What is family reunification?
The website of the Ministry of Employment defines family reunification as “a temporary residence authorization that may be granted to the relatives of foreigners residing in Spain, by virtue of the right to family reunification”.
Residence authorizations for family reunification
The General Directorate of Migrations (DGM) has published new instructions regarding the relaxation of the requirement of sufficient means for the processing of residence authorizations for family reunification.
The flexibility will be applied in cases in which family reunification of minors is requested in the following cases:
- children of the reunifying party or those of their spouse or partner, provided they are under the age of eighteen at the time of authorization or have a disability and are not objectively capable of providing for their own needs due to their state of health,
- those legally represented by the reunifying party, when they are under eighteen years of age at the time of requesting the residence authorization in their favor.
Economic means for requesting family reunification
The minimum amounts required at the time the request is made have been relaxed, as well as the outlook required for maintaining financial means during the year after the filing date.
These amounts will be weighted according to the following guidelines:
- The best interests of the minor
- The circumstances of the specific case and, in particular, the reunifying party’s relationship with the minor, their age, their physical and emotional development, the intensity of their emotional relationship with the reunifying party or the minor’s situation
- The number of members in the family unit.
The DGM thus considers it appropriate to soften the interpretation of Article 54 of the aforementioned Regulation in cases in which “in accordance with the concurring circumstances, the interest of the family and family life imply favoring the reunification of the minor (best interest) with their parents or representatives, regardless of their financial resources”.
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