Belgian Constitutional Court temporarily suspends tougher family reunification rules

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - Belgium's Constitutional Court temporarily suspended stricter family reunification rules that have been in effect since last summer, citing concerns that the measures could inflict serious harm on affected families, local media reported on Thursday.

The court's decision specifically addresses the case of a Yemeni man holding subsidiary protection status in Belgium, who has been unable to bring his wife and young child from Yemen under the tightened regulations, according to broadcaster VRT.

The court noted that prolonging the separation could have a lasting negative impact on the family, particularly on the 1-year-old child's relationship with his father.

The reform, introduced last summer by Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, had imposed stricter conditions on migrants seeking to bring family members to Belgium.

The new rules eliminated access to more favorable European regulations that previously applied to family reunification, making it significantly harder for certain families to join their relatives.

Two families challenged the new measures before the Constitutional Court, requesting their suspension or annulment, arguing that the rules unjustly differentiate between relatives who arrive in Belgium with the primary migrant and those who seek to join them later, creating unequal treatment and violating principles of fairness.

Under the revised regulations, migrants must now wait two years from the date they are granted residence before applying for family reunification.

In addition, the minimum income threshold required to sponsor family members was increased.

The Constitutional Court also raised several constitutional questions about the reform and referred five preliminary questions to the European Court of Justice.

The court stated that it will only issue a final ruling once it receives answers from the European court, leaving the stricter rules temporarily suspended.

In its interim ruling, the Constitutional Court emphasized that the stricter regulations threaten to cause "serious and irreparable harm" to the petitioning family.

The court highlighted that the Yemeni man has been separated from his wife and child for more than a year and a half, and that the prolonged separation, especially in a country facing a severe humanitarian crisis, could have lasting adverse effects on the family's well-being.