EMN study: ‘Family reunification of migrants from non-EU/EFTA countries: State of play of law and practice’

EMN study on how EU Member States and EMN Observer Countries apply the European Family Reunification Directive.

Study period – 2017 up to and including February 2025
Participating EU Member States – Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Cyprus (CY), Czechia (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), the Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK)
Participating EMN Observer Countries – Serbia (RS)

Background and scope

• The European rules on family reunification are laid down in the Family Reunification Directive (2003/86/EC). This study reviews how family reunification policy has developed in the EU Member States and how countries have shaped this policy.
• The study maps legal and policy developments on family reunification from 2017 up to and including February 2025.
• For countries that do not apply the Family Reunification Directive, such as Ireland and Serbia, the study provides a comparative perspective.
   

EMN publications

• EMN study, ‘Family reunification of third-country nationals: State of play of law and practice’, 6 October 2025
• EMN inform (summary), ‘Family reunification of third-country nationals: State of play of law and practice’, 6 October 2026
• EMN flash (highlights), ‘Family reunification of third-country nationals: State of play of law and practice’, 6 October 2026

EMN Netherlands publications

• EMN Netherlands benchmark (Dutch), ‘Nareis voor statushouders: een vergelijking met Europese landen in het licht van de voorgestelde asielwetten’, 7 October 2025
• News item, ‘Proposed asylum laws aim to restrict family reunification, stricter than most European countries’, 7 October 2025
• EMN Netherlands contribution to the EMN study: 'National contribution of the Netherlands to the EMN Study 'Family reunification of third-country nationals: State of play of law and practice', 7 October 2025