In the national report for the study of the European Migration Network (EMN) “Family reunification of third-country nationals in the EU: state of play after 20 years of implementation of the Family Reunification Directive” you can learn about the current situation, the meaning of the concept “sponsor” and “family member” in this context, requirements for exercising the right to family reunification, the process of application submission and examination, and access to rights following family reunification.
There have been only a few significant changes in the field of family reunification in Latvia since 2017. The most impactful were the amendments to the Immigration Law entering into force on 2 March 2017, which determined access to the labour market without restrictions to a wider range of family members of employed third-country nationals after obtaining a residence permit. Looking towards the future, new draft Immigration Law has been developed and is being reviewed. Although, the draft law does not provide for significant changes to the regulation related to family reunification, it contains certain provisions that would extend the validity of temporary residence permits from one to two years for specific applicant categories, reducing the administrative burden for both the applicants and state administration institutions.
Any person residing in Latvia with a valid residence permit can be a sponsor to an application for family reunification, but in case of family reunification the definition of family only includes the nuclear family and for beneficiaries of international protection the family relationship has had to be established before entry into the country. There are several requirements to exercising the right to family reunification related to the place of residence, health insurance and financial resources, but family members of persons granted refugee or subsidiary protection status do not have to fulfil these requirements.
A key challenge in accessing the right to family reunification has been the correct preparation of the necessary documents. Regarding the family members’ access to education, employment and vocational training the main obstacle can be lack of language skills. Some examples of good practices include the changes made to legislation which resulted in access to the labour market granted without restrictions to family members of employed third-country nationals and the establishment of the Integration and Inclusion Agency, which provides tailored consultations and practical support to all third-country nationals who are legally residing in Latvia.