THE RIGHT TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION IN THE EU AND THE CASE-LAW IN ACCORDANCE THEREWITH 1
Esther Gómez Campelo, Marina San Martín Calvo
FAMILY REUNIFICATION: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS TO FAMILY LIFE 1
1. The protection of family life in the European Convention on Human
Rights and in the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union 2
1.1. The protection of private and family life in the European Convention on Human Rights, in accordance with the principles recognized by Article 8 of the Convention 2
1.2. The respect for private and family life in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 3
2. The Council Directive 2003/86/ec of 22 September 2003 on the right to
family reunification 5
2.1. Purpose of the Council Directive 5
2.2. Subject matter of the Directive and compared application in the
Member States 6
2.2.1. Family members to be reunified 6
2.2.2. Family members eligible for reunification 10
2.2.3. Requirements for reunification 11
2.2.4. Autonomous residence permit 15
2.2.5. Reasons for rejection 16
2.2.6. Right to Effective Judicial Protection 18
2.3. Conclusion of the Application of the Directive 18
THE CJEU CASE-LAW IN THE RIGHT TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION 20
1. Introduction 20
2. Family Reunification of minors and refugees (Article 2 (F) in relation
with Article 10 (3)(A) Directive) 21
2.1. Case C-550/16, A, S (2018) 21
3. Accreditation of stable and regular resources without recourse to the social assistance system of the Member State concerned (Article 7 (1)(C)
Directive) 22
3.1. Case C-578/08 Rhimou Chakroun (2010) 22
3.2. Case C-558/14, Mimoun Khachab (2016) 23
3.3. Joined cases C-356/11 and C-357/11 O and S v Maahanmuuttovirasto
and Maahanmuuttovirasto v L (2012) 24
4. Use of misleading information, false or falsified documents (Article 12(2)(A)
Directive) 25
4.1. Case C-557/17, I.Z (2019) 25
5. Right to entry and residence for family members of citizens of Eu (Article
3(2)(A) of Directive 2004/38 8/EC of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens
of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the
territory of the Member States and Directive 2008/86/EC) 26
5.1. Case C-83/11, Rahman and others (2012) 26
5.2. Case C-635/17, E. (2017) 27
6. Establishment by national law of the conditions relating to the granting and
duration of the autonomous residence permit (Article 15 (4) Directive) 29
6.1. Case C- 484/17, K (2018) 29
6.2. Case C-257/17, C and A (2018) 30
6.3. Case 138/13, Naime Dogan (2014) 30
7. National law requiring the sponsor and his/her spouse to have reached the
age of 21 by the date on which the application for family reunification is
lodged (Article 4(5) Directive) 31
7.1. Case C-338/13, Marjan Noorzia (2014) 31

THE RIGHT TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION UNDER SPANISH LAW AND THE CASE-LAW THEREOF 35
Esther Gómez Campelo, Marina San Martín Calvo
FAMILY REUNIFICATION UNDER SPANISH LAW FOLLOWING THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF COMMUNITY LEGISLATION
2. Family reunification in the spanish legal system 38
2.1. Conditions for the exercise of the right 39
2.2. Family members eligible for reunification 41
2.3. Required documents 44
2.4. Procedure 46
2.5. Renewal of residence permits 48
2.6. The access to work for joined family members 50
3. Family reunification under community law and its transposition into the
spanish law 50
4. Comparing the directive with the spanish law 53
4.1. Conditions for the exercise of the right 53
4.2. Family members eligible for reunification 54
4.3. Procedural questions 56
4.4. Validity of temporary residence permits granted by family reunification 56
4.5. Individual retention of the right of residence of the joined persons 56
4.6. Right of access to employment 56
5. Administrative practice of family reunification: critical aspects 57
6. Conclusions 59

THE SPANISH IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS WITH REGARD TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION: A CASE-LAW ANALYSIS 61
1. Introduction 61
2. The case-law of the Constitutional Court 65
3. The case-law of the Supreme Court 67
3.1. The case-law of the Supreme Court when the sponsor is a citizen of the
EU 68
3.2. The case-law of the Supreme Court of Spain when the applicant is
not a citizen of the EU 71
4. Conclusions 74

THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF MIGRATION POLICIES THROUGH A MULTILEVEL PERSPECTIVE 79
Giulia Tiberi
1. Introduction: family reunification as a cornerstone in international and
national policies on migration increasingly challenged in recent times by
massive migration to Europe and Italy in particular 80
2. The right to family reunification for migrants as a “prysm in 3D”: between
“multiple dimension”, “variable geometry” and “constitutional variety” 83
3. The fundamental right to family reunification for foreign citizens in the
Italian constitutional landscape 96
3.1. The background – part I: fundamental rights and progressive equality of treatment for foreign citizens in the Italian legal order 96
3.2. The background – part II: the constitutional right of asylum in the
Italian legal order and the prominent role of the “humanitarian residence permit” as a “flexible instrument” for allowing entry into and
stay within the country 102
3.3. The right to family reunification for third country nationals under the
Italian Constitution: between family unity and “issues of affection” 105
4. Contextualising the protection afforded to the right to family reunification
within the Italian legislative provisions on immigration and asylum: the
progressive restrictive trend 113
4.1. The specific provisions regarding the right to family reunification
in the “Consolidated Act on Immigration” transposing the Family
Reunification Directive 2003/86/EC 114
5. “Elsewhere, in the meanwhile …”: the protection afforded at the supranational level by the European Courts to the right to family reunification for
foreign nationals and its growing influence in the Italian legal order 116
5.1. The extended protection for the right to family reunification in the
European Court of Human Rights’ case-law: recognizing family
bonds in a wider perspective 117
5.2. The EU Court of Justice’s case-law on the right to family reunification for third country nationals within the framework of the Family
Reunification Directive in the light of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 128
6. The scope of application for family reunification of third country nationals: clarifying the entitled persons (sponsor and beneficiaries) in the Italian legal order 131
6.1. In search for clarification: which notion of “family” in the Italian
constitutional landscape, relevant for the right to family reunification of Third-Country Nationals? 133
6.1.1. From a traditional concept … 135
6.1.2. … To its gradual erosion under the influence of the European Courts case law 137
6.2. Reunification of Third-Country Nationals of same-sex partners: the
final step made by the Italian legislator recognizing “union partnerships” open also to same-sex partnerships (Law no. 76/2016) 141
6.3. Family reunification and the prohibition of polygamy 143
7. Family reunification and children: assuring the best interests of the child 144
7.1. Adopted children: family reunification of minors under the Arabic
scheme of “Kafalah” 148
8. Requirements for exercising the right to family reunification 150
9. The Italian procedure for family reunification: between legal requirements
and practical problems 152
10. Rights granted to family members reunited 155
11. Reasons for rejection or denial of renewal 156
12. Family reunification rules for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary
protection 157
13. Final remarks: the right to family reunification as a “laboratory” for the
“composite” constitutional system of adjudication of fundamental rights
among the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the ECHR and national
Constitutions? 159

THE RIGHT TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION IN THE BULGARIAN LEGAL ORDER
Sofia Razboynikova
1. Introduction 171
2. The right of asylum and international protection in the Bulgarian legal
order: a brief overview 177
3. Integration of foreign citizens 179
4. Family reunification 181
5. Definition of sponsor and family members 183
5.1. Sponsor 183
5.2. Eligible family members 184
5.3. Spouse/stable long-term partner/same-sex partner 184
5.4. Minor children 186
5.5. Adult unmarried children 186
5.6. Parents of each of the spouses 186
6. The Bulgarian procedure and requirements for family reunification 187
6.1. Marriages of convenience 190
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7. Problems related to applications for international protection lodged by
members of the same family (Article 22 LAR) 191
8. Unaccompanied minors 193
9. Impact of the ECtHR case-law on the legislation and case-law in Bulgaria 195
Conclusion 199