(Late) submission of new asylum motives during the appeal before first instance courts and the requirement of a full and ex nunc judicial examination of Article 46(3) RAPD

On 4 October 2017 the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State (AJD) referred preliminary questions to the Court of Justice about the judicial review in asylum cases. The AJD wants to know whether asylum motives (reasons for international protection) which are first mentioned during the appeal phase should be taken into account by…

The withdrawal of the residence permits of family members on the basis of fraud committed by the sponsor

This project concerns preliminary questions which were referred to the Court of Justice by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State (AJD) on 20 September 2017. The case concerned of a family, of which the father had obtained a residence permit in order to work in the Netherlands. The mother and son had obtained a residence permit for…

The ‘bewijsnood’ policy of the Dutch immigration service: A correct interpretation of the Family Reunification Directive or an unlawful procedural hurdle?

This expert opinion is about Eritrean asylum status holders in the Netherlands, who try to be reunited with their family members left behind. An asylum status holder can apply for reunification with his family left abroad, within three months following the decision granting his or her asylum status. One of the conditions for family reunification is…

The relevant date for considering the age of unaccompanied minor refugees for the purpose of family reunification

In January 2017 the Migration Law Clinic finalised an expert opinion in the context of a preliminary question of the district court of Amsterdam of 26 October 2016. The question concerns the right to family reunification of persons who were an unaccompanied minor at the moment of their asylum application but adults at the moment their asylum status…