In today’s world, people change the countries of their residence much more often than they did in the past. Some of them find better jobs or business opportunities in foreign countries while others simply ‘buy’ second passports to be able to freely travel around the world and/ or live on a paradise island.
However, when you move to another country, you have to leave your family behind. Or do you? Can you immigrate together with your parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles? The exact answer will depend on the particular country, but an absolute majority of national states have family reunification programs. The family reunification procedures can be simple or not so simple. There are countries where you can easily establish legal residence for your grannies and there are countries where you have to prove that you really have to bring your parents over because they would starve otherwise. Below we are talking about family reunification regulations applied in some countries popular with emigrants.
Argentina
Family reunification is possible in Argentina, if one of the family members holds a residence permit. If it is a temporary residence permit, you can obtain similar permits for your spouse and underage children. If it is a permanent residence permit or a passport of Argentina, you are also eligible to bring your parents over. All the application documents have to be in the Spanish language, you have to confirm your residential address in Argentina as well as your solvency. Besides, your family members need to supply police clearances.
How can you become a citizen of Argentina? The easiest (and a rather popular) way is by giving birth to a child in the country. None of the child’s parents has to be a citizen of Argentina: the right of soil is applied in the country. Because a child born in Argentina is born an Argentinian, its parents qualify for instant residence permits in accordance with the family reunification regulations (a little Argentinian citizen has to reunify with his or her parents). Register the birth of the child with the municipal authorities and you will get a residence permit within one day only. Besides, foreign parents of an Argentinian qualify for accelerated citizenship acquisition. If you continue living in the country, you can apply for passports after 3 years.
We have to note that the immigration practices have been changing in Argentina since November 19, last year (this is the date of the latest presidential elections). Offshore Pro Group experts keep track of all the changes in the immigration policies in many countries including Argentina.
Spain
You can reunify with your spouse in Spain (even if your marriage has not been officially registered) and your underage children. You can also legalize your parents above the age of 65 but you would have to prove that they are dependent on you and have to live close to you.
There are regular family reunification provisions in Spain and special provisions. The regular provisions apply to foreign students, financially independent individuals, and investors while special provisions apply to digital nomads and startup founders.
If you hold a Spanish residence card and you belong to one of the groups to which regular provisions apply, your family members have to apply for family reunification to the Spanish consulate in the country of their residence. In the course of application, they have to submit documents confirming relations of kin, medical insurances, and proof of solvency.
The digital nomad visa has been a highly popular instrument of acquiring Spanish residency since it became available. If you are a digital nomad holding a residence card in Spain, your relatives can apply for family reunification in Spain. This is advantageous because filing an application via a Spanish consulate can take a long time.
Until recently, it used to be enough to bring a document from a notary public that certifies that you lived together with your partner even though you were not officially married. Now things have changed and your marriage has to be confirmed by some document. It can be any document such as a marriage certificate obtained online (possible in the American state of Utah) but you do need to have a document.
The solvency certificates may have to show various amounts of income or a bank deposit depending on the visa type. For a digital nomad, the required income has to be not less €3,465 per month for a married couple plus €315 for each dependent family member. The requirements are indexed every year.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE and Dubai in particular are highly popular with qualified specialists and entrepreneurs from other countries. The Emirates make it possible to reunify with your spouse, your sons of up to 25 years of age, your unmarried daughters of any age, and your parents.
Foreign nationals can reunify with their families if they hold a resident visa to the UAE. The visa holder’s monthly income has to be at least 4,000 dirhams (US$ 1,000).
You have to confirm that you are married by supplying a certificate of official marriage registration. You can sponsor reunification with your parents as well as the parents of your spouse. If one of the parents is deceased or if your parents are divorced, you have to supply certificates confirming that.
All adult family members applying for resident visas in the UAE have to go through medical examinations in certified medical centers in the country.
Portugal
A holder of any type of residence permit can reunify with his/ her family members in Portugal. You can reunite with your spouse, your underage children, your adult children if they are students and they financially depend on you, and your parents above 65. You can also reunify with individuals who are in your legal custody.
The simplest way to relocate to Portugal with your family is to apply for residence permits for all family members when contacting the Portuguese consulate in your home country. If you establish legal residence in Portugal only for yourself, and then your spouse comes to the country on a tourist visa to apply for family reunification, you may get yourself into hot water. The matter is that it is going to be a long bureaucratic process. Besides, there are yearly quotas for residence permits issued to foreigners in Portugal. If the quota has been exhausted, your spouse may even have to reside illegally in Portugal for several months. That’s not the best way to go, without doubt.
At the same time, a new Government unit is soon to be created in Portugal and this unit will be responsible for handling all matters with foreigners. Rumors have it that applications for family reunification are going to be prioritized.
If you would like to reunify with your relatives while you are living in a foreign country, please apply for professional support from immigration lawyers.
