Changes to immigration set of rules, introduced by law 189/2002, do of coarse strongly modify instructions on family rejoining matters. These show changes under many aspects:
1) people allowed to family rejoining;
2) requisites needed;
3) documents that must be given in and proceedings to follow;
Law 189/2002 restricts subjects allowed to family rejoining (1). Previous laws let regularly residing migrants to ask for the rejoining of the following relatives:
a) husband or wife (not legally separated);
b) underage children at the expenses of the parent;
c) parents living at the son/daughter expenses;
d) relatives up to a third degree direct line;
It is quite understandable that the chance former law provided for to rejoin relatives unable to work answered the simple minimal principle of respecting migrants family unity right and the social solidarity, this is to say the right to live together when a relative cannot possibly work.
Disable workers being enabled to join their families are not only given an opportunity to acceed to an income but also to health care.
Changes introduced by law 189/02 do not allow completely disable relatives rejoining any more (the new law calls disable citizens: “people unable to work because of objective matters” holds an additional restrictive function). Only disable sons or daughters can apply for family rejoining.
In the meanwhile, parents rejoining is being restricted as well: according to art. 23 law 189/02, having parents come to Italy is allowed only when no other sons/daughters of their own live in their country of origin or in case they are over 65 and the other children cannot afford to take care of their “…serious health problems”.
When taking into consideration that usually migrant families are large ones (actually the fact that other brothers or sisters do live at home in order to have one of them move to another country), it is easy to understand that this new set of rules will cut on family rejoining entries.
It is also important to underline that art. 23 law 189/02 generically talks of parents “…having children living in the same country…” without saying if they should live with them. According to art.23 the sole fact of having children living in the same country denies family rejoining. The same article doesn’t talk about the chance of showing that the other children cannot from a financial point of view help their parents out.
In short, the enactment of law 189/02 makes the following rejoinings possible:
a) husband or wife (not legally separated)
b) underage children at the expenses of the parent;
c) completely disable children (also if turned eighteen);
d) parents not having other children living in the same country;
e) over 65 years old parents at the migrant citizen expenses, whose other children cannot in any way help them out because of certificated serious health problems.
Documents and proceedings
Law 189/02 doesn’t only limit family rejoining possibilities, it also changed proceedings and documents needed in order to obtain authorities go ahead.
Documents: migrant citizens need to give in the same documents former law provided for, but also papers stating the fact that “relatives and underage children are at their own expenses, all of the documents must be taken to Italian consular delegation to be confirmed. In addition to this, when rejoining concerns “C”, “D” and “E” cases child heath status certificates, absence of other sons or daughters living in the same country of the parents, other children health status when demanding the rejoining of over 65 years old parents whose other children cannot take care of them because of serious health matters must be given in. All documents need to be taken to the appointed local Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione at Prefettura (UTG). This counter, which must return a signed and printed copy of all documents, shall proceed in checking through police headquarters the data and will then give the go ahead or deny the demand.
In case police headquaters do not answer in 90 days, migrant citizens are allowed to ask for entry visa to consular delegation via presenting the printed and signed copy.
The same proceeding, briefly explained, is being “burdened” when compared to former laws: the additional documentation required, which must be translated and legalized, will be a serious obstacle to family rejoining, while it also rises worries about future consulates behaviour. What we are much worried about is how consulates are to treat application after the 90 days time.