The Dutch government intends to restrict family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection (hereafter family reunification) through two new asylum laws. EMN research shows that the proposed measures would, in practice, introduce stricter rules for family reunification in the Netherlands than in most EU Member States.”
EMN study, EMN NL benchmark | Family reunification
Proposed asylum laws aim to restrict family reunification, stricter than most European countries
7 October 2025
On 7 October, the Senate discussed two asylum laws: the Emergency Asylum Measures Act and the Act on the Introduction of a Two-Status System. The government aims to restrict family reunification by introducing a two-status system, including strict additional conditions for family reunification for B-status permit holders.
Many EU Member States have already long operated with two types of asylum permits, granting applicants a specific residence status:
- A-status (refugee status): for people fleeing due to personal persecution, for example on grounds of religion or political conviction
- B-status (subsidiary protection): for people at risk due to war or violence in their country
The Netherlands joins a minority of EU Member States
Under a two-status system, the Netherlands could impose stricter conditions on B-status holders regarding family reunification. According to the EU Family Reunification Directive, Member States are not obliged to grant B-status holders the same rights as A-status holders, although the European Commission encourages this. Many Member States have followed that recommendation. In 14 countries (BG, ES, HR, FR, IE, IT, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, SI, SK; RS), A- and B-status holders currently enjoy the same rights. (Since completion of the EMN study, Belgium and Germany have significantly restricted the right to family reunification.)
Stricter conditions (means, housing, waiting periods)
The government plans to require B-status holders to have sufficient means of subsistence for family reunification. At present, in a majority of European countries there is no income requirement. Austria, Finland and Sweden are exceptions. Sweden notes that assessing the income requirement creates a heavy administrative burden. Because of temporary employment contracts and unclear housing situations, additional information is often needed in Sweden, making the process time-consuming.
The government also wants B-status holders to have adequate housing. Austria, Sweden and more recently Belgium already have a housing requirement. Experience in Sweden and Austria shows that, due to growing housing shortages and rising rental prices, meeting this condition is difficult in practice.
Finally, the government also intends to introduce a two-year waiting period. B-status holders would need to wait two years after obtaining their asylum status before qualifying for family reunification. Finland, Latvia and Austria currently apply a waiting period. In Austria, where the period is three years, critics have pointed to the impact on the right to family reunification for minors who may reach adulthood during the waiting period.
Strict definition of the nuclear family
In addition to introducing a two-status system with additional family reunification conditions for B-status holders, the draft laws also stipulate that all people with an asylum permit may only bring members of their nuclear family to the Netherlands. This includes the spouse, children under 18 years of age, and parents of unaccompanied minors (UAMs), as well as brothers or sisters of UAMs (under specific conditions). Unmarried partners, adult children, and foster children would no longer qualify for family reunification.
Seven other countries (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France [not for family reunification], Lithuania, Latvia) restrict family reunification to the nuclear family. Of these, only Latvia applies the same strict definition that the Dutch government envisions. In the remaining countries, there are exceptions for registered partners and same-sex partners.
It is noteworthy that France, in regular family reunification cases, requires marriage, while under family reunification both registered partnerships and unregistered relationships are recognised under certain conditions.
Consequences for same-sex partners
Married same-sex partners would retain their right to family reunification under the proposed asylum laws. However, the Council of State has warned that the measure could still have a ‘discriminatory’ effect, for example where same-sex marriage is not possible in the country of origin.
Same-sex partners generally have the right to family reunification in almost all EU Member States. In Cyprus, marriage is formally required for both regular family reunification and asylum-related family reunification. However, an exception is made for same-sex partners, for whom a registered partnership suffices. A similar exception for registered same-sex partners exists in the Czech Republic and Italy.
*Participating countries: Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Cyprus (CY), Czech Republic (CZ), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), Croatia (HR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK); Serbia (RS)
