Author
There is no difference between refugees and subsidiary protection beneficiaries in relation to the criteria and conditions for family reunification.
Eligible family members
Article 2(j) of the Asylum Act defines family members of the beneficiary of refugee status or subsidiary protection, to the extent that the family is in the country of origin at the date of the asylum application made by the sponsor, as:
- Spouse;
- Minor unmarried children of the beneficiary or the spouse, with the condition that they are unmarried, regardless of whether they are born in the marriage or out of wedlock or adopted in accordance with the national law of the country of origin.
The law does not set out any waiting period before a beneficiary of international protection may apply for family reunification. The law does not prescribe any deadline for applying for family reunification. The beneficiary of international protection in Romania may apply for asylum for their family members as long as they are not on the territory of Romania.[1] Beneficiaries of international protection are also not required to prove the existence of income, accommodation or health insurance for family reunification.
They only need to prove the family relationship with the family member or the fact that the marriage was concluded before entering the territory of Romania.[2] In practice, if the beneficiary of international protection does not have the financial means to pay for the translation of necessary documents to prove family ties, NGOs might help them in covering the costs of translation. In this case, the beneficiary has to wait until they receive their residence permit, as the terms of the project funded by the national AMIF program clearly state that costs of such translations may be covered only if the person holds a residence permit.
Family reunification procedure
Family reunification applications are processed by every Regional Centre.
According to the law, once the application has been submitted, the beneficiary shall also present original documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, identity card) to prove family ties with the family members or, in the absence of these documents, any other documents proving the status of family member.[3]
To obtain additional data and information on family ties and to clarify other relevant aspects of the asylum application lodged for family members, IGI-DAI must conduct an interview with the beneficiary of international protection.[4] In 2023, interviews took place with Somali nationals.[5] In 2024, the authorised or trusted interpreters were used for the interviews.[6]
If the beneficiary of international protection does not present to IGI-DAI sufficient documents showing their family relationship with the family member in whose name the application is made, where originals are in the possession of the family member who is in a third country, IGI-DAI must communicate to the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the list of the necessary documents.[7]
The General Directorate for Consular Affairs requests the diplomatic mission or the consular office of Romania from the country where the family member of the beneficiary of international protection is, to establish the existence of the documents requested by IGI-DAI. The family member must present these documents, in original, to the diplomatic mission or consular office of Romania.[8] The documents shall be sent in copy, with the mention “according to the original”, through the General Directorate for Consular Affairs, to IGI-DAI by the diplomatic mission or consular office of Romania from the country where the family member is present.[9]
Cases of family reunification in 2024 per regional centre
Statistics for 2024 were provided by IGI-DAI, however not desegregated on each reception centre. The total number of family reunification applications made in 2024 were 295, from which 96 were admitted by IGI-DAI.[10]
Specific procedure for unaccompanied children
The Asylum Act provides for a family reunification procedure for unaccompanied children, with specific requirements. The family reunification for unaccompanied minors, beneficiaries of international protection, shall be done with respect to their best interests.[11] The procedure may be triggered ex officio by IGI-DAI. In this case the consent of the legal representative and/or the unaccompanied child is also required.[12] In all cases, the unaccompanied child’s views will be taken into account and given due weight.[13]
If the unaccompanied child’s family has been traced, the case officer analyses the possibility and the conditions for carrying out family reunification and issues a reasoned decision in this respect.[14]The decision provided may be challenged under the same conditions as a decision delivered by IGI-DAI in the Regular Procedure.[15]
IGI-DAI shall take, as soon as possible, the necessary measures to trace the unaccompanied child’s family, while protecting their best interests.[16] The unaccompanied child’s opinion on the tracing of their family is taken into account and given the due importance, in relation to their age and maturity.[17]
The data and information collected for the purpose of family tracing are processed in accordance with the principle of confidentiality, especially when the life or physical integrity of a child or their close family who have remained in the country of origin is endangered.[18]
In Galaţi, it was reported in 2022 that applications made by an unaccompanied minor are assessed slowly. There was a case of a child who applied for family reunification in July 2022 and as of February 2023 she still had not received a decision. According to the director the procedure is initiated by the legal representative jointly with the NGO representative.
In 2023, in the case of 2 unaccompanied minors, family reunification requests were approved and their mothers arrived in Romania. There was also a case where the request for family reunification was approved and this positive decision was communicated to the legal representative, but the unaccompanied child BIP was unaware until he requested legal support from JRS Romania. Moreover, in cases of unaccompanied minors, NGOs assist children and their parents for the visa appointments, not the legal representatives. For instance, in the two successful cases mentioned above, the mothers were illiterate and thus could not do the procedure on their own. Support for obtaining visa appointments was offered in many more cases.[19]
It was noted that IOM Romania and LADO/ ASSOC are of the opinion that an unaccompanied minor who attains the age of majority during the asylum procedure does not retain their right to family reunification,[20] contrary to the judgment of the CJEU in Case C-550/16 A and S v Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie of 2018.
With regard to 2023, the CNRR[21] flagged a series of issues concerning unaccompanied minors. In 2024, according to JRS Romania, the situation concerning the asylum procedure for unaccompanied minors remained largely unchanged. So although the number of asylum applications, including those submitted by unaccompanied minors, was lower compared to previous years, the procedural challenges persisted. The examination of asylum claims from unaccompanied minors continued to be marked by delays and inconsistencies, with some cases being prioritised while others faced prolonged processing times or insufficient procedural safeguards. These difficulties were often linked to the functioning of the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC), whose representatives—appointed as legal guardians—frequently lacked specialised training and were responsible for an excessive number of cases, sometimes managing over 100 to 200 minors at the same time. This situation negatively affected the quality of representation and the effective protection of unaccompanied minors’ rights during the asylum process.[22] At Regional Centre Timisoara there were situations where the asylum applications of unaccompanied minors were not analysed swiftly. In the case of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, communication between them and the legal representatives appointed by the DGASPC is not constant and tends to be limited to the measures and activities necessary for the asylum procedure. According to the information available to CNRR, the unaccompanied minors accommodated in the regional centres in Timisoara, Giurgiu, Şomcuta Mare and Rădăuţi either have no contact with the legal representative or there is a very limited contact, and the only counselling they receive is from NGOs. The times when minors have contact with the legal representative appointed by the DGSPC are when the IGI conducts interviews in the administrative phase of the asylum procedure, or at court, when the legal representatives are required by law to be present. At the centre in Galati, a slightly more favourable situation could be observed in terms of communication between the legal representative and the unaccompanied minors, who showed a greater interest in the situation of minors, both legally and socially/culturally.[23]
In 2024, Save the Children assisted a total of 17 children in submitting family reunification applications with a beneficiary of international protection: 8 in Timișoara, 7 in Maramureș, and 2 in Bucharest.[24]
This has an important impact on the family reunification procedure. In the case of unaccompanied minors, Art. 72 from the Law 122/2006 on the asylum procedure in Romania states that IGI has the competence to start the procedure for the family reunification of unaccompanied minors. The Order No 119/20643/2023 on the conditions of appointment, role, tasks and requirements of education, training and professional experience for persons appointed as representatives for unaccompanied foreign minors applying for or granted a form of international protection[25] indicates that the legal representative needs to initiate steps for the immediate identification of the minor’s family and verifying the possibility of reunification with them. However, in practice, the CNRR is not aware of any ex officio proceedings made by the legal representatives, finding that there is limited proactive behaviour of the legal representatives accompanied by ignorance of the law in some cases. Thus, legal representatives call on the services of NGOs that are active in the field of asylum and refugee assistance.
Time limits and duration
The law prescribes that the family reunification procedure must be completed as soon as possible, not exceeding 9 months from the date the application was made. If further checks are required, the 9-month period may be extended by up to 6 months.[26]
IGI-DAI stated they have no statistics regarding the average duration of the procedure.[27] According to JRS Romania, a family reunification case involving a family from Cameroon extended over 12 months. Although the authorities officially approved the reunification request in September 2024, the children—six minors, only represented by their 16-year-old sister—were able to arrive in Romania and reunite with their mother and younger brother only in late January 2025. The absence of the father further complicated the procedure, particularly in identifying an airline company willing to accept the minors travelling alone. Such delays can arise from various factors, depending on the specific circumstances of each case. However, in practice, it is common for family reunification procedures to last more than nine months before the family is effectively reunited.[28]
In 2022, IGI-DAI reported a total of 395 applications for family reunification (102 Syria, 223 Somalia, 25 Afghanistan, 10 Pakistan, 9 Palestine, 8 Iraq, 5 stateless, 4 Yemen, 3 Ukraine, 2 Sudan, 2 Bangladesh, 2 Iran), of which 166 were admitted and 3 dismissed and the rest (226) were still pending at the end of 2022.[29] In 2023, IGI-DAI reported a total of 245 applications for family reunification, of which 192 admitted and 53 rejected (countries of origin were not indicated).[30] In 2024, the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI-DAI) registered a total of 295 family reunification applications submitted by beneficiaries of international protection. Of these, 96 applications were approved, while 199 were rejected. Although the nationality of applicants was recorded in the SIMS database, detailed information regarding the countries of origin was not made publicly available.[31]
[1] Article 71(1) Asylum Act.
[2] ibid. Article 71(3).
[3] Article 30(1) Asylum Decree.
[4] ibid. Article 30(2).
[5] Practice observed by JRS Romania, April 2024.
[6] ibid. February 2025.
[7] Article 30(3) Asylum Decree.
[8] Article 30(4) Asylum Decree.
[9] ibid. Article 30(5).
[10] Information provided by IGI-DAI, January 2025
[11] Article 72(1) Asylum Act.
[12] ibid. Article 72(2).
[13] ibid.
[14] ibid. Article 72(3).
[15] ibid. Article 72(4).
[16] ibid. Article 73(1).
[17] ibid. Article 73(2).
[18] ibid. Article 73(3).
[19] Practice based observation by JRS Romania, April 2024.
[20] Information provided by IOM Romania, 19 February 2022 and Information provided by LADO/ASSOC, 3 February 2022.
[21] Information provided by CNRR, 16 January 2024.
[22] Information provided by JRS Romania, February 2025.
[23] Information provided by CNRR, 16 January 2024.
[24] Information provided by Save the Children, March 2025.
[25] Art 21 (3) Order No 119/20643/2023 on the conditions of appointment, role, tasks and requirements of education, training and professional experience for persons appointed as representatives for unaccompanied foreign minors applying for or granted a form of international protection, available in Romanian here.
[26] Article 31(4) Asylum Decree.
[27] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 18 January 2024.
[28] Information provided by JRS Romania, February 2025.
[29] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 February 2023.
[30] ibid. 18 January 2024.
[31] ibid. 23 January 2025.