Yosief, Luwam and Amen

This case was one of the first examples of a new way of assessing when family life is established by the Immigration Appeals Board and, consequently, when someone has a right to be reunited with their immediate family. The very first of these cases was decided in May 2023, and this one came six months later, establishing a new practice – one that has been crucial for many other families.
 
The couple met for the first time in Eritrea in 2013. The following year, Yosief fled and was granted asylum in Denmark in December 2014. They did their best to stay in touch over the phone for several years and decided to get married. Luwam fled to Ethiopia in 2018, where she lived as a refugee, and the following year they got married while Yosief was visiting her there.
 
In 2019, he submitted his first application for family reunification to the Danish Immigration Service, but it was rejected a year later because the Ethiopian marriage certificate was not recognised. It contained a spelling mistake, but Refugees Welcome later provided evidence that it was genuine. Yosief visited Luwam again and, in 2021, their son Amen was born. The photo is from the baptism party, when Yosief was visiting.
 
Yosief reapplied to the Danish authorities for family reunification for both his wife and child and, in 2022, permission was granted for Amen but rejected for Luwam. Later that year, on appeal, the rejection was only partially upheld by the Immigration Appeals Board and was referred back to the Immigration Service for a new assessment of their family life, given that the couple had a child together. In May 2023, the Immigration Service again concluded that, despite the child, there was no established family life.

Refugees Welcome submitted a new appeal, referring to other residence permits that had been issued despite the wedding certificates containing the same spelling error. We also argued that there was in fact an established family life, based on the following factors (which were similar to the other case that had had a positive outcome in May 2023):

• Long-term relationship lasting for years, and ongoing contact with several long-term visits.
• Joint child, whom the father has recognised and made an application to bring to Denmark.
• The father has supported the family financially for years.
• The couple had a large wedding and were officially married, regardless of whether Denmark recognised the document or not.
• The child had the right to grow up with both parents, which would not be possible in Ethiopia. 

The Immigration Appeals Board ruled in our favour in September 2023, but a residence permit for both mother and child was not issued until February 2024. This meant that, by the time they could be together, 10 years had passed since Yosief had been granted asylum, and three years since his son was born.