various measures to reduce ‘waiting times’. We discuss changes in the family reunification programme of parents and grandparents implemented since 2011 as emblematic of these measures. Such changes are also situated within global trends that make family reunification policies more restrictive. Second, based on 19 interviews with already established immigrants who are sponsors of a parent, we analyse the experience of ‘waiting for care’. For families attempting to reunite to fill care needs, new measures may speed up reunification, but they may also mean that being together is, for many, more difficult to achieve, temporary, and precarious. We argue that the politics of ‘waiting times’ management has depoliticised the right to family reunification and institutionalised temporariness in this component of immigration policy. These repercussions of state policies significantly alter how immigrant families can provide care to their members and sustain social reproduction.

People are more than the shackles that bind them; this is the truth of Exodus narratives. During the Great Migration, seven million people traded the southern landscape for the northern Promised Land. Today, more than seven million people are imprisoned, on probation, or on parole. The continuities between slavery and imprisonment are undeniable, and segregation laws under Jim Crow nearly parallel the policies formerly imprisoned people navigate today. However, marginalization through the prison system is only part of the story, just as legalized subordination was only part of the story for black people a century ago. Scholars of religion have illuminated the uniquely urban sacred order created by southern transplants to northern meccas, and, in so doing, have shown how migration itself was a salvific event, not just the result of socioeconomic push-pull factors. Our narrative of religion in a time of mass criminalization must take this consciously liberatory turn: to refuse to yoke black life to the stranglehold of punitive punishment and to dwell instead in the complexities of being and being-together inside our prison nation, where currently and formerly imprisoned people and their families are building their own Promised Lands.

Nelle seguenti pagine si discuterà della conquista dell'Unione europea (UE) maggiormente apprezzata dai cittadini degli Stati membri, ovvero della libertà garantita dal diritto comunitario di circolare e soggiornare all'interno dei confini dell'Unione. Questo diritto che si configura come sintesi esemplare dell'evoluzione del progetto, dapprima economico e poi politico, della UE è oggi al centro di controversie e tensioni che ne rendono ancor più indispensabile un'esposizione semplice e comprensibile. Seppur in maniera concisa, il proposito di questo articolo è proprio quello di offrire una spiegazione e un commento ai princìpi e alle norme che ne regolano la fruizione, con riferimento a sentenze che rimandano alla loro applicazione concreta.

This article discusses the most cherished right granted by European Union citizenship, the right of nationals of Member States to live, work and study anywhere in the territory of the Union. This right presents itself as the embodiment of the evolution of the European project, first economic and later political in nature. At the same time, freedom of movement is at the centre of controversies and tensions that call for a simple and comprehensive account of the scope of this right. The goal of this short article is to offer an explanation and commentary of the principles and norms that regulate the enjoyment of the right of free movement, also providing references to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice with the purpose of illustrating its practical application.

Domestic workers are mainly women, are disproportionately from ethnic minorities and / or international migrants, and are vulnerable to mistreatment, often receiving inadequate protection from labour legislation. This article addresses ways in which the conditions faced by migrant domestic workers can prevent their enjoyment of the right to private and family life. It argues that the focus on this right is illuminating as it allows for the incorporation of issues that are not usually within the remit of labour law into the discussion of working rights, such as access to family reunification, as well as providing for a different perspective on the question of limits on working time – a core labour right which is often denied to domestic workers. These issues are analysed by addressing a case study each from Latin America and Europe, namely Chile and the UK. The article considers impediments to realising the right to private and family life stemming both from the literal border – the operation of immigration controls and visa conditions – and from the figurative border which exists between domestic work and other types of work, reflected in the conflation of domestic workers with family members and stemming from the public / private sphere divide.

The EU citizenship is unique animal parasitizing on the national citizenship. Yet it has nearly gained self-standing status through the jurisprudence of the CJEU. However, the fact that the EU citizenship has been incrementally carved out on the case-by-case basis is responsible for its patchwork character which causes serious problems. Firstly, Member States have little understanding for the concept of the EU citizenship extended by the judge-made law since it has compromised their sovereignty in such areas as social and immigration policy. Secondly, reverse discrimination, pervading malaise of the EU citizenship, presents a situation where the static EU citizens are discriminated against dynamic one´s and even against Third Country Nationals. Hence the EU citizenship is perceived as a concept benefitting only small minority to the detriment of majority which is the reason why the EU citizenship failed to attain broad allegiance. Unpopular among Member States, lacking the support of ordinary citizens, the EU citizenship needs impetus in order to imbue the EU integration with legitimacy, instead of becoming reason of its erosion.

[EN] A considerable part of the refugees that came to Germany in 2015 and 2016 were unaccompanied minors. This led to a number of challenges, both for the children and young refugees and for the responsible authorities, organisations, schools and companies who deal with them. This study examines how different aspects of the life of unaccompanied minors are regulated and how these legal provisions impact on their situation. The study focuses on care, accommodation and assistance, integration into the school system and the labour market, return, disappearance of unaccompanied minors and family reunification. It also provides the most relevant statistics on unaccompanied minors in Germany. This Working Paper was published as part of the European Migration Network (EMN). A European Synthesis Report is available.

Can political violence of national division and war be overcome through family bonds and reunion? This paper addresses this question through an examination of two Korean siblings-a North Korean sister and a South Korean brother separated in the aftermath of the Korean War, 1950-1953. Over half a century later, the sister escaped North Korea wishing to contact and reunite with her long-lost brother, and asked for my help. In my efforts to make their reunion possible, I encountered thorny issues about desire, separation, and kinship. I argue that the affective glow of national reunification and reconciliation symbolized by inter-Korean family reunions obscure the deeper impediments to overcoming war's legacies and its enduring violence.

The concept of family reunification is well established in contemporary migration laws, at both the national and international levels. Focusing on international and EU law, in this article I argue that while existing provisions on family reunification are formulated in neutral language, from the gender point of view the enforcement of these substantively neutral rules may, in certain situations, result in discrimination, or at least bring about negative consequences, with respect to women in cases both when they are the sponsors of migration or the bearers of consequences of male migration. Following presentation of the international legal framework on family reunification and the relevant international jurisprudence, I deal with some rather common aspects relating to the personal scope of family reunification regulations, covering only the issues of who can, and who cannot, join their family member(s)/sponsor(s) in a foreign country (i.e. the unmarried minor rule, excluded forms of marriages – polygamous and forced marriages - and age limits). Some procedural aspects of family reunification are then dealt with (waiting periods, delays in proceedings, and end of a relationship as a cause for termination of residence rights.). These issues are examined with respect to concerns that they may cause indirect, or even direct, gender discrimination in some cases, while in others they may affect women more negatively than men.

Keywords: Directive 2003/86/EC, family reunification, gender discrimination, international law, women’s rights

The reach of the law of the European Union (EU) is strictly limited. It only applies to the situations falling within its scope. Until very recently, in the case of EU citizens, in order to fall within this scope, a so-called “cross-border situation” was required – a demonstration that their situation had a Union dimension and was not confined to one of the Member States. This is no longer always the case. Under the new approach, it is the intensity of the Member States’ interference with the rights of EU citizens, and not the borders, which trigger the application of EU law. The consequences of the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, including the Rottmann, Ruiz Zambrano, and McCarthy cases, which brought about this change, are truly groundbreaking. The new legal paradigm amounts to a tectonic shift in the border dividing the material scopes of the EU and the Member States’ legal orders, with clear implications for the status of EU citizenship and the sovereignty of the Member States. This article provides a first analysis of this fundamental development, discussing the reasons for, and the limits of the new approach as well as anticipating its consequences for a number of key elements of EU law, including citizenship, territory and the principle of equality. We are witnessing the creation of a real European citizenship by the Court.

Resumo Em Portugal, 2703 crianças em acolhimento perspetivam regressar para a família biológica. A investigação combina as perspetivas de crianças, pais e profissionais sobre reunificação familiar, identificando necessidades, comportamentos, procedimentos e atitudes. A amostra foi composta por 45 participantes, distribuídos em 6 grupos focais e 8 entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados revelam que os sentimentos vivenciados pelas famílias durante o processo, a consciência dos problemas e da medida afetam a colaboração com os profissionais. Em complementaridade, os resultados apontam para a necessidade de intervenções socioeducativas durante o processo e de suporte específico após a saída do acolhimento. Abstract In Portugal, 2703 children in Residential Care are expected to return to their biological families. The research combines the perspectives of children, parents and professionals about family reunification, identifying their needs, behaviour, procedures and attitudes. The sample was composed of 45 participants, distributed in 6 focus groups and 8 semi-structured interviews. Results showed that feelings experienced by families during the process and the awareness about the problems and the measure affect their collaboration with professionals. Moreover, results also point to the need of socio-educative interventions during the process and specific support after leaving care.

Усиление миграционных потоков в 2010–2011 гг. и 2015–2016 гг. заставило европейские государства пересмотреть их интеграционную политику. Не осталась в стороне от общего тренда и Швеция. Движение от мультикультурных идей к универсалистским, начатое в 1990-е гг., приобретает все большую актуальность. В настоящей статье автор анализирует изменения в шведской политике интеграции, фокусируясь на рассмотрении политики воссоединения семей, школьной политике и принимаемых программах интеграции. Невзирая на то, что швед-ская модель интеграции далека от классической модели гражданской интеграции, после увеличившегося притока иммигрантов и беженцев она стала трансформироваться. Введение временных видов на жительство вместо постоянных, ужесточение требований к воссоединению семей, обязательное участие для ряда категорий мигрантов в программах интеграции, изменения в языковой политике свидетельствуют о «гражданском повороте». Государство, таким образом, стремится использовать селективный подход с целью отбора лиц, которые будут впоследствии успешно «включены» в общество, что не в последнюю очередь обусловлено шведской моделью welfare state. Претворение в жизнь положений концепции государства всеобщего благоденствия требует высокого уровня соци-альной сплоченности, добиться которого можно путем достижения равенства прав, обязанностей и возможностей независимо от этнического происхождения. Автор заключает, что «гражданский поворот» в интеграционной политике Швеции является не только ответом на трудно контролируемые миграционные потоки, но и вытекает из самой природы государства всеобщего благоденствия.

‘We are starting our life twice’: the use of the ‘Surinder Singh route’ from the UK

Following the introduction of stricter immigration rules by the British government in July 2012, in particular the minimum income rules and related documentary requirements for non-EEA spouses and partners, as well as harsh regulations regarding adult dependent relatives, many British citizens wishing to be reunited with their family members have sought alternative legal routes. In particular they have used what is known as the ‘Surinder Singh route’ (SS route), originally based on a  European Court of Justice ruling in the case of R v Immigration Appeal Tribunal and Surinder Singh ex parte Secretary of State for the Home Department, [1992] 3 CMLR 358 EC. Through  exercising their  free movement rights by living in another Member State, they can utilise rights of family reunification under EU law  and after having established a period of residence and family life of at least three months in that MS, they can with their non-EU family members to the UK.

Little is known about those who have used the SS route or are contemplating doing so  and the ways that moving their residence impacts on their lives. The paper will firstly summarise the legal background and secondly  explore the rationale for using the SS route and the  outcomes of those who have who have already moved to another EU country and expectations of those  who are considering doing so. The empirical data largely draw on a small scale study of nineteen families  with UK citizens overwhelmingly having at least an undergraduate degree and with spouses from a wide range of countries, including 4 from the US.

The aim of the paper is to describe the main patterns and challenges of Ukrainian migration to Greece with reference to the consequences of the recent economic and social crisis in the host country on the migrants’ lives. Specifically, the paper discusses the impact of the legal framework related to migra-tion in four different periods. Historically, Greece was one of the first destinations attracting Ukraini-an migrants, but the migration flows have strongly decreased during the last years and a tendency for return migration has emerged. Among the key features is the fact that the migrant’s experience is deeply influenced and shaped by Greece’s policy response to migration. The paper will therefore spe-cifically examine the impact of the legislative measures on the mobility of the migrants.

Dans son arrêt récent du 11 mars 2021, rendu dans l’affaire M.A. contre la Belgique, la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne a affirmé que l’article 5 de la directive retour, lu en combinaison avec l’article 24 de la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne, impose aux États membres de tenir dûment compte de l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant avant d’adopter une décision de retour, même lorsque le destinataire de cette décision n’est pas le mineur lui-même, mais le père de celui-ci. Ainsi, la Cour souligne l’importance du principe de l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant et la nécessité d’une interprétation large de ce principe.

De cette façon, la Cour a érigé la prise en compte de l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant comme un principe de fond absolu lorsqu’une décision d’éloignement affecte un enfant, soit directement (voy. arrêt T.Q), soit indirectement (voy. arrêt M.A.).

Une telle évolution s’inscrit dans la jurisprudence de la Cour relative au regroupement familial au titre de l’article 20 T.FU.E. Dans ce contexte, la Cour a progressivement accordé plus de poids au principe de l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant et au droit à la vie familiale afin de déterminer si un droit de séjour dérivé doit être accordé au parent ressortissant d’un Etat tiers d’un enfant citoyen de l'UE

The aim of this study is to reveal the tendencies of the most typical form of abuse linked to free movement of EU citizens and their family members, namely marriages of convenience, through the lenses of Hungarian practice. Hoping that knowing more about these tendencies and getting more prepared for fighting against such abuses can help to achieve even more complete free movement, the tools of this fight, especially the most recent Handbook of the EU are introduced and analysed in the study.

Family enhancement is an approach to child protection that has been recommended by numerous reviews of child welfare practice. A recent example emerged from a comprehensive review of the child welfare system in Manitoba, Canada. The inquiry recommended that family enhancement be utilised in all child welfare cases, and be funded at levels reasonable enough to allow comprehensive support for families seeking to re-unify. Agency staff told the inquiry, however, that current resources permitted only limited service, for insufficient time, and for only a small percentage of families in care. An Indigenous agency in Manitoba, Metis Child, Family, and Community Services, has devised an innovative approach in which parents were fostered along with their children. This allows the agency to make a wide range of resources available to families on a 24-hour basis for 8-to-12-month periods. The costs do not appear to exceed those of regular fostering of children. This Live-In Family Enhancement (LIFE) program was extensively evaluated in 2015. The findings show a significant set of benefits to families such as stronger attachment between parents and children, improved parenting skills for caregivers, strengthened social support for families, newly acquired household management skills, successful completion of employment training, and significantly improved trust in social workers and the agency. Many of these factors are correlated, in research, with increased rates of family reunification. The paper documents these findings, and recommends that this approach be expanded for use in prevention as well as reunification.

Résumé

Cet article se propose de réfléchir sur comment l’expérience migratoire transforme les configurations et les fonctions des familles à partir de deux études réalisées dans la région de Naples (Italie). La première regarde les femmes des pays de l’Europe centre-orientale qui s’emploient comme badanti (assistantes de vie) ou collaboratrici domestiche (femmes de ménage) ; leurs migrations remettent en question les ajustements existant entre appartenance de genre et rapports familiaux dans les sociétés d’origine et d’arrivée. La deuxième étude considère le processus de stabilisation de jeunes étrangers ou d’origine étrangère qui arrivent par suite d’un regroupement familial  ; leurs parcours remettent en question la manière à travers laquelle les liens familiaux sont incorporés dans des configurations migratoires mondialisées.

Abstract

Gender and Generational Dynamics in Transnational Families

On the basis of two studies conducted in the area of Naples, Italy, this paper discusses how the migration experience transforms family configurations and functions. The first study concerns women from east central European countries who work as badanti (personal caregivers) or collaboratrici domestiche (cleaning women); their migrations raise questions about how homeland gender roles and family relationships are adjusted in the host country. The second study investigates the stabilization process of young foreigners, or young people of foreign origin, who arrive as a result of a family reunification; their experiences suggest we need to rethink the role ascribed to family ties in global migration models.