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Family Reunification in EU and Denmark - A Mess and how it affects families · Diplomacy and International Relations

• 0:00
  Welcome to the deep dive and a very warm welcome specifically
• 0:04
  to diplomacy and International Relations by Bash and Freeburg.
• 0:07
  Great to be diving in. Absolutely.
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  You've definitely landed in the right place if you're looking
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  to, well, really get under the surface of some complex topics
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  shaping our world. Stuff that matters.
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  That's the goal. Cut through the noise.
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  Exactly. Offer you a shortcut to being
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  genuinely well informed. We sift through the sources,
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  pull out the key bits, maybe even find a surprising factor
• 0:28
  too. And hopefully keep it engaging.
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  We try. Today we're tackling a really
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  crucial topic, family reunification for refugees in
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  Europe. Hugely important, it touches on
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  international relations, humanitarian policy.
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  Yeah, just politics too, right? Yeah, certainly relevant for
• 0:45
  listeners interested in Danish politics.
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  For example, you asked us to delve into this and honestly,
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  the UNHCR excerpts we've got are fascinating.
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  And challenging. It's not straightforward.
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  Not at all. It's about the policies, yes,
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  but also the real people, the families behind those policies
• 1:00
  trying to find safety, rebuild their lives.
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  The human impact is immense. Before we really jump in though,
• 1:06
  just a quick note for you listening you can subscribe to
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  Plus, you get access to extra episodes, digging even deeper
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  And links right there in the description.
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  OK, so let's start unpacking this family reunification.
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  When you hear that phrase, you probably think, well, family.
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  That's simple, right? And we all know what a family
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  is. You'd think so intuitively,
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  yeah. But the sources, the UNHCR
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  material, makes it really clear that for refugees in Europe, the
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  definition of family is, well, it's complicated.
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  It's actually a major sticking point.
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  It really is. Yeah.
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  That definition, or rather the lack of a universally applied 1,
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  is probably the first big hurdle.
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  So what's the fundamental constraint here?
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  What's the starting point for how family gets defined legally
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  in this whole process? Well, it's fascinating and
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  honestly quite problematic. The core legal piece is the EU's
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  family reunification directive, the FRD.
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  Right, the EU law meant to set common rules.
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  Exactly, it's meant to harmonize how non EU citizens legally
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  living in an EU country can bring family members over.
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  But, and this is the big but. The implementation varies.
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  Hugely across the EU Member States and also those EU plus
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  countries like Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein that
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  apply similar rules. It's all over the place, so.
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  One directive, but not one approach.
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  That sounds like a recipe for confusion, at least.
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  It creates a really fragmented landscape, yes.
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  Now the directive does set a baseline.
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  There's a compulsory level. OK, so what's nonnegotiable?
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  Who must states reunite? Without exception, member states
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  have to include spouses and their minor children, So
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  children under 18, that's the absolute floor.
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  The core nuclear family. Precisely.
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  That's meant to be protected, but often that's where the broad
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  agreement ends. It's a minimum, but for many
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  states, it's also the maximum they'll easily recognize.
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  Ah. OK.
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  So that baseline sounds solid, but then there's this other
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  category, isn't there, discretionary reunification.
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  Yes, and that's where things get really interesting and, well,
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  inconsistent. Who falls into that
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  discretionary bucket? And what does discretionary
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  actually mean in practice? Like how much choice do states
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  really have? It means the directive allows
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  states to include a wider group, but crucially, it doesn't force
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  them to. This is where national policy
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  really kicks in. So who could be included?
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  Well, it could be unmarried partners, especially if it's a
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  long term proven relationship. It could be parents of adult
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  refugees. So refugees over 18, that's a
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  big one. Yeah, I can see that being
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  important. Grandparents too.
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  And really importantly, given the context, it also mentions
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  other relatives who may have become part of the nuclear
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  family due to death or displacement.
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  That sounds key, reflecting the reality of war in crisis, where
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  families change shape. Exactly.
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  People take in nieces, nephews, cousins.
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  Family units shift out of necessity.
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  The key factor for including these discretionary relatives is
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  usually dependency. Does this person rely on the
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  refugee sponsor in Europe for their basic needs?
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  So the law allows for this broader view, and the European
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  Commission, hasn't it actually pushed for states to use that
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  flexibility to be more humanitarian.
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  Oh, absolutely. The Commission has been quite
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  clear. They've actively encouraged
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  states to use the full scope of the directive.
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  They keep emphasizing interpreting it in the most
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  humanitarian way. So they're saying don't just
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  stick to the bare minimum. Pretty much.
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  They've even pointed out that the relevant article it doesn't
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  restrict how distantly related other family members can be.
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  They specifically suggested considering people not
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  biologically related but who are cared for within the family
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  unit. Like foster children?
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  Foster children is the example they give.
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  Yes, it's a strong signal. Look at the reality of the
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  family bond, not just the paperwork or biology.
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  OK, here's where it gets really crucial then, because you have
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  the Commission saying be broad, be humane, but the reality on
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  the ground, it often looks very different, doesn't it?
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  It sounds like many EU countries take a much narrower view.
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  That's the crux of it. The aspiration meets the reality
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  and often the reality is much more restrictive.
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  Many EU Member States interpret family very, very narrowly.
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  The bare minimum approach you mentioned.
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  Exactly. Our sources point to five EU
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  plus states that restrict reunification only to spouses,
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  minor children and the parents of unaccompanied minors.
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  That's it. The absolute minimum of the
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  directive forces them to do. Which directly contradicts what
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  the Commission is urging. Directly, it shows how despite
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  the aim of harmonization, national politics, different
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  views on migration, they lead to wildly different outcomes for
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  people in desperate need. Europe isn't acting as one here.
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  It's a patchwork. So some states really draw the
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  tightest possible circle, and I imagine that has especially
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  harsh consequences for children, right?
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  The most vulnerable. Devastatingly so.
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  Look at some specifics. Liechtenstein in the UK, our
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  sources say unaccompanied children there have no right to
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  family reunification at. All none.
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  A child alone has no way to bring family.
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  In those specific contexts, according to the source, no.
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  And then Switzerland. Children there apparently don't
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  have the right to reunify with parents or siblings who are
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  abroad. That's shocking.
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  These seem like fundamental connections.
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  They are. These policies create massive
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  barriers for kids who've often been through unimaginable
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  trauma. It's not just legal, it's deeply
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  psychological. It prolongs that agony of
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  separation. And even if someone technically
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  fits the definition, there's the whole issue of proving it right.
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  Getting the documents, that must be incredibly hard when you're
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  fleeing a war zone. You've hit on another huge
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  obstacle, this strict documentation requirements.
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  Think about it. People running for their lives,
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  maybe with just the clothes on their back.
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  Official papers, birth certificates, marriage licenses,
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  adoption records. Often lost, destroyed, or maybe
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  never existed in a formal way back home.
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  Exactly so proving customary of marriages, long term
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  relationships that weren't formally registered, non
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  biological ties like with foster kids or relatives taken in it
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  becomes almost impossible. The burden of proof is immense
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  for people who've already lost everything.
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  Is there a story, an example from the sources, that really
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  shows the human cost of this? How these rules play out?
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  There is. A really powerful one about a
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  Syrian father, Ahmad. UNHCR documented his case.
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  His extended family had taken in his two young nephews after
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  their parents were killed in the war.
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  So a family expanded by tragedy and compassion.
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  Absolutely. Ahmad eventually made it to
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  Austria, got protection. His wife and their three
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  biological children were able to join him.
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  The system worked for the core nuclear family.
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  That must have been a huge relief.
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  Immense. But the two nephews who were
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  clearly part of his actual family unit, dependent on him,
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  They couldn't join. Why not?
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  Simply because they hadn't been formally adopted under Austrian
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  law. No official papers meant no
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  recognition of that very real family bond.
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  Oh, that's heartbreaking. It just shows how bureaucracy
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  can completely miss the human reality.
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  It's a stark example of that gap.
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  Life saving bonds formed out of love and necessity just not
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  fitting the legal boxes. It fragments families needlessly
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  it. Really drives it home.
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  So if it's that tough for nephews or foster kids, what
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  about siblings? That seems like such a natural
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  family tie, especially for kids who might have lost parents.
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  Is sibling reunification widely allowed?
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  You'd think it would be logically and humanely, but
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  again, the practical application falls short.
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  The directive might cover siblings under dependency rules,
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  but. But states don't often apply it
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  that way. Very rarely.
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  Most member States just don't have explicit rules for it, or
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  they define dependency so strictly it hardly ever applies
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  between siblings. So only a few countries actually
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  make it possible. Very few.
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  The source is named just eight EU plus states Bulgaria,
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  Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Romania, Spain and
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  Sweden. Only those explicitly provide
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  for sibling reunification. Denmark is on that list then.
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  Yes, but even in those places it's usually under tight
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  conditions, clear dependency, medical reasons, things like
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  that. So the vast majority of Europe,
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  no clear path for siblings. That must be crushing for orphan
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  kids. Imagine losing your parents and
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  them being kept apart from your brother or sister.
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  The impact is immense. Orphaned, unaccompanied children
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  often can't reunite with siblings, even when it's
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  obviously in their best interest they lose that vital support
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  system. And what about older siblings
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  who were maybe acting as parents?
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  Same problem, young adults who became heads of household back
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  home looking after younger siblings.
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  They often can't bring those dependent siblings with them.
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  UNHCR is really pushing other countries to adopt A more
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  positive approach, seen in places like Denmark and Sweden.
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  And for unaccompanied kids trying to join other relatives
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  like aunts or uncles, if parents are gone, is that even harder?
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  It is very much so. Again, the directive has
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  provisions, but the practical challenge is proving prior
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  custody or legal guardianship. Which is near impossible in a
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  crisis zone without records. Exactly.
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  And while preventing trafficking is a valid concerned UNHCR
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  argue, states need to find practical ways to uphold the
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  child's right to reunite without these impossible demands.
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  It seems like the system is isn't flexible enough for the
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  realities. And another point, even if an
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  unaccompanied child can join their parents, there is often no
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  provision for older siblings, say over 18, to join at the same
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  time, even if they're still dependent on the parents.
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  More flexibility there would help keep families together.
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  So it's not just who counts as family, but also when that
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  family formed. What about people who meet and
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  marry after arriving in Europe? That's another significant
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  hurdle, yes. Yeah.
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  The directive allows states to limit reunification only to
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  relationships that existed before the person entered the
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  EU. But people rebuild their lives.
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  They meet people, fall in love, have kids.
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  Of course it's natural, yeah, but the reality is 13 EU plus
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  states, a big chunk, restrict reunification to relationships
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  formed before entry or even before leaving their home
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  country. So a refugee could find safety,
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  build a new family, but that new family might be barred from
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  joining them. That seems incredibly unfair.
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  It creates an impossible choice, doesn't it, between the safety
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  you've found and the new family you've built.
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  It essentially freezes your right to family life at the
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  moment you fled. Wow.
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  So if you put all these definitional issues together,
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  who counts? Proving it when the family
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  formed It sounds like the very idea of family is used to create
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  multiple barriers. Absolutely.
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  These narrow interpretations, applied differently across
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  Europe, fundamentally fragment lives.
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  They force awful choices, prolong trauma and really hinder
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  someone's ability to integrate and contribute.
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  It undermines the whole idea of the unified European approach
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  and arguably, the basic human right to family life.
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  OK, so let's say somehow a family does fit the narrow legal
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  definition. They clear that first hurdle.
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  But that's just the start, isn't it?
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  Then comes the actual process of applying, and it sounds like
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  that's a whole other nightmare. It really is.
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  Getting the yes on paper is one thing.
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  Actually navigating the bureaucracy to make it happen?
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  That's often where families hit a wall.
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  It's less a process, more a gauntlet.
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  A bureaucratic maze, you called it.
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  What are the biggest obstacles there?
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  Two massive ones jump out from the sources accessing embassies,
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  which can be incredibly difficult and the prohibitive
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  costs involved. People talk about the embassy
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  desert. Embassy Desert that paints a
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  picture. What does it mean in practice?
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  It means getting to the right embassy to even submit your
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  application can be a huge, dangerous undertaking.
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  Refugees often like passports or visas needed for international
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  travel, right? So think about Syria.
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  The sources say only two out of 32 EU plus states currently have
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  a working embassy in Damascus. Only two, so for almost everyone
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  else, Syrians can't even apply in Syria.
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  Correct. Most Syrian families have to
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  travel to a neighboring country, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq,
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  just to apply to join family and say Germany or Sweden.
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  Which involves crossing borders needing visas they might not be
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  able to get. Exactly, plus the protection
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  risks dangerous journeys, potential exploitation, and it's
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  usually not just one trip. Procedures often require
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  multiple visits that embassy in the neighboring country.
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  Multiplying the cost. The danger enormously,
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  especially for vulnerable people.
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  Female headed households for example.
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  The lack of resources, the safety concerns of traveling
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  alone with kids through difficult regions, it's a
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  massive barrier. And it's not just Syria.
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  No, the Iraqi example is similar. 18 EU plus states
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  apparently have no embassy in Baghdad, so Iraqi families face
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  the same impossible journeys. It makes the legal right almost
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  meaningless if you can't physically access the process.
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  And then there's something called the legal residence trap
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  that sounds particularly bad. It's brutal.
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  The source calls it an insurmountable barrier for many.
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  Some EU Plus countries require the applicant, the family member
• 14:07
  abroad, to have legal residence in the country where they're
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  applying. Wait, so if your family is in
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  Syria and the embassy for the country they want to reach is in
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  Jordan, they have to go to Jordan and get legal residency
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  there first? Yes, often for six months or
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  more before they can even start or continue the family
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  reunification application. That's absurd.
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  You're forcing refugees into limbo in a third country just to
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  apply to join family in a fourth country.
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  It's an extraordinary bureaucratic hurdle.
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  It means prolonged separation, huge costs, immense uncertainty.
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  It essentially creates a secondary displacement.
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  Is there an example of this in action?
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  A story that shows what this actually means for people.
• 14:46
  Yes, the story of the Mira, a 43 year old Syrian woman.
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  She and her two daughters were trying to join her husband in
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  Germany. OK, because there was no
• 14:55
  functioning German embassy in Syria accessible to them, they
• 14:58
  had to travel. Their route took them to
• 15:00
  Pristina, Kosovo. Kosovo.
• 15:03
  That seems an unlikely detour. Exactly.
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  But that's where they could access the German embassy
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  process. And they weren't just passing
• 15:10
  through. They were forced to stay in
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  Pristina for eight months. Eight months just waiting to
• 15:14
  apply. Just to navigate the embassy
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  procedures, it highlights the completely unexpected, costly
• 15:20
  and prolonged ordeals families are forced into simply because
• 15:24
  of where embassies are located in these residents rules.
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  It turns applying into an endurance test.
• 15:29
  It really sounds like the system itself becomes the deterrent,
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  and beyond embassy access and residence traps, what about the
• 15:35
  actual travel documents, The visas to make the final journey?
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  Another layer of difficulty, even if you get through the
• 15:42
  embassy process, getting the final travel documents and visas
• 15:45
  is hard. Refugees often lack standard
• 15:47
  passports, and very few European countries will issue a visa upon
• 15:52
  arrival, even if someone has a legitimate alternative travel
• 15:56
  document like a lessee passe from the Red Cross or the UN.
• 15:59
  So even with approval and a travel document, you could still
• 16:03
  be blocked at the border. It can happen.
• 16:05
  It's like a Catch 22. The system designed for regular
• 16:08
  travel just doesn't work well for people fleeing conflict
• 16:11
  without standard paperwork. This sounds incredibly bleak.
• 16:14
  Are there any proposed solutions, any signs of hope or
• 16:18
  examples of things working better somewhere?
• 16:20
  Yes, thankfully there are calls for change and some good
• 16:25
  practices that show it can be done more humanely.
• 16:27
  The European Commission itself has called on states to be more
• 16:30
  flexible. What are they suggesting?
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  Things like recognizing emergency travel documents from
• 16:35
  the ICRC or UN Convention travel documents more consistently,
• 16:39
  issuing one way lessee passe documents to simplify travel.
• 16:42
  And visas on arrival. Yes, offering the possibility of
• 16:44
  issuing a visa upon arrival, especially when getting
• 16:47
  documents beforehand, is just impossible for the family
• 16:49
  members. And UNHCR, our main source here,
• 16:52
  they're echoing this. Strongly, they're urging states
• 16:55
  to use these alternative mechanisms.
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  UN documents, ICRC documents when national passports aren't
• 17:01
  available or accepted. It's about finding pragmatic
• 17:04
  ways to facilitate a right, not blocking it with impossible
• 17:07
  requirements. Makes sense.
• 17:08
  Are there any countries actually doing things better, putting
• 17:12
  these ideas into practice? There are some positive
• 17:15
  examples, yes. Estonia, Luxembourg and the
• 17:18
  Netherlands, for instance, allow the application to be lodged
• 17:21
  either by the sponsor already in Europe or by the family members
• 17:25
  abroad. Oh, that sounds much more
• 17:26
  sensible. Reduces the burden on those
• 17:28
  still in danger. Significantly Luxembourg even
• 17:31
  less people apply via Belgian embassies if there's no
• 17:33
  Luxembourg embassy nearby. Yeah, it puts the admin burden
• 17:37
  where it's safer. What about the sponsor starting
• 17:39
  the process? That's another good practice
• 17:41
  used in Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
• 17:45
  The sponsor in Europe submits the application first.
• 17:48
  Family abroad still need to go to an embassy later for identity
• 17:51
  checks, visas, etcetera, but it can reduce the number of risky
• 17:54
  trips they need to make. Streamlines it a bit.
• 17:57
  And what about using other European embassies?
• 18:00
  If there's no Finnish embassy, could you go to a Swedish one?
• 18:03
  Yes, that inter embassy facilitation is crucial.
• 18:07
  Besides Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland and Spain allow this in
• 18:11
  some form. It offers vital flexibility for
• 18:13
  people stuck in that embassy desert.
• 18:16
  It's practical European cooperation making a real
• 18:19
  difference. So these examples show it is
• 18:21
  possible to make the process less of an ordeal.
• 18:24
  Exactly. They show the policy exists, but
• 18:27
  the operational hurdles are often the real killer and
• 18:30
  relatively small administrative changes letting the sponsor
• 18:32
  apply first using other embassies can have a massive
• 18:35
  positive impact on families suffering through separation.
• 18:38
  It really makes you wonder then, if these better ways exist, why
• 18:42
  aren't they the standard everywhere?
• 18:43
  That's the profound question, isn't it?
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  Why aren't these good practices universal if they clearly work
• 18:48
  better and reduce suffering? It points to perhaps a lack of
• 18:52
  political will, or maybe just systemic inertia.
• 18:55
  The blueprint for a more humane system is there, but it's not
• 18:58
  being widely adopted. OK, one final piece to this
• 19:01
  complex puzzle. We need to talk about people
• 19:04
  granted subsidiary protection. That's a different status to
• 19:08
  refugee, right? And it seems to add another
• 19:11
  layer of difficulty for family reunification.
• 19:14
  It does, yes. It's a key distinction in
• 19:16
  European asylum law. Subsidiary protection is for
• 19:19
  people who don't strictly meet the 1951 Refugee Convention
• 19:23
  definition, maybe no direct personal persecution, but who
• 19:27
  would still face serious harm if sent back home.
• 19:29
  Like from indiscriminate violence in a war.
• 19:32
  Exactly. Or risk of torture, inhumane
• 19:34
  treatment they can't safely return even if they aren't
• 19:37
  convention refugees. So what does that mean for their
• 19:39
  families? How does this status affect
• 19:41
  reunification? The key phrase from the source
• 19:43
  is delayed and more limited access compared to convention
• 19:47
  refugees. People with subsidiary
• 19:49
  protection often face longer waiting periods before they can
• 19:51
  even apply for family reunification.
• 19:53
  Years sometimes. It can be years, yes, and the
• 19:57
  definition of family they can apply for might be narrower,
• 20:00
  perhaps excluding adult children or dependent parents that a
• 20:03
  refugee could bring. They might also face extra
• 20:05
  hurdles, stricter criteria. It clearly flags the status as
• 20:10
  another significant barrier. So more waiting, more
• 20:12
  uncertainty, potentially fewer family members allowed.
• 20:15
  That must add so much anxiety. Is there an anecdote for this
• 20:19
  too? There is the story of Abdi, a
• 20:21
  young man from Somalia. It really brings home the human
• 20:24
  cost. He was only 15 when he got to
• 20:26
  Europe. 15 What happened to him? He'd been kidnapped by rebels
• 20:29
  back home, forced to flee for his life.
• 20:32
  He made a terrible journey. Ethiopia, Turkey, Greece, Italy
• 20:37
  finally reaching Austria to claim asylum.
• 20:39
  And all that time while he's waiting for a decision on his
• 20:41
  status. He was desperately trying to
• 20:43
  find out what happened to his mother, his brothers, his
• 20:45
  sisters. He'd lost all contact when he
• 20:47
  fled Somalia. Imagine that fear that not
• 20:50
  knowing for a boy alone. Utterly terrifying.
• 20:53
  And his eventual status, whether he got full refugee status or
• 20:57
  subsidiary protection, would directly impact how quickly and
• 21:01
  even if he could reunite with any family he found.
• 21:05
  It just underscores the terrible psychological burden of these
• 21:08
  delays and limitations, especially for young people
• 21:11
  who've already been through hell.
• 21:12
  It hinders their recovery, their integration, everything.
• 21:15
  Wow. OK, so summing this all up, what
• 21:18
  we've really unpacked today is just how layered the challenges
• 21:21
  are for refugee family reunification in Europe.
• 21:24
  It's not one single problem. It's a cascade.
• 21:27
  First, the very definition of family is often interpreted
• 21:30
  incredibly narrowly, creating barriers right at the start.
• 21:33
  Often excluding people who are clearly family in reality.
• 21:36
  Then, even if you fit the definition, you face this
• 21:38
  massive bureaucratic and financial struggle just to
• 21:41
  access an embassy, sometimes involving dangerous detours and
• 21:45
  impossible residency requirements.
• 21:46
  The embassy desert and the legal residence trap.
• 21:49
  And finally, even your specific protection status, like
• 21:51
  subsidiary protection, can lead to significant delays and
• 21:54
  further limitations. Adding another layer of
• 21:56
  hardship. It really paints a picture of a
• 21:58
  system that maybe, despite good intentions on paper, often ends
• 22:02
  up keeping families apart and prolonging suffering.
• 22:05
  What's really striking, I think, is how this mix of laws,
• 22:08
  national choices and sheer practical barriers creates this
• 22:12
  reality. It makes you question how these
• 22:15
  varied approaches across Europe really square with fundamental
• 22:18
  human rights principles, especially the right to family
• 22:21
  life. And what does it say about
• 22:23
  genuine international cooperation when the system
• 22:26
  makes it so hard for people to follow legal paths to safety and
• 22:30
  togetherness, to deep tension? Attention that leaves so many
• 22:34
  families in limbo. We really hope this deep dive
• 22:36
  has given you, our listener, a much clearer picture and maybe
• 22:40
  some aha moments about this vital area of international
• 22:44
  relations and policy, including how it plays out in specific
• 22:47
  national contexts like Denmark's approach to siblings.
• 22:50
  Thank you so much for joining us on the Deep dive.
• 22:52
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• 22:53
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