Requirements for family reunification with your parents, siblings or adult children
Do you want your (foster) parents, brothers, sisters or adult children to come to the Netherlands? Then you can apply for family reunification through a law called 8 ECHR. Certain rules apply to this. On this page you can read more about these rules.
General conditions for family reunification with your family members left behind
Based on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (8 ECHR), you can apply for family reunification for certain family members. This is because Article 8 ECHR says you have the right to private and family life. For this form of family reunification, you must meet at least the 2 conditions:
You have an asylum residence permit.
Your family relationship existed before you fled to the Netherlands. This usually means that you lived together in your country of origin.
These are situations where you have a chance of family reunification under Article 8 ECHR
You are under 18 and want to be reunified with your younger siblings.
You are a parent and want to be reunified with your adult children. You can demonstrate that they are dependent on you.
You are over 18 years of age and want to be reunified with your parents. You can prove that they are dependent on you.
Applying for family reunification for other family members can be done through a different procedure
If you have an asylum residence permit, you can apply for reunification through another procedure for:
Your spouse or partner. Do you have more than 1 spouse? Then you can apply for family reunification for 1 spouse.
Your biological children, foster children or adopted children under the age of 18 who were part of the family in your country of origin. If the child's other parent is staying abroad, that parent must give permission for your child to leave for the Netherlands.